Erotophobia is a term coined by a number of researchers in the late 1970s and early 1980s to describe one pole on a continuum of attitudes and beliefs about sexuality. The model of the continuum is a basic polarized line, with erophobia (fear of sex or negative attitudes about sex) at one end and

erotophilia Erotophilia is a personality trait which assesses an individual's disposition to respond to sexual cues in either a positive or negative manner. It is measured on a continuous scale, ranging from '' erotophobia'' to ''erotophilia''.Fisher, W. A., B ...

(positive feelings or attitudes about sex) at the other end. The word erotophobia is derived from the name of

Eros In Greek mythology, Eros (, ; grc, Ἔρως, Érōs, Love, Desire) is the Greek god of love and sex. His Roman counterpart was Cupid ("desire").''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', The Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215. In the earli ...

, the

Greek god The following is a list of gods, goddesses, and many other divine and semi-divine figures from ancient Greek mythology and ancient Greek religion. Immortals The Greeks created images of their deities for many purposes. A temple would house the ...

of erotic

love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...

, and Phobos,

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

() for "fear".

Types

Erotophobia has many manifestations. An individual or culture can have one or multiple erotophobic attitudes. Some types of erotophobia include fear of

nudity Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to ...

, fear of sexual images, negative attitudes towards homosexuality, fear of

sex education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual acti ...

, fear of sexual discourse.

Clinical erotophobia

As a clinical

phobia A phobia is an anxiety disorder defined by a persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Phobias typically result in a rapid onset of fear and are usually present for more than six months. Those affected go to great lengths to avo ...

, 'erotophobia' describes an irrational and potentially debilitating fear of some object, person or act that is related to sex. This fear either impairs a person's desire or ability to have sexual relationships, or completely prevents a person's ability to have sex. Erotophobia can also in some (but not all) individual cases, be a part of larger patterns of any of the following psychological problems—

social phobia Social anxiety disorder (SAD), also known as social phobia, is an anxiety disorder characterized by sentiments of fear and anxiety in social situations, causing considerable distress and impaired ability to function in at least some aspects ...

avoidant personality disorder Avoidant personality disorder (AvPD) is a Cluster C personality disorder characterized by excessive social anxiety and inhibition, fear of intimacy (despite an intense desire for it), severe feelings of inadequacy and inferiority, and an overrelia ...

body dysmorphic disorder Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), occasionally still called dysmorphophobia, is a mental disorder characterized by the obsessive idea that some aspect of one's own body part or appearance is severely flawed and therefore warrants exceptional meas ...

, or general

social anxiety Social anxiety is the anxiety and fear specifically linked to being in social settings (i.e., interacting with others). Some categories of disorders associated with social anxiety include anxiety disorders, mood disorders, autism spectrum disord ...

problems. Erotophobia can also, for others, be very specific to love making with another person and not be related to any of these other social anxiety disorders. In the case of ''specific'' erotophobia, only the fear of something related to sex would be present without any other fears or syndromes.

Psychological studies

In psychological studies, the term is often used to describe degree of (general) sexual aversion versus (general) interest in sex. In this sense erotophobia is descriptive of one's place in a range on a

continuum Continuum may refer to: * Continuum (measurement), theories or models that explain gradual transitions from one condition to another without abrupt changes Mathematics * Continuum (set theory), the real line or the corresponding cardinal number ...

of sexual feeling or aversion to feeling. Erotophobes score high on one end of the scale that is characterized by expressions of guilt and fear about sex.

Psychologists A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...

sometimes attempt to describe sexuality on a

personality Personality is the characteristic sets of behaviors, cognitions, and emotional patterns that are formed from biological and environmental factors, and which change over time. While there is no generally agreed-upon definition of personality, mos ...

scale. Erotophobes are less likely to talk about sex, have more negative reactions to sexually explicit material, and have sex less frequently and with fewer partners over time. In contrast, erotophiles score high on the opposite end of the scale, erotophilia, which is characterized by expressing less guilt about sex, talking about sex more openly, and holding more positive attitudes toward sexually explicit material. This dimension of personality is used to assess openness to sex and sexuality. It is an important dimension to measure because of the health and safety risks associated with poor sexual education. Research on this personality dimension has shown a correlation between high erotophobia scores and a less consistent use of contraception and a lack of knowledge about human sexuality. It is also important because erotophobia has been shown to create relationship and marital difficulties in multiple studies, dating back to Kinsey.

Political use

The word erotophobia has been used by anti-oppression activists to describe sex-negative attitudes as a form of discrimination and oppression (akin to

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...

). In "Disability, Sex Radicalism, and Political Agency", Abby Wilkinson argues that "constraints on sexual agency should be recognized as a hallmark of oppression." In "Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack of Sexual Conservatism" (after

Peggy McIntosh } Peggy McIntosh (born November 7, 1934) is an American feminist, anti-racism activist, scholar, speaker, and Senior Research Scientist of the Wellesley Centers for Women. She is the founder of the National SEED Project on Inclusive Curriculum (Se ...

's influential "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack"), TJ Bryan says, "Since power-based

hierarchies A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...

in society form a

matrix of domination The matrix of domination or matrix of oppression is a sociological paradigm that explains issues of oppression that deal with race, class, and gender, which, though recognized as different social classifications, are all interconnected. Other form ...

, I understand that erotophobia occupies a supportive space adjacent to isms and phobias like

classism Class discrimination, also known as classism, is prejudice or discrimination on the basis of social class. It includes individual attitudes, behaviors, systems of policies and practices that are set up to benefit the upper class at the expense of ...

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primari ...

ableism Ableism (; also known as ablism, disablism (British English), anapirophobia, anapirism, and disability discrimination) is discrimination and social prejudice against people with Disability, disabilities or who are perceived to be disabled. Ableis ...

." In his book ''

The Politics of Lust John Ince (born ) is a Canadian activist, politician, author, and lawyer. He is a founder of The Sex Party, a sex-positive movement political party of which he was party leader from 2005 until 2012. Sex-positive activism In 2002, Ince opened The ...

'', author and sexual activist John Ince examines three distinct cause and effect forces that fuel erotophobia: "antisexualism", the irrational negative response to harmless sexual expression; "nasty sex", which includes rape and violent pornography; and "rigidity", the inability to enjoy "playful and spontaneous" sex. Ince also argues that social inequality and politics are interlinked with erotophobia and that overcoming erotophobia is one of the first steps to a truly democratic society.

References

{{Authority control Phobias Prudishness Non-sexuality Sexuality-related prejudices

Types

Clinical erotophobia

Psychological studies

Political use

See also

References