Drive Me Crazy: Frances Farmer, Britney Spears & the Legacy of the Hysterical Woman

2025-10-30

Frances Farmer and Britney Spears. Two women, decades apart, who found out exactly what happens when you're famous, female, and having a breakdown in public. Today, from Victorian asylums to Instagram comments, we're talking about how easy it is to brand a woman "hysterical" or "crazy". And what are the consequences? We explore the treatment of women once labelled difficult - from lobotomies, to hysterectomies and conservatorships and ask: have we really moved on from the days when the mentally...

Frances Farmer and Britney Spears. Two women, decades apart, who found out exactly what happens when you're famous, female, and having a breakdown in public.

Today, from Victorian asylums to Instagram comments, we're talking about how easy it is to brand a woman "hysterical" or "crazy". And what are the consequences?

We explore the treatment of women once labelled difficult - from lobotomies, to hysterectomies and conservatorships and ask: have we really moved on from the days when the mentally ill were seen as entertainment?

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Clips used in this episode:

Lobotomy scene from film - Frances (1982)

Much Interview with Kurt Cobain (1993)

Britney Spears - Oops I did it again

References:

Kenneth Anger - Hotel Babylon (1972)

William Arnold - Shadowland (1982)

You Must Remember This Podcast:

Episode 4 - (The printing of) the Legend of Frances Farmer.

Episode 5 - The Lives, Deaths and Afterlives of Judy Garland.