The Bitching Hour: Stories they told about us

In the fourth episode of The Bitching Hour: Stories they told about us, I explore the diagnosis of female hysteria, from its conception in ancient times through to its eventual dismissal in the 20th century.

While we got rid of the diagnosis and the term, the cultural impact of the hysterical woman lives on.

As I delve into the world of hysteria, a pattern starts to emerge. No matter the time period in history, women are repeatedly seen as unreliable narrators of their own experiences.

Along the way, I encounter wandering wombs, demonic possession, the invention of the vibrator, and ultimately female rebellion through literature.

Were the hysterical women actually mad? Or was their monstrousness a reaction to the societies they lived in?

Grab your cup of coffee or your glass of wine, light your candle, and listen along as we enter The Bitching Hour.

Correction: I say that The Yellow Wallpaper was published in 1982, when I obviously mean 1892. I’m too lazy to re-record just that one bit. AI could never.

In the third episode of The Bitching Hour: Stories They Told About Us, I revisit one of the most infamous villains of Greek mythology: Medusa.

With snakes for hair and a gaze that could turn anyone who looked at her to stone, Medusa spent centuries described as a terrifying monster. But behind the familiar image lies another story, one of violence, punishment, survival, and power.

Seen through a modern feminist lens, Medusa is no longer necessarily the villain. Instead, her story has been reclaimed as that of a survivor of sexual violence and a powerful symbol of female rage, resilience, and sexual empowerment.

Who was the real monster in the story of Medusa?

Grab your cup of coffee or your glass of wine, light your candle, and listen along as we enter The Bitching Hour.

In this second episode of The Bitching Hour: Stories They Told About Us, I explore the hidden history of mother and baby homes, where unmarried, often teenage, pregnant women were sent away to conceal their pregnancies from the world. Characterized by shame, silence, and the promise of redemption, these institutions punished women for perceived moral failings while separating countless mothers from their babies.

The central question is: why have these women and their stories been so thoroughly erased from history? Grab your coffee or wine, light your candle, and listen along as we enter The Bitching Hour.

Sources:

https://www.motherandbabyhomes.com/

https://daily.jstor.org/inside-a-home-for-unwed-mothers/

https://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id=5f6ff655-1680-40be-b47a-ae27ba715b08

In this first episode of The Bitching Hour: Stories they told about us, I explore how the siren myth has evolved throughout the centuries, and how a bird-like omen of death in the Greek mythology transformed into a seductive mermaid, luring men to their demise with not just her song, but also her beauty.

The central question is: are sirens the seductive monsters they’ve been portrayed as, or are they a symbol of the fear of female sexuality and freedom? Grab your coffee or wine, light your candle, and listen along as we enter The Bitching Hour.