ABSTRACT

Biomedical discourse commonly associates the emergence of psychosis in women with the reproductive body, most particularly, with the hormonal shifts that accompany the reproductive cycle during menstruation, pregnancy/birth, and menopause. This paper argues that hormonal theories of psychosis and the female body mirror patriarchal ideas regarding women’s “raging hormones” and inherent emotional instability. Although psychosocial scholarship on psychosis has led to a broadening of the conversation regarding people diagnosed with psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia, psychoses of the female body (e.g., postpartum psychosis, menopausal psychosis, menstrual exacerbation) have thus far been neglected by this important critical analysis. The author suggests a closer engagement with feminist psychology as a way of illuminating more holistic approaches to psychosis in women, thus counterbalancing sexist and reductive narratives.

摘要

生物医学论述通常将女性精神病的出现与生殖身体联系起来，尤其是与月经、怀孕/分娩和更年期期间伴随生殖周期的荷尔蒙变化相关联。本文认为，精神病和女性身体的荷尔蒙理论反映了关于女性“汹涌的荷尔蒙”和内在情绪不稳定的父权观念。尽管关于精神病的社会心理学术研究扩大了关于被诊断患有精神分裂症等精神病患者的对话，但迄今为止，这一重要的批判性分析忽略了女性身体的精神病（例如，产后精神病、更年期精神病、月经恶化） .