Women should not allowed to hold offices of power due to PMS

PMS: premenstrual syndrome: any of a complex of symptoms (including emotional tension and fluid retention) experienced by some women in the days immediately before menstruation.PMDD: premenstrual dysphoric disorder: a condition characterized by intense emotional and physical symptoms experienced by some women between ovulation and menstruation.sexism: prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women, on the basis of sex.There are many myths and misunderstandings surrounding PMS. It is unfortunate when these unfounded attacks on women's sanity and rationality enable sexist modes of thought and behavior towards women. I will make three arguments in this debate. 1. Women should be allowed to hold offices of power because PMS and PMDD do not exist. 2. Women should be allowed to hold offices of power because PMS and PMDD, even if they existed, would not make them incapable of leadership and self-control.3. Women should be allowed to hold offices of power regardless of any syndromes or disorders they may have, so long as they are appropriately treated. If the audience is swayed by any one of them, I have successfully defended my position. I look forward to fighting tooth and nail against the staggering discrimination proposed by my opponent. I shall dedicate Round 1 to my first argument.1. Women should be allowed to hold offices of power because PMS and PMDD do not exist.A) There is no experimental proof that PMS and PMDD existPMS and PMDD do not exist in any biological sense: repeated studies have found no empirical correlation whatsoever between mood swings and hormonal and physiological changes accompanying phases of ovulation and menstruation, meaning the symptoms are either psychosomatic or due to alternative causes unrelated to the menstrual cycle. A recent meta-analysis in 2012 confirms this resoundingly.There is no clear link between women’s negative moods and the pre-menstrual phase of their cycles, according to a review of research led by University of Toronto experts. (2012) Source:http://www.news.utoronto.ca...This is a very typical example of the medical community's description of PMS:About 80% of women experience some premenstrual symptoms. The incidence of true PMS has often been overestimated by including all women who experience any physical or emotional symptoms prior to menstruation. It is estimated that clinically significant PMS (which is moderate to severe in intensity and affects a woman's functioning) occurs in 20% to 30% of women. About 2% to 6% of women are believed to have the more severe variant known as PMDD.PMS remains an enigma because of the wide-ranging symptoms and the difficulty in making a firm diagnosis. Several theories have been advanced to explain the cause of PMS. None of these theories have been proven, and specific treatment for PMS still largely lacks a solid scientific basis. (2013) Source: http://www.medicinenet.com...What physician in their right mind would diagnose someone with a mental disorder that has no proven causes, lacks a solid scientific basis and does not appear to be associated with any personality types? The whole premise of PMS is that the symptoms are caused by the menstrual cycle. But if the causes are unproven, the symptoms cannot be traced back to a menstrual-cycle-related disorder such as PMS or PMDD. Correlation does not imply causation – only experiment can prove causation, and the absence of experimental evidence is overwhelming.B) PMS and PMDD are culturally fabricated There are many reasons why many women may report psychosomatic symptoms incorrectly termed an actual syndrome such as PMS or PMDD – sometimes science is stranger than science fiction.Culture-bound syndromes can vary wildly, and some of them are really weird to outsiders. Parts of West and Central Africa have epidemics of men who believe that their penises have been stolen. […] Other examples include the dhat syndrome in India, the Native American “ghost sickness” and the Korean “fire illness.” (2013) Source: http://www.slate.com...Because there is no biological evidence that PMS and PMDD exist, the logical conclusion is that they are culturally fabricated."PMS and PMDD are both 'culture-bound' syndromes," says Joan Chrisler, PhD, a psychology professor at Connecticut College and president of the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research. "There is no evidence [that PMDD exists], though people have to find such evidence," says Paula Caplan, PhD. Source: http://www.apa.org...B) PMDD is actually MDD This author is correct to point out that PMDD just sounds like a way to make a variety of emotional and physical health issues woman-specific.PMDD is listed in the DSM-IV as a "depressive disorder not otherwise specified." The symptoms of PMDD are remarkably similar to those of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). The difference between PMDD and MDD is that PMDD symptoms are cyclical, subsiding with onset of menses. The DSM-IV also notes that some mood disorders, somatoform disorders, personality disorders and general medical conditions, such as thyroid and other endocrine disorders, migraine, anemia or various infections can be exacerbated during the premenstrual phase. Source: http://www.apa.org...Furthermore, feminist psychologist Paula Caplancites research by Sheryle Gallant and colleagues "that demonstrates without question that the category of PMDD is neither valid nor helpful to women." The study (Psychosomatic Medicine, 1992) asked women – a group that said they had severe symptoms and a group with none – to keep a checklist of PMDD symptoms. In the end, the checklist responses failed to differentiate the two groups. Perhaps most interesting, some men were asked to participate in the study and their checklist results didn't differ from the women's. Caplan says that's "dramatic proof" that classifying PMDD as mental disorder is "unjustified."Thus, the 3–9% of women who experience such severe PMDD that the disorder interferes with their life are most likely suffering from MDD, since plenty of research appears to indicate quite clearly that there is nothing cyclical or woman-specific about PMDD, or even any experimental evidence to suggest that it exists at all. C) PMS and PMDD are the modern equivalent of "hysteria""if pms and pmdd isnt real and women dont go a little nutty then we men have been made victom of the largest con of all time.. cant be both" Excuse me? We men have been the victims of the largest con of all time? Men? You can't possibly be serious! There is a solid scientific basis to argue that hundreds of millions of women around the world needlessly suffer on a monthly basis because some misogynistic douches invented a culture-bound a few thousand years ago to have an excuse for discriminating against women, and sexist physicians in the 1930s reinforced these damaging stereotypes and prejudices. Sure, there are negative repercussions for both genders, but the idea that women are "conning" men is ludicrous and victim-blaming at its blindest.Interestingly, PMS / PMDD is by no means history's first con of women. It began with the misogynistic ancient Greeks, who claimed women were irrational, stupid and suffered severe mood swings due to their uterus – this was actually considered a disease in the Western world for thousands of years, and labeled "hysteria" after the Greek "hustera" (uterus). We now know that hysteria has nothing to do with the womb, that it can be experienced by both sexes, and that women were oppressed for millennia in part because physicians diagnosed them with a phony disorder based on culturally induced symptoms. Sound familiar?Women should be allowed to hold offices of power because PMS and PMDD do not exist.