female hysteria

It's true: 'Female Hysteria' was once a classifiable medical condition. It's roots go way back to the time of Plato who first introduced the idea that a woman's uterus travels throughout her body as if it were a living creature. The Greek word for uterus is hysteria; So I guess this explains explains the usage of the word today. Women who suffered from such uncontrollable hysteria would regularly undergo pelvic massages for their treatment. These 'massages' were performed by a physician who worked diligently to stimulate the woman until she reached "hysterical paroxysm" A.K.A..orgasm!

It was believed to be a disease that was caused by sexual deprivation and particularly passionate women were often affected.. whatever that means. It was also commonly associated with virgins, nuns and widows. The chaise lounge (you know, that fancy chair thing) was originally known as the fainting couch and was invented to soften the fall the crazies as they reached hysterical paroxysm.

Physicians and in later years, midwives became burdened with the amount of treatment needed by all these hysteric women and in 1873 the first electro-mechanic vibrator was used at an asylum in France for the treatment of hysteria.

and the rest is history..