“Hysterical” is a loaded word, sometimes considered misogynistic because it is more frequently used against women (often to dismiss legitimate concerns, as Howard does here). Additionally, the word “hysterical” is particularly relevant for author Zadie Smith—in a negative review of Smith’s first book,
White Teeth, the critic James Wood described Smith’s work as “hysterical realism” (meaning that it combined realism with absurd characters or plots).