Even in modern society, women are often portrayed as inferior to
men. The contemporary version of proving women’s inferiority
depicts them as less mentally stable than their male counterparts.
From Ophelia to Lizzie Borden, our culture has a tradition of
characterizing women as having a greater tendency toward mental
illness and instability.
Many times a woman is driven mad by her desire for a man
(“Fatal Attraction,” “SwimFan,” “The
Others”), or is depicted as a victim of the fragility of her
gender (“The Hours”). Women are often portrayed as
mentally unstable as a result of their biology. Sociological
factors are seldom taken into account in these media depictions,
even though it is society, not biology, that could be the true
cause of a higher occurrence of mental disorders in women.
There is little genuine understanding concerning the source of
mental illnesses in women, largely due to the damage persistent
stereotypes have inflicted on our society. It is commonly known
that the word hysterectomy is derived from the word hysteria, but
many believe that the archaic perception of women as inherently
hysterical creatures is a thing of the past.
However, there are modern day examples that prove women are
still pigeonholed as irrational creatures and thus are at risk of
being perceived as mentally unstable due to biological factors.
For instance, 32 states have laws on the books saying a woman is
not responsible for maiming, murdering or hitting a man on the head
with a frying pan during her menses. It has also been reported that
77 percent of divorces in this country are caused by
“menstruating” women. It appears women are still
stigmatized as being “crazy females” because of the
irrational associations people make between a completely natural
process and hysteria.
In actuality, women are more likely to be afflicted by some
mental disorders than men. One out of four women will experience an
episode of major depression in her lifetime. What’s more,
depression affects American women twice as frequently as American
men. Researcher John Mirowsky also attests to this gender gap.
However, when he adjusted his data to account for sex differences
in employment status, housework and responsibility for child care
(among other factors), 50 percent of the gender gap disappeared.
Mirowsky goes on to propose that depression increases “as
women face their unequal status in society.”
Mental illness among women is often associated with biological
factors rather than sociological or societal factors. It’s
easy to chalk up this gender gap to the fact that we’re so
darn different from men biologically.
It is harder to take into account the dynamic role women have in
modern society. The media has contributed to our Prozac-popping
society, as women are generally more affected by the unrealistic
expectations put before them. On TV we’re bombarded by images
of skinny models. One out of every 11 commercials has a direct
message about beauty. This barrage of unrealistic images in the
media has resulted in a general loss of self-esteem and
acceptance.
In fact, 68 percent of Stanford students said they felt worse
about themselves after looking at women’s magazines. A more
disturbing result of these images is the number of eating disorders
that women suffer from. Over 90 percent of people with anorexia are
women, and researchers who study the disorder found that those with
the disease are also prone to suffer from depression and
anxiety.
Five popular women’s magazines were reviewed to study the
prevalence of advertisements that linked weight control and
morality. The study revealed that morality messages have
significantly increased in food, weight control and fitness
articles in the last 20 years. Food choices are being linked to
morality. Advertisements are constantly tell women that
they’re lazy or self-indulgent if they eat the wrong
thing.
It is no wonder that more women than men suffer from depression
given the expectations placed on women concerning their appearance
and the impact that appearance is perceived to have on their
characters. Not only do women feel physically inadequate in
comparison to models, they feel immoral if they consume a piece of
chocolate cake. It is not surprising that doctors have found a
pattern of low self-esteem in depressed patients. Because these
harmful media images of women attack our self-esteem, it’s no
wonder that women suffer from depression so frequently.
Many stigmas still exist concerning women and mental illness.
Women must often bear the blame for their illnesses. Their mental
instability is written off as a casualty of their gender and their
emotional nature as women. We must realize that this is the modern
day means of attempting to keep women in line.
In order to stop blaming women for being “fragile”
as a result of their gender, we must seek a greater understanding
of the part society plays in women’s mental health.
Sizgorich is a fourth-year English student. E-mail her at
rsizgorich@media.ucla.edu.