Gynophobia (also spelled as gynephobia) is an abnormal fear of women. In the past, the Latin term was used, horror feminae, meaning “fear of women”. The word caligynephobia is also coined to mean the fear of beautiful women. For the latter one the expression venustraphobia is also used. In many cases it may also be rooted in social phobia or social anxiety disorder. Gynophobia used to be considered a driving force toward homosexuality.

Havelock Ellis in his 1896 Studies in the Psychology of Sex wrote:

“It is, perhaps, not difficult to account for the horror — much stronger than that normally felt toward a person of the same sex — with which the invert often regards the sexual organs of persons of the opposite sex.”

Gymnophobia is a fear (phobia) of nudity. Gymnophobics experience anxiety from nudity, even if they realize their fear is irrational. They may worry about seeing others naked or 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. The word “Gymnophobia” is derived from the Greek “gymnos” (naked). Standards of modesty (also called demureness or reticence) generally prevent public nudity. Avoidance of nudity in private situations may be a continuation of modesty, or may extend to prudishness or body shame. Only an actual fear of nudity qualifies as gymnophobia. Only when the fear is beyond one’s control or is interfering with daily life can an anxiety disorder diagnosis be made.

Glossophobia or speech anxiety is the fear of public speaking. The word glossophobia comes from the Greek γλῶσσα glōssa, meaning tongue, and φόβος phobos, fear or dread. Many people only have this fear, while others may also have social phobia or social anxiety disorder. Symptoms include: 

• intense anxiety prior to, or simply at the thought of having to verbally communicate with any group,

•   avoidance of events which focus the group’s attention on individuals in attendance,

• physical distress, nausea, or feelings of panic in such circumstances.

Estimated 95% of all speakers experience some degree of anxiety/nervousness when public speaking.

Gerascophobia (Greek: gerasco, “I am ageing” and φόβος, phobos, “fear”) is an abnormal or persistent fear of growing old or ageing. Gerascophobia is a clinical phobia generally classified under specific phobias, fear of a single specific panic trigger. Some authors also refer to it as gerontophobia, while others prefer to distinguish the fear/dislike of old age in general and the fear of one’s own ageing. Gerascophobia is based on anxieties of being left alone, of being without resources and of being incapable of caring for oneself.

Gephyrophobia is an anxiety disorder brought about by the fear of bridges. As a result, sufferers of gephyrophobia may avoid routes that will take them over bridges. Dr. Liebowitz, founder of the Anxiety Disorders Clinic at the New York State Psychiatric Institute says: “It’s not an isolated phobia, but usually part of a larger constellation … It’s people who get panic attacks. You get light-headed, dizzy; your heart races. You become afraid that you’ll feel trapped.

Gelotophobia is a term derived from γέλως (Greek: laughter gelos) and φόβος (fear phobia), to describe people who have a “fear of being laughed at”. While most people do not like being laughed at except, perhaps, for gelotophiles, there is a sub-group of people that exceedingly fear being laughed at. Without obvious reasons, they relate laughter they hear e.g., in a restaurant to themselves and feel unease when confronted with laughter.

Erythrophobia, fear of blushing. To blush is to display redness in one’s face; the term is usually used when the redness is a result of an emotional response, which could reflect embarrassment, shame, or modesty. Blushing can also be associated with being in love. Blushing is generally distinguished, despite a close physiological relation, from flushing, which is more intensive and extends over more of the body, and seldom has a mental source.

Erotophobia. As a clinical phobia, ‘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 ability to enjoy sexual relations, 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, avoidant personality disorder, body dysmorphic disorder, or general social anxiety problems. Erotophobia can also, for others, be very specific to erotic matters 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.

Emetophobia is an intense, irrational fear or anxiety pertaining to vomiting. This specific phobia can also include subcategories of what causes the anxiety, including a fear of vomiting in public, a fear of seeing vomit, a fear of watching the action of vomiting or fear of being nauseated. Emetophobia is clinically considered an “elusive predicament” because limited research has been done pertaining to it.

dentophobia refers to the fear of dentistry and of receiving dental care. it has been suggested that the term “dental phobia” is often a misnomer, as many people with this condition do not feel their fears to be excessive or unreasonable and resemble individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder, caused by previous traumatic dental experiences. It is estimated that as many as 75% of US adults experience some degree of dental fear, from mild to severe. Approximately 5 to 10 percent of U.S. adults are considered to experience dental phobia; that is, they are so fearful of receiving dental treatment that they avoid dental care at all costs. Many dentally fearful people will only seek dental care when they have a dental emergency, such as a toothache or dental abscess. People who are very fearful of dental care often experience a “cycle of avoidance,” in which they avoid dental care due to fear until they experience a dental emergency requiring invasive treatment, which can reinforce their fear of dentistry. Women tend to report more dental fear than men