You are way too bossy.
You are high-maintenance.
Why are you so hysterical? Why are women so emotional omg?
"During an era when patriarchal culture felt itself to be under attack by its rebellious daughters, one obvious defense was to label women campaigning for access to the university, the professions, and the vote as mentally disturbed,” now retired Princeton University professor Elaine Showalter wrote in an essay called “Hysteria, Feminism, and Gender.”
Women, since the start of time, have been told that they are too much. Too emotional. Too feminine. Too weak. Too hysterical. Women aren't seen as competent because the image of an ideal woman is to only speak when spoken too, not have any opinions, and their true place is in the kitchen.
Even online and in the media, women are mocked for their emotions and if they aren't emotional, they are labeled as 'frigid' and thus heartless and unrelatable. The hysterical woman is a familiar caricature that is frequently mocked in the press.
It’s easy to congratulate ourselves on how much has changed for women in the intervening centuries, but it’s important to recognize that some things haven’t.
Women who do not conform to the traditional image of womanhood—a loving mother, an obedient wife, a happy homemaker—are still being told that their bodies are deviant, hysterical problems that make them unfit for public life.
Unconventional women who express dissent and passion are still mocked. Strong women will be called ugly, and some people won’t hesitate to say so, because “fuck your feelings!” Your feelings are part of what make you hysterical. Illegitimate. A rabid feminist. A witch. A “nasty woman.” But they’ll ask that you respectfully consider theirs because some people will claim a right to arm their feelings.
Some people will tell you that they know what it means to be a good or a bad woman because they understand your body better than you can. And if you don’t like what’s being said about your body, they’ll tell you to “get offline.” “Find another career.” Get back in the kitchen and out of “the locker room,” because this is what some people will continue to call “the world.” The world, for them, only has men in it.
This is what will be said because this is what has been said for centuries. It is hard to hear, but we must listen anyway. We must take notes and ask a lot of questions and consider all the evidence. We must become bad patients who develop their own conclusion and never forget what it really means when a man calls us “hysterical,” because what it really means is that he is afraid that other people will listen to you. So speak up.
