Why You Should Stop Using the Word ‘Hysterical’ to Mean ‘Hilarious’
Because it has negative connotations due to its misogynistic history
Some people use the word hysterical to mean extremely funny.
This always feels wrong because I know it can have negative connotations. It comes from the word hysteria, which up until 1980 was considered to be a mental disorder.
But if you trace it back further, it used to be a physical disorder:
Throughout history hysteria has been a sex-selective disorder, affecting only those of us with a uterus. These uteri were often thought to be the basis of a variety of health problems. The ancient Egyptians and Greeks, for example, believed wombs capable of affecting the rest of the body’s health. In ancient Greece specifically, it was believed that a uterus could migrate around the female body, placing pressure on other organs and causing any number of ill effects.
But even the modern definition of hysteria is:
an uncontrollable outburst of emotion or fear, often characterized by irrationality, laughter, weeping, etc.
When paired with the word funny, its meaning is more positive. “Hysterically funny” means it’s so funny that you lost control of yourself. But if you say that…
