Faking a Sickie - Part 3: The Prejudice Plague

For the sake of this blog, I've discussed horrifying diseases from Film & Television, and intriguing diseases from Culture & Folklore. But today I will conclude this series on Fictional Diseases with some of the most disgusting diseases that I've ever come across. Not because of the disease itself, in fact, none of these diseases are fatal, and some have very mild symptoms. However, these diseases all exist because of the bigotry of the doctors that invented them - yes, you read that right doctors, these are fake diseases created by doctors to explain away their own prejudice.

I've discovered ten of the most biased medical diagnoses I could find (five are just weird, and five that are much more serious). There are many more out there, but these ones stood out for what they said about the society from which they came. So, without further ado, let's start with.

The A.W.N.'s Top 5 Weird, Bigoted Diseases

i. Bicycle Face
What it isn't: This affliction is caused by excessive cycling. Due to either the strain or excessive windshear, it causes the face to become flushed, or pale, causing a gaunt expression and thinning of the lips; most prominently it caused dark shadows under the eyes, and wrinkling to cause an expression of weariness at all times. Whilst this could affect middle-aged men, it was a much higher risk amongst women and young girls.
What it is: It's just an attempt to stop women riding bikes in the late 1800s, by scaring them into thinking it would make them ugly. The truth is that men were terrified at the thought of women riding bikes, not only because it gained them independence but especially because they feared the act of straddling such a small seat that was sometimes in indirect contact with the genitals would promote sexual immorality and masturbation. In truth, riding a bike isn't going to do anything to your face, unless you're riding very fast against the wind, or you fall off of it.

ii. Brain Fag
What it isn't: Firstly, that's not a typo (don't get this confused with brain fog); rather, brain fag, also known as neurasthenia, is a mechanical weakness of the nerves caused by excessive thought and stress, associated with the pressure of academic study or the fast pace of living in an urban environment. Common symptoms are poor sleep, difficulty in concentrating and retaining information, head and neck pains, headache, high blood pressure, depressive moods and eye pain. 
What it is: In reality, this was little more than regressivism towards metropolitan growth, and blaming the city for being too fast and unnatural for human life. I do admit to having a metropolitan bias; I much prefer cities to rural areas since they seem much slower - and I do know that living in the city does offer hazards to one's health (especially due to air pollution and light pollution). But this diagnosis claims that "thinking too much" and "living a more fast-paced life" as a result of living in the city where there are more things to do, at much greater density, was so discombobulating to the human brain that it started to break it. That's just dumb.

iii. Cello Scrotum
What it isn't: This discomforting disorder was an irritation of the scrotum, commonly afflicting male cellists who play excessively, especially those who played for several hours a day for continuous days. Whilst precise details are lacking due to the reticence of those afflicted to talk publicly, it is believed that the unusual posture, as well as the vibration during play, can lead to swelling, redness and pain of the scrotum which can only be relieved with rest.
What it is: This was a joke at the expense of doctors. Dr Elaine Murphy, a doctor and subscriber to the British Medical Journal, and her husband both burst into laughter when she read about a condition called "guitar nipple" in one edition of the BMJ. Thinking that this was a nonsensical, and that the editors of the journal were gullible fools, Murphy sent in a letter signed by her husband, claiming first-hand knowledge of this fake malady. It was only 35 years later, when Dr Murphy learnt that her unsubstantiated claim was still being passed around as fact that she admitted the hoax publicly.

iv. Railway Spine
What it isn't: This was a common ailment of passengers who survived railway accidents - which were very common in the early days of railway transport. Also known as Erichsen's Disease, this affliction often involved symptoms such as a sore neck, psychosomatic pain and stress. It is believed that this was either caused by physical damage to the spine and brain, or perhaps hysteria.
What it is: This is just a case of railway companies refusing to help victims. People who had experienced a train crash were often left with phobias, post-traumatic stress or internal injuries. However, railway companies would often dismiss cases out of hand if the person didn't present with an obvious, physical injury. So, doctors devised Railway Spine to explain the myriad of non-visible symptoms of trauma such stress disorders, persistent nerve pain, physical trauma & distress. If companies just accepted that they should give people proper compensation for nearly killing them, then this diagnoses might never have been suggested.

v. Wandering Womb
What it isn't: All women live with a symbiotic, parasitic entity within their bodies, known as a uterus. This creature can become unsettled within the body, if not properly taken care of, and can reach up towards the thorax, prolapse downwards, or shift left or right to disturb the liver or spleen; this causes all kinds of aches, pains and illness within a woman's body. If left unchecked, it can even begin to suffocate, causing it to thrash about around the body, leading to hysteria. As the womb is a gentle beast, that approves of lovely fragrances, and is disgusted by fetid odors, the only treatment is aromatherapy to scare the creature from its displacement, and coax it back where it belongs with lovely smells.
What it is: This is just ancient misogyny, trying to explain women ailments being due to the dangerous, alien nature of women's bodies. And, in hindsight, I do have to say it is kind of hilarious. I didn't make any of that up, they used to think that the uterus was like a grumpy pet that could be coaxed back home with treats. Of course, since its home is just above the genitals, I feel sorry for all those poor women who literally had to eat garlic and vinegar, or had flowers and things shoved up their vagina in an attempt to cure something that is so obviously stupid.

The A.W.N.'s Top 5 Worst, Bigoted Diseases

5. Syndrome K
What it isn't: This is a very unusual disease, as the symptoms are nonspecific, but are highly virulent and thought to be similar to tuberculosis, meaning anyone afflicted needed to be quarantined away from any and all persons, especially figures of authorities. It was most prevalent in Germany, between 1939 and 1944. Although not much is known of the symptoms, it seemed to exclusively affect partisans, former fascists, deserters, prisoners of war, German traitors and Jews.
What it is: First things first, the reason this is so low on the list is because it may not be true - but if it is, what it is is a sneaky way to save people from the Nazis. Fatebenefratelli Hospital in Rome is a real place that helped to hide any and all people from fascist dictatorships, but it's not known if knowledge of the term 'Syndrome K' was widespread. However, within the hospital, refugees often had their paperworks marked with a 'K', which stood for Koch, which was the tuberculosis sector of the hospital, as no authority figure was allowed within quarantine, so this is where they hid them. So, 'Syndrome K' was essentially a joke within the hospital, to refer to their method of fooling fascists and the military. And this is a very sweet story, so enjoy it while it lasts, because the rest of these are much more depressing.

4. Sluggish Schizophrenia
What it isn't: This is a very rare form of schizophrenia, which has identical symptoms to schizophrenia, but a much slower progression - hence why it was also known as slow progressive schizophrenia. This diagnosis was most common (and in fact, was exclusive to) the USSR and several Eastern Bloc countries. Some people are at a high risk of this affliction, namely political dissidents, and so were often diagnosed prior to exhibiting any symptoms.
What it is: Fascism by the Communist regime to silence dissent. Essentially, when someone was "diagnosed" with sluggish schizophrenia, it was because they either disagreed with the politics of the time, or were associated with those who did. After diagnosis and being discharged from hospital, these people they lost their civic rights, their credibility and even their jobs. This was just a way to punish anyone who wasn't towing the party line, by labelling them as insane Not only is it disgusting for those fighting against a fascist system, but it's also disgusting that mental illness was seen with such stigma that people agreed with this treatment.

3. Autogynephilia
What it isn't: There exist some men that are aroused by the thought of engaging, sexually, with another man, or by wearing women's clothing; and there are even some men who claim to be women in men's bodies. This is a simple mental disorder, caused by a sexual fetish to engage in deviant, gender-crossing activities, homosexual intercourse, or even the desire to have a feminine body, causing those afflicted to seek out sex reassignment surgery.
What it is: Do I even need to explain that this is transphobic? For starters, it ignore trans men completely, but if anything those guys are lucky - the claim here is that non-heteronormative gender identity is nothing more than a fetish. I have no doubt that some transgendered people find the idea of their transitioned bodies to be sexy, but that might have something to do with the fact that they don't feel sexy the way they are? But this whole concept throws out the idea of gender identity, social constructs, neurophysiological dimorphism and twin studies, not to mention the entire spectrum of transgender sexuality for the sake of claiming that gay men, and women assigned male at birth, are just thinking with their penis.

2. Hysteria
What it isn't: Women can be highly emotional, irrational creatures, but in some extreme cases they can be brought down with a devastating affliction which is both common and chronic among womenfolk. At one time thought to be caused by a peregrinating uterus, or a demonic possession, this is now understood to be a disease of the brain. It has a wide variety of symptoms, including (but not limited to): Anxiety, Breathing Difficulty, Fainting, Fluid Retention, a "Heaviness" in the abdomen, Hypersexuality, Increased or Decreased Libido, Insomnia, Irritability, Loss of Appetite, Nervousness & (most prominently) a "tendency to cause trouble for others". There have been some claims regarding a "male hysteria", hysteria masculina, but this is a hotly debated topic.

What it is: The wandering womb was ancient misogyny, this is mid-century misogyny. But instead of shoving flowers and perfumes up their genitals, instead we were just shoving women into insane asylums. Whilst the understanding of human anatomy (and therefore also female anatomy) had advanced to the point where we didn't think women's internal organs were meandering monsters, women were still seen as inherently emotional, feeble-minded, irrational & inexplicable. These days, we understand that hysteria does not exist, and in cases where women aren't simply being dismissed, "hysteria" symptoms are explained by anxiety, borderline personality disorder, conversion disorder, and schizophrenia [and I should point out, exactly none of these are either exclusive to women, or caused by biological sex].

1. Drapetomania
What it isn't: This affliction, somewhat related to dromomania, is the unnatural desire for freedom with the most common symptoms being an absconding from work, or in dire cases running away. It most commonly affects members of the Negro race, especially slaves. It is related to Dysaesthesia Aethiopica, which is an insensitivity of the skin, common amongst dark-skinned people, resulting in a lack of desire to work or follow commands (treated by washing, oiling and then flogging the skin). There are only two known cures for drapetomania, one is a stern and violent whipping; but, in extreme cases, the only cure is the amputation of the patient's toes, so that they are unable to run.
What it is: It's fucking disgusting is what it is, but in academic terms this is known as scientific racism. For what I hope are blatantly obvious reasons, slaves don't like being slaves. However, if at any point they act obedient and subservient, they were treated as "crazy", and would be beaten, tortured or mutilated as a result, to force them into submission. Thankfully, this was only a widespread belief amongst the Southern States of North America, and was openly mocked by those in the North; but, that doesn't stop the fact that many unfortunate men and women were beaten and tortured because of the ridiculous belief that one race can be "better" than another.

So, that's the last collection of fictional diseases that I'm looking at for this Countdown, and I must admit that it was eye-opening just how much the field of medicine and science has been intruded by bigotry, prejudice and hatred over the years. Just a few years ago, during my 2018 Halloween Countdown, I discussed prejudice and how science has been used to torture people over the years. I'm not going to start dismissing science, or judging it as evil, but it's always a sobering fact to see that something I hold in such high esteem can be used in such dreadful ways.

But this isn't just the end of this list, it's also the end of my Faking a Sickie series, exploring Fictional Diseases, and how they're used to scare, intrigue & disgust. I hope you've learned something, as I certainly have in the course of this research. And keep in mind, for several of these they were simply the diseases that I managed to do research on, but these are by no means the only fictional diseases out there. I highly recommend that you do some research for yourself to see what else is out there in the world of unfactual afflictions. All of this started because I was curious where 'cooties' came from, and the more research I did, the more I learned and wanted to share with you.
I wanted to see whether people could dream up fictional diseases worse than the real ones, but as today's list has shown, even a fake sickness can be harmful.

I'm the Absurd Word Nerd, and while this series is done, we're not yet done with the Halloween Countdown, as there are two more days before Halloween! So, until next time, I'm going to finish off those posts and prepare for the big day; and please, try to stay healthy out there...