Does the Phobia of Beautiful Women Really Exist?

Venustraphobia is also known as Caligynephobia or Calligyniaphobia . It is closely related to Gynephobia or Gynophobia―fear of women.

Everyone is scared of something or the other. Some fears are just jitters that rattle the person for a while and eventually disappear, while others are so fierce that they cause tremendous anxiety, to the point that it hinders the person's day-to-day life. Such irrational and psychological fears are known as phobias.

Among the different phobias, people affected by social phobias have to face their fears on a daily basis. Hence, overcoming their fears becomes inevitable. One such social phobia that affects men, is Venustraphobia or gynephobia.

Now, a lot of men and some women are intimidated by beautiful women due to varied reasons, but this phobia takes the fear to such extremes that the social, personal, and professional behavior of many men and some women too gets affected.

Venustraphobia is a portmanteau of the words Venus trap, alluding to the Venus flytrap plant and phobia, meaning fear. Scientifically, as mentioned earlier, it is called caligynephobia. This term compromises of three Greek words: cali  meaning beauty , gyne - woman, and phobos - fear, put together meaning fear of beautiful women.

Many psychologists believe, that phobias often arise from traumatic events that an individual has faced at an early age. Sexual, physical, or verbal abuse, failed relationship or rejection by a female, or bullying, all can contribute to being the root causes of this phobia and many other social phobias.

Inferiority complex, shyness, fear of rejection, insecurities, poor self-esteem, confidence issues, further feed this fear. People suffering from caligynephobia are generally fearful of being embarrassed, humiliated, and criticized in social situations. Such social phobias are deep-seated and can surface at the mere sight of a beautiful woman.

➤ Anxiety attack
➤ Shortness of breath
➤ Hyperventilation
➤ Rapid breathing
➤ Irregular heartbeat
➤ Fear of losing control
➤ Nausea
➤ Dry mouth
➤ Inability to articulate words and sentences
➤ Excessive sweating

Since most phobias are psychological-based conditions, the treatment for each individual will vary according to their psyche or mental make up. A primary approach to determine the root cause of his/her fear is counseling. Some other options that are mentioned ahead could help the person overcome his phobia.

➤ Social skills training
➤ Hypnotherapy
➤ Neuro-Linguistic Programing
➤ Exposure therapy or flooding technique
➤ Desensitization
➤ Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy

Though Venustraphobia is a rare and unique among the different types of phobias, if left untreated, it can cause the person a lot distress and social discomfort. Guidance, understanding, love, and support from near and dear ones can help the person successfully overcome his/her phobia.

Disclaimer: This post is for informative purpose only and does not in any way attempt to replace the diagnosis of a medical professional.