Female hysteria - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

jewels · 12-20-2010, 07:56 AM

Quote:

A physician in 1859 claimed that a quarter of all women suffered from hysteria. One physician cataloged 75 pages of possible symptoms of hysteria and called the list incomplete;[2] almost any ailment could fit the diagnosis. Physicians thought that the stresses associated with modern life caused civilized women to be both more susceptible to nervous disorders and to develop faulty reproductive tracts.[3] In America, such disorders in women reaffirmed that the United States was on par with Europe; one American physician expressed pleasure that the country was ”catching up” to Europe in the prevalence of hysteria.[2]

Rachel P. Maines has observed that such cases were quite profitable for physicians, since the patients were at no risk of death, but needed constant treatment. The only problem was that physicians did not enjoy the tedious task of vaginal massage (generally referred to as 'pelvic massage'): The technique was difficult for a physician to master and could take hours to achieve "hysterical paroxysm." Referral to midwives, which had been common practice, meant a loss of business for the physician.[1]
A 1918 Sears, Roebuck and Co. ad with several models of vibrators.

A solution was the invention of massage devices, which shortened treatment from hours to minutes, removing the need for midwives and increasing a physician’s treatment capacity. Already at the beginning of the 19th century, hydrotherapy devices were available at Bath, and by the mid-19th century, they were popular at many high-profile bathing resorts across Europe and in America.[1] By 1870, a clockwork-driven vibrator was available for physicians. In 1873, the first electromechanical vibrator was used at an asylum in France for the treatment of hysteria.

While physicians of the period acknowledged that the disorder stemmed from sexual dissatisfaction, they seemed unaware of or unwilling to admit the sexual purposes of the devices used to treat it.[1] In fact, the introduction of the speculum was far more controversial than that of the vibrator.[1]

By the 20th century, the spread of home electricity brought the vibrator to the consumer market. The appeal of cheaper treatment in the privacy of one’s own home understandably made the vibrator a popular early home appliance. In fact, the electric home vibrator was on the market before many other home appliance ’essentials’: nine years before the electric vacuum cleaner and 10 years before the electric iron.[1] A page from a Sears catalog of home electrical appliances from 1918 includes a portable vibrator with attachments, billed as ”Very useful and satisfactory for home service.”[1]

Other cures for female hysteria included bed rest, bland food, seclusion, refraining from mentally taxing tasks (for example, reading) and sensory deprivation.[4]

More: Female hysteria - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You've come a long way, baby.

If the Victorians found sexually dissatisfied women to be mentally ill, I wonder how this translates today. Does anyone have any symptoms if they're not getting any, or if they're feeling sexually unfulfilled?

I seem to get stress headaches more easily when I haven't had gratifying sex in a while. No OTC pain reliever can relieve it other than a bout with BoB.

Calypso15 · 12-20-2010, 06:50 PM

Great info! When I don't get laid I feel myself transforming slowly into Satan. I'm irritable, anxious and those nervous disorders settle in! The tension builds in my neck and shoulders causing headaches. If my husband refuses to put out for a month I start having migraines. When I turn my neck from side to side I hear popping. Crepitis. Sexual thoughts plague me! I sometimes feel like I could beat him because I'm so angry. Finally when we do have sex it all goes away as if it never existed. His idea of a sex life is warped compared to mine. He is not tilted at all!

MSD · 12-20-2010, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by belindan2000

Great info! When I don't get laid I feel myself transforming slowly into Satan. I'm irritable, anxious and those nervous disorders settle in! The tension builds in my neck and shoulders causing headaches. If my husband refuses to put out for a month I start having migraines. When I turn my neck from side to side I hear popping. Crepitis. Sexual thoughts plague me! I sometimes feel like I could beat him because I'm so angry. Finally when we do have sex it all goes away as if it never existed. His idea of a sex life is warped compared to mine. He is not tilted at all!

If you stay with him despite glaring sexual incompatibility, what keeps you together?

Starkizzer · 12-21-2010, 02:01 AM

Heh. I don't really get "female hysteria", but I wonder if men can suffer from something similar. Hubby can get very irritated, irrationally so, if it has been more than a few days between a romp.

Soon as we have sex he is completely different. A look of calm comes over him, the storm in his eyes passes, the tension releases from his shoulders and neck and he is in a better mood for the rest of the day.

I used to think he was just being moody and trying to get his way. But over the years I have come to realize he really doesn't try to be this way. There have been times he has been agitated and can't really put into words why, this can lead into him shutting down, almost like a state of depression.

As many people wrote on my "advice for better marriage" cards at my bridal shower: "Sex solves everything"

jewels · 12-21-2010, 06:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Starkizzer

"Sex solves everything"

QFT! Love it.

dlish · 12-21-2010, 06:57 AM

err..doesnt solve my calculus equation does it now???

Quote:

The only problem was that physicians did not enjoy the tedious task of vaginal massage (generally referred to as 'pelvic massage'): The technique was difficult for a physician to master and could take hours to achieve "hysterical paroxysm."

is it just me or does it just sound wrong that a dr (physician) is stimulating a woman for hysteria? could they have been taking advantage of women and the medical profession for their own sexual desires?

jewels · 12-21-2010, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dlish

is it just me or does it just sound wrong that a dr (physician) is stimulating a woman for hysteria? could they have been taking advantage of women and the medical profession for their own sexual desires?

Could have been. I was thinking that if a woman had a mental breakdown or maybe just a hormonal mood swing they may have been hospitalized a la The Snake Pit, the doctor had the hots for a patient and consummated the relationship and she got better. Hence the new treatment.

Hehe. I like that idea better.

Starkizzer · 12-21-2010, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dlish

err..doesnt solve my calculus equation does it now???

is it just me or does it just sound wrong that a dr (physician) is stimulating a woman for hysteria? could they have been taking advantage of women and the medical profession for their own sexual desires?

It may not solve it, but it will make you feel better about the fact that you can't...for a short while anyway.

Female orgasms have a long sordid past. I am not sure on all the details, but I know at one time, about the time that the "female hysteria" bit was going on women having an orgasm was not important and was even looked down upon. At one point it was thought that women couldn't have orgasms via clitoral stimulation. Then Freud called them "lesser orgasm", or ones that were adolescent.
"Frank S. Caprio, a contemporary follower of these ideas, states:...whenever a woman is incapable of achieving an orgasm via coitus, provided the husband is an adequate partner, and prefers clitoral stimulation to any other form of sexual activity, she can be regarded as suffering from frigidity and requires psychiatric assistance." (The Sexually Adequate Female, p.64.)

This is also where the so called "penis envy" in women came from.

This comes from a pretty good article, it was written in 1970 by Anne Koedt: The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm by Anne Koedt This article was written in the 70's so keep that in mind while reading it. It does shed some light on the veiw of femal orgasms at the time and this was well after the time of Freud and female hysteria.

Oh, the things we have gone/are going through.

ring · 12-21-2010, 12:15 PM

My mom is a retired R.N. who went through nurses training during the mid fifties in Rochester, MN
Even back then she thought the idea of Wandering Womb Syndrome, was ludicrous.

I was 8 when they sent her to the psych ward for three weeks.
She kept telling even the Mayo doctors that something was wrong with her stomach
area, but they wouldn't listen. They kept asking her spooky questions like:
"Well, you describe it as a pulling sensation. What do you think might be pulling at you?"

It's a wonder she kept her sanity at all.

Four years later they finally did an exploratory surgery and found a double hernia.

Great topic, Jewels. I hope to add more later.

Calypso15 · 12-21-2010, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MSD

If you stay with him despite glaring sexual incompatibility, what keeps you together?

We have been married 13 years. We don't fight about anything else except sex. The more I wanted sex the more determined he became telling me there is more to a marriage. 13 years is a long time but I'm just realizing it is time for me to leave. Sex is a very big deal. Interesting you picked up on that.

Ourcrazymodern? · 12-21-2010, 04:35 PM

When she said she liked it, I thought she was truthing me.

12-21-2010, 02:01 AM	#4 (permalink)
Starkizzer Hi floor! Make me a samwich. Location: Ontario (in the stray cat complex)	Heh. I don't really get "female hysteria", but I wonder if men can suffer from something similar. Hubby can get very irritated, irrationally so, if it has been more than a few days between a romp. Soon as we have sex he is completely different. A look of calm comes over him, the storm in his eyes passes, the tension releases from his shoulders and neck and he is in a better mood for the rest of the day. I used to think he was just being moody and trying to get his way. But over the years I have come to realize he really doesn't try to be this way. There have been times he has been agitated and can't really put into words why, this can lead into him shutting down, almost like a state of depression. As many people wrote on my "advice for better marriage" cards at my bridal shower: "Sex solves everything" __________________ Frivolity, at the edge of a Moral Swamp, hears Hymn-Singing in the Distance and dons the Galoshes of Remorse. ~Edward Gorey

12-21-2010, 04:35 PM	#11 (permalink)
Ourcrazymodern? still, wondering. Location: South Minneapolis, somewhere near the gorgeous gorge	When she said she liked it, I thought she was truthing me. __________________ BE JUST AND FEAR NOT

12-20-2010, 06:50 PM	#2 (permalink)
Calypso15 Upright Location: Twilight Zone	Great info! When I don't get laid I feel myself transforming slowly into Satan. I'm irritable, anxious and those nervous disorders settle in! The tension builds in my neck and shoulders causing headaches. If my husband refuses to put out for a month I start having migraines. When I turn my neck from side to side I hear popping. Crepitis. Sexual thoughts plague me! I sometimes feel like I could beat him because I'm so angry. Finally when we do have sex it all goes away as if it never existed. His idea of a sex life is warped compared to mine. He is not tilted at all!

12-21-2010, 12:15 PM	#9 (permalink)
ring ░ Location: ❤	My mom is a retired R.N. who went through nurses training during the mid fifties in Rochester, MN Even back then she thought the idea of Wandering Womb Syndrome, was ludicrous. I was 8 when they sent her to the psych ward for three weeks. She kept telling even the Mayo doctors that something was wrong with her stomach area, but they wouldn't listen. They kept asking her spooky questions like: "Well, you describe it as a pulling sensation. What do you think might be pulling at you?" It's a wonder she kept her sanity at all. Four years later they finally did an exploratory surgery and found a double hernia. Great topic, Jewels. I hope to add more later.