Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Gymnophobia
Introduction
Background
Background
Gymnophobia is a fear or anxiety about being seen naked, and/or about seeing others naked, even in situations where it is socially acceptable. Gymnophobes may experience their fear of nudity before all people, or only certain people, and may regard their fear as irrational. This phobia often arises from a feeling of inadequacy that their bodies are physically inferior, particularly due to comparison with idealized images portrayed in the media. The fear may also stem from anxiety about sexuality in general, or from a persistent feeling of vulnerability associated with the thought that those who have seen the gymnophobe naked will continue to imagine the gymnophobe nude.
Gymnophobia is derived from the Greek gymnos (naked) and phobos (fear).
In the television series Arrested Development, character Tobias Fünke suffers from a similar fear and is described as a “never nude.”[2] Note that Tobias’s case, as presented for humorous purposes, does not represent typical gymnophobia, which is usually not as extreme.
Sources and references
Sources and references
de:Gymnophobie nl:Gymnofobie sv:Gymnofobi Template:WikiDoc Sources
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]