Dr Jessica Taylor: Calling women hysterical shuts down legitimate responses to trauma

When women express anger we are called hysterical, psycho, delusional, hormonal — labels that serve to shut down legitimate responses to trauma. A new book is calling for change

sad unhappy young woman surrounded by hands with guilt, Depressed woman covers her body by hand. victim blaming

Borderline personality disorder, battered woman syndrome, emotionally unstable personality disorder — these are some of the labels used to pathologise and medicalise women, instead of addressing the trauma they may have experienced, and the causes of their trauma.

When women complain that they are being pathologised, medicalised, over-medicated, they are further labelled as “angry, opinionated, mouthy, aggressive, hysterical, mad, disordered, crazy, psycho, delusional, borderline, hormonal”.