The irrational and exaggerated fear of the male sexual organ has a name: phallophobia . The person who suffers from it feels very uncomfortable not only with the vision, but sometimes with the mere mention or image of a penis. Like any other phobia, its origin does not have to be traumatic. Contrary to popular belief, most of these fears develop gradually. There is almost never a definitive triggering episode. Rather, fear is introduced through a double mechanism. First, the person feels uneasy at the sight or mention of the penis. Later, she avoids the situations that lead her to have contact with the phallus (for example: it completely inhibits her sexual life), and that makes her become increasingly afraid of the penis.
In reality, this phobia is much more common than we think. What happens is that it hides out of shame or, sometimes, because the affected person is not aware of having it. But experts like the psychologist and sexologist Helen Kaplan (1929-1995) calculated in their day that 1% of women have suffered it at some point. Many people who believe they have a lack of sexual desire suffer from phallophobia. There is a syndrome described in Southeast Asia that we could consider a cultural manifestation of phallic fear. It is koro , a delusion that makes those affected believe that their virile member is shrinking and that they will end up dying because of this withdrawal.
