This thesis argues that contemporary psychiatric diagnosis is profoundly gendered and subject to influence by hysteric discourse. Its importance is highlighted in the ramifications for women diagnosed with hysteria and its contemporary descendants, which include the pathologization of female sexuality and emotions, as well as hostile clinical treatment. The research employs a qualitative, critical thematic literature review, shaped by Foucauldian genealogical and archaeological methodologies. The preparatory literature review identified the core themes of gender, power, sexuality and madness, which shape the thematic landscape of the piece. It examines primary and secondary sources on hysteria, including historical physicians’ and contemporary academics’ works. Owing to the limited word count, it focuses on works emblematic of hysteria across different historical epochs and its contemporary evolution.
The analysis delves into periods spanning from Ancient Egypt to the twenty-first century, revealing the genealogy of hysteria, and its enduring impact on the diagnoses of borderline and histrionic personality disorders. Supported by theoretical frameworks from Michel Foucault, Sylvia Walby, Kate Manne, Kristie Dotson and Naomi Weisstein, this research offers a comprehensive analysis of gender, power, sexuality, psychology/psychiatry, and patriarchal regulation.
The key finding is that the diagnostic frameworks for borderline and histrionic personality disorders persistently employ the stigmatising language and discourses of hysteria. These echoes can be traced back to ancient patriarchal notions concerning the female body and mind, and their subsummation into contemporary scientific and psychiatric knowledge. I conclude by arguing that hysteria and its descendants function as mechanisms for morally regulating women who defy patriarchal ideals of femininity. These disorders operate within a broader framework of patriarchy and moral regulation, which persists in contemporary psychiatric practice. This thesis illuminates the enduring influence of hysteria’s historical ideas and discourses on contemporary psychiatric diagnosis, emphasising the need for a critical examination of patriarchy and gendered psychiatry.
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