You Are Not Flucking Crazy

Language Matters, History, and the Flucking Patriarchy

You’re not flucking crazy. You’re just not. You’re enraged, angry, menopausal, overloaded, sick & tired, flucking over it, but NOT crazy.

But, oh, how convenient it’s been for the world to slap that word on women whenever they refuse to sit down, shut up, and make the tea. Feeling something other than sunshine and submission? Must be mad. Expressing anger about the shit you’ve had to endure? Oh, love, are you okay? Need to lie down? Here, take a Bex.

Crazy is a weapon. A word that’s been wielded to deny women education, autonomy, and dignity. To keep us out of rooms where decisions are made and dismiss us when we’ve fought tooth and nail to get in. Because it’s easier to label women as unstable than to confront the systems that have oppressed us for flucking centuries.

A History of Gaslighting in Corsets

Let’s roll it back to hysteria, the original (I think the cool kids call it OG) insult for women who dared to exist on their own terms. It comes from the Greek word hysterikos, because clearly, having a uterus meant you were one bad day away from losing your mind. Hippocrates himself—oh yes, the “father of medicine”—claimed that the uterus wandered around the body, causing all sorts of mischief like fainting, anxiety, and general disobedience. (Don’t you love it when science meets bullshit?)

By the 19th century, “hysteria” was the all-purpose diagnosis for any woman who wasn’t a Stepford Wife prototype. Women were treated for “excessive thinking,” “erotic tendencies” (translation: she liked sex), and even having too much ambition. Treatments ranged from being forced into rest cures (where women were forbidden from reading, writing, or flucking thinking) to “pelvic massages” administered by male doctors—because apparently, women’s mental health problems could be solved by a man fiddling with their bits.

Still think the term “crazy” was ever neutral? Yeah, me neither.

Lock Her Up: When Men Wrote the Rules

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, getting a woman institutionalised was easier than ordering a flucking pizza. All it took was two men—a husband, father, or brother, plus a doctor willing to sign off—and you were carted off to the nearest asylum. And these weren’t places of healing. They were prisons for women society didn’t want to deal with anymore.

Had an affair? Crazy. Refused to have sex with your husband? Crazy. Didn’t want children? Crazy. And once you were locked away, good luck getting out. Your property would be handed over to your husband or male relatives. Your voice was silenced.

And let’s talk about the “treatments” you’d be subjected to. Ice baths, forced sterilisation, and even lobotomies—yes, actual brain surgery—were all on the menu. All because you had the audacity to speak up or step out of line.

Education? Only If You Behave

It’s not just the asylums. For centuries, women were deliberately kept in the dark. Education for women was seen as dangerous because what if they got ideas? In the 19th century, there were “scientific” theories that women’s brains were smaller and less capable than men’s. The advice was clear: keep women focused on the home, because too much thinking could make them hysterical—or worse, infertile.

But here’s the truth: women weren’t barred from education because they were incapable. They were barred because knowledge is power. And if women were educated, they might realise they deserved more than being treated like second-class citizens.

The Witch Hunts: Mass Murder of the “Crazy” Women

We can’t talk about historical gaslighting without mentioning the witch hunts. Between the 15th and 18th centuries, tens of thousands of women were accused of witchcraft and executed. Why? Because they were too old, too young, too rich, too poor, too attractive, too ugly, too clever, or too something.

These women weren’t witches. They were midwives, healers, widows, and anyone who didn’t conform to society’s expectations. Labelling them as “mad” or “evil” gave authorities an excuse to torture and murder them.

And you know what’s sickening? The same tactics are still used today. No, we’re not burning women at the stake anymore (small wins, I guess), but the word “crazy” still gets thrown around to silence women who challenge the status quo. (Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard was treated appallingly by members of the opposition party and the *cough* Murdoch press—and yes, “Ditch the Witch” was their (predictable) catchcry. Fluckers.)

Modern-Day Madness: New Wrapping, Same Bullshit

Fast forward to now, and we’re still fighting the same flucking battle. Women are labelled as crazy when they speak out about inequality, demand better treatment, or refuse to put up with men’s nonsense. Ever notice how a man’s anger is seen as strength, but a woman’s anger is “out of control”? Or how a man can be ambitious without question, but a woman with the same drive is a “bossy bitch”?

And let’s not ignore how the medical community still dismisses women’s pain. Women are 50% more likely than men to be misdiagnosed after a heart attack and are often told their physical symptoms are “just stress.” It’s the same old story: minimise women’s experiences, dismiss their voices, and keep them questioning themselves.

The next time someone calls you crazy, stop and think: Who benefits from me believing this? Because it sure as hell isn’t you. The system thrives on women doubting themselves.

You’re not crazy. You’re tired because you’ve been doing too much for too long with too little help. You’re angry because you’ve been silenced. You’re overwhelmed because you’ve been expected to juggle everything without a moment to breathe.

So when someone dares to throw that word at you, smile sweetly and say, “I’m not crazy—I’m flucking done.” Then go and be the magnificent force of nature you are.

Take a Deep-Dive: Books & Films to check out

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O’Farrell
A woman confined to an asylum simply for being inconvenient—this novel beautifully captures the real-life horrors of how women were silenced and forgotten.

Mad, Bad, and Sad: A History of Women and the Mind Doctors by Lisa Appignanesi
This non-fiction deep dive looks at the history of psychiatry, hysteria, and the ways women were shaped (and damaged) by the mental health profession.

Unwell Women: A Journey Through Medicine and Myth in a Man-Made World by Elinor Cleghorn
Cleghorn provides a comprehensive history of how medicine has misunderstood and mistreated women's bodies and minds over the centuries. Recommended by

Amber Horrox

Hysteria (2011)
The cheeky, semi-romanticised (but still fascinating) story of the invention of the vibrator in Victorian England. Yes, doctors really prescribed orgasms to cure “hysteria,” but only when they administered them. 🙄 A must-watch if you’re into historical absurdity.

There are lots more, of course, but this is a good start.

In Case You Missed it:

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