Gynephobia an exaggerated or irrational fear or hatred of women
For many men, we go through a process when we are young of discovering the differences between boys and girls. This process for most is a very healthy and nurturing phase of development which leads to healthy and productive relationships with women. However there are some who develop in quite a different way and develop an irrational or pathological fear of women which in its most extreme manifestation can lead to outright hatred towards women. People who experience this are said to have gynephobia.
The causes of this condition can be traced to many possible sources. In youth, it is possible the the sufferer develops this issue because he may have felt awkward around girls and when he tried to interact with them he was rebuffed, sometimes cruelly. This can lead to a fear of interaction and in rare cases even a hatred towards all women. In later life, perhaps a man may feel that he was stepped over in a work scenario by a female colleague and this can lead to resentment and ill feeling towards women.
In it’s basic form gynephobia is like most other fears and anxieties. However, if it develops to hatred, a different approach will be necessary to help this person get over it. Unfortunately, when fear turns to hate, the suffer may not want to resolve the issue in the same way, as for some people fear makes one weak and therefore one wants to overcome it. Some people see hate as strong and it gives these people a false sense of power, which unless a person is prepared to undergo intensive therapy to understand the reasons for this, they are unlikely to change these feelings for the better.
