The Catastrophizing Women: Hysteria And Its Modern-Day Incarnations In Womens Illness Narratives

Women are at higher risk of being dismissed, ignored, and mistreated in the medical system. Stereotypes surrounding being catastrophizing or hysterical about their pain and symptoms run largely throughout the institution, leading to patients often feeling dismissed or untreated by their care team. A historical account of hysteria provides context for how the medical system began and still inhabits sexist and racist ideologies of women’s pain and illness, often regarding their experiences as emotional and disregarding their embodied experiences. This project demonstrates the relevance of historical aspects of hysteria in contemporary narratives of women’s illness, and its continued impact. Demonstrating the continued relevance of historical aspects of hysteria in contemporary narratives of women’s illness, this thesis shows how life writing and narration highlight how harmful rhetoric and ideologies lead to women’s dismissal. This thesis concludes with an analysis of life writing strategies women use in life writing and how to engage with them; and how community involving life writing may provide intervention in medical treatment for people experiencing sexism in the medical institution. This thesis incorporates narrative techniques from the field of medical humanities to help identify interventions that may improve care by developing empathetic reflection in practitioners.