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Hysterical? It’s not even funny

September 9, 2018October 21, 2024Racial and social justice
Serena Williams at the 2018 US Open with hands on hips getting "hysterical"
Serena Williams at the 2018 US Open

When you call someone “hysterical” for protesting, say, Brett Kavanaugh‘s Supreme Court nomination or unfair umpires or workplace sexual harassment: There is a reason this is a gendered insult and it’s not just because oh, we traditionally associate over-emotionalism with women. “Hysterical” comes from the Greek “hustera” which literally means “womb.” Do I think people secretly know that etymology and are deliberately calling women inferior by virtue of their anatomy? Nope. But it’s still right there in the ideas and beliefs communicated by the words we use. And that particular word says “SHUT UP WOMAN THAT’S JUST YOUR UTERUS TALKING.”

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