What is Gynophobia?

Fear of women: a unrelenting, irregular, and unwarranted fear of women , in spite of the comprehension by the phobic individual and assurance by others that there is no threat.

fear of women: a strong fear of, dislike of, or aversion to women

Modern day man is held to a high standard, and is thought to be a confident and assertive being, especially towards women. Men are supposed to be chivalrous, kind, yet strong, sure of themselves and comfortable around those of the gentler sex. However, there are men out there that still suffer from what is known as gynophobia. Gynophobia is also known as the fear of women, and is most common in men who rarely interact with women in everyday life, or have had a traumatic event occur in their childhood or adolescence relating to or from a female. Oftentimes young boys and teenagers who are abused develop gynophobia, which usually appears in the later stages of childhood, usually before puberty. Gynophobia affects males in that they are unable to live a "normal" life, to interact with women, to feel comfortable around women, and their attitude and idea of what a woman is, often is the reverse of the norm.

Gynophobia most often happens among males who have experienced some sort of past psychological or physical abuse from the female sex. Symptoms and irregular traits may not become clear until the late teens, as most people will simply call the young man a "late bloomer", or "immature." Males with gynophobia have been abused during one of the most crucial and important phases of their lives, that time when they are attempting to be an innocent young boy, or when they are trying to learn to become a man. Some of the consequential symptoms that emerge are: fear or anger towards women, shyness, insecurities about appearance, and self worth, low self esteem, a sense of inferiority towards women, or an irrational hatred of the female sex. The more physical symptoms that usually occur when a male is near or around a woman or women include: shortness of breath or rapid breathing, irregular heartbeat, sweating, nausea and overall feelings of dread.

Although the usual perpetrator of the abuse in a male life is a mother, teacher, member of the family, babysitter or friend, there have been known cases where a young teenager has gotten involved with mentally unstable, physically or psychologically abusive and domineering young women. When a male enters this sort of destructive relationship, when his first experience with a female is a downward spiral that only leads to violence, mistreatment and abuse, a male may also develop symptoms of gynophobia.

Males may also develop gynophobia or a fear of women through an associated traumatic experience. This is when the individual in question does not directly experience the fear, but "associates" to someone who does, either in a real life situation, movie or sometimes, rarely, in a dream who experiences a trauma. Another way milder cases of fear of women emerge is over time, through a Slow Build. What happens is the male is amassing fearful associations to women, so that when the body experiences a situation with a women, the brain and nervous system believe that fear is the appropriate response.

However an individual comes to develop gynophobia, or a fear of women, there is hope. There are medications that can help treat the disorder, though there is no cure all. Also, there can be strong withdrawal symptoms when a person is coming off of said medications. The best bet for those who suffer from gynophobia is counseling and psychiatric help. There are clinics and individual practitioners who, with time, hard work, and proper psychiatric methods can help a male to banish their lifelong fears, and to begin to lead a semblance of a normal life, which is a start. Males have been known to make full recoveries, but the most important thing is to work hard to overcome past traumas and get the disorder under control, to stop living in fear.