Hysteria was a specific diagnosis just for women when it existed.
Yes, that's an angle to why I mentioned that mental condition/dx, in particular - "overemotional" has very typically been, or been perceived as, a female condition/ascribed to women. The comment I responded related a view that (outlier) men who are overemotional /oversocialized are perhaps more prone than average to mental illness. My comment was that
anyone with those tendencies may be more prone to, or perceived as having, mental health issues. I agree it's more acknowledged/manifested in a "girly" way in men who are high-strung/effeminate (or are Goethe acolytes).
As an aside, I think a lot of men are much more emotional than they might think; however, whether by nature or societal nurture, they opt to deny emotions, and/or develop hard-line compartmentalization techniques*, whether they actually feel or not. So actions are often determined based on other factors, regardless of how "emotional" or not they may feel about X. Maybe I'm going in circles at this point. But I thought the characterization, particularly the "oversocialized" point, was interesting.
* some of which is healthy, though there is a tipping point
She (pooners) is an example of a woman who does not fit in with traditional women social norms (I'm not like the other girls) so she poons out
And yet I'd never call someone in tears over that kind of thing to be either independent or stoic*. So, a different kind of "not like other girls."
Pooners seem to me, many such cases, to be highly emotional, particularly current-day (
irl, I know one woman who transitioned a decade ago - one of the least histrionic people I've encountered, neither sobbing over tampons...nor, on the other hand, emoting bro-ness as a comp/cope. No idea how this person wound up deciding that transitioning did something that simply living life and presenting however felt right didn't, though there's a book, so I should maybe read it. In my interactions (pre-trans), there was nothing that seemed particularly "male," unless you consider being at the top of one's field and focused/directed to be uniquely male traits. Kind of sad if a woman somehow felt she couldn't operate naturally to herself without repackaging as a man. This person was in her 40s when she transitioned, married (to a woman), incredibly smart, and a super- achiever (and remains both married and high-achieving).)
* individual pathologies aside, a woman with healthy or above-average independence/emotional management (stoic) is often perceived or described as "cold," a "maneater," "untameable," etc. I guess the point of stereotypes is to encapsulate extremes, but in the real world, they aren't always that useful. Going back to my point about men and emotionalism, merely having them doesn't mean a person has to wear them all on their sleeves all day and night.
