The term gymnophobia comes from the Greek γυμνός - gumnos, "naked"γυμνός, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus and φόβος - phobos, "fear".φόβος, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus A phobia that has a significant amount of overlap with gymnophobia is dishabiliophobia, which is the fear of undressing in front of others.
|
|
Some sufferers of genophobia may develop the fear as a result of preexisting fears. Some people may have nosophobia: the fear of contracting a disease or virus. They may also have gymnophobia: the fear of nudity. Others may have extreme fear of being touched.
|
|
They may, for example, avoid changing rooms, washrooms, showers, and beaches. However, the condition can be regarded as an anxiety disorder if the person cannot control the phobia or it is interfering with their daily life. Gymnophobia has been likened to the fictional condition "never-nude" portrayed in the comedy series Arrested Development.
|
|
April Masini, Think & Date Like a Man, page 82, Date Out Of Your League, 2005, A not-too-close-fitting tankini, ensembled with a sarong, has been suggested for gymnophobia or the fear of nudity.Veronique Henderson & Pat Henshaw, Color Me Confident: Change Your Look - Change Your Life!, page 124, Hamlyn, 2006, Tankinis, sometimes divided in front exposing the navel, exist for pregnant women.
|
|
Gymnophobics experience anxiety from nudity, even if they realize their fear is irrational. They may worry about seeing others naked, being seen naked, or both. Their fear may stem from a general anxiety about sexuality, from a fear that they are physically inferior, or from a fear that their nakedness leaves them exposed and unprotected. Gymnophobia refers to an actual fear of nudity, but most sufferers with the condition learn how to function in general society despite the condition.
|
|
Exhibitionistic disorder is a condition marked by the urge, fantasy, or act of exposing one’s genitals to non-consenting people, particularly strangers; and voyeuristic disorder is a sexual interest in, or practice of, spying on people engaged in intimate behaviors like undressing or sexual activity. While similar terms may be used loosely to refer to everyday activity, these feelings and behaviors are a indicative of a mental disorder only if they interfere with normal functioning or well-being, or involve causing discomfort or alarm to others. Much rarer is gymnophobia, an abnormal and persistent fear of nudity.
|
|
Michael's twin sister Lindsay (Portia de Rossi) is spoiled and materialistic, continually seeking the center of attention and leaping on various social causes for the sake of vanity. She is married to Tobias Fünke (David Cross), a discredited psychiatrist-turned-aspiring actor. Tobias is a self-diagnosed "never-nude" (a disorder comparable to gymnophobia), whose language and behavior have heavily homosexual overtones to which he seems completely oblivious and which are the center of much tongue-in-cheek comedy throughout the series. Their daughter is Mae "Maeby" Fünke (Alia Shawkat), a rebellious teen with an opportunistic streak, who seeks to defy her parents for the sake of attention, and otherwise pursues boys and power, and furthers her complicated relationship with George Michael.
|
|
Tobias suffers from "never-nude" syndrome (which, as the narrator states, is "exactly what it sounds like") and wears denim cut-off shorts under his underwear (and underneath that, a tube sock) at all times in order to avoid anyone (including himself and his wife) seeing his genitalia. The condition is similar to severe gymnophobia, although it is portrayed humorously. In the episode "In God We Trust", he attempts to reach out to his nephew George Michael during his tenure in the "Adam" muscle-suit for the "Living Classics Pageant" mistakenly assuming they have the same phobia (in reality, George Michael is trying to impress his cousin, Maeby). He conquers this for a time in the middle of Season 1, but after a close-up picture of his genitalia is shown on the evening news (where it has been mistaken for a photo showing evidence of WMDs in Iraq), he is driven back to the cut-offs.
|
|