Episode 2.8. Women’s Mental Institutions of the 19th Century

You’ve heard Victorian women could get committed to mental institutions for reading books and thinking too much, but why did it happen, and what were these places really like? This week, Jess explains how being female was enough to get you labeled insane, looking at some horrific treatments used, as well as the experiences of Elizabeth Packard and Nellie Bly, two badass women who fought back.