Female Rage: Diversion or Path? Artistic Expression of Anger as a Therapeutic Possibility for Women in Psychological Distress

Abstract

In the arts, the "female rage" movement proposes an aesthetic of anger as a response to psychological distress from traumatic situations linked to gender oppression. In psychiatric clinical practice, disorders where anger is central often have exposure to violence and trauma as predisposing factors, with a higher prevalence in women. Considering Borderline Personality Disorder as the prototype of the gender-trauma-anger association, we investigated the potential use of aesthetic tools for expressing female anger as an alternative to its medicalization. The theme was explored through four axes: anger as a basic emotion; its psychopathological manifestation in women; its expression in "female rage"; the scientific basis for using art as a therapeutic resource for addressing female anger. We propose that the interface between arts and health, especially expressive writing, be considered in the clinical management of women experiencing psychological distress.