Etymology, or How My Train Wreck of Thought Works

Why must I have the urge to disprove "common knowledge" stuff like where "hysteria" comes from? Ok, in this case, it's not so much to disprove it (because I know it's right) as to justify it. Amanda says it's because I'm a snob.

Yeah. I kind of am.

But really, it makes SENSE to call it "hysteria" when you think about what the Greeks were coming from. Look at it. Once a month, women get all weird. And then, after having babies, they get depressed. THEN, when they get older, they get all hormonal and weird again.

Not to mention libido changes and being classified as the more emotional sex, which, let's face it, they are. So of COURSE the ancient Greeks are going to say "hey, so these women are different from us. What could be the reason? Oh right. They have uteri."

DING! Fries are done, and you get "hysteria", which wasn't actually coined until something like 1801.

This is what my brain does when confronted with things like this. It's just the process of my brain. Which isn't always logical, but I don't want to offend anyone. "No, I really DO know more about history than you!" sounds a little immature...

PS: While I agree that much of Freud's research was intrinsically flawed, I will still defend the man. Go ahead. Guess how I arrived at that sentence from the previous rant. I dare you!