These situations may lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as a fear of men. For some people, a past harmful or frightening experience with a male during childhood may cause androphobia. Often, a fear of men starts in childhood and may persist into adulthood. There is not always a clear cause for why people develop phobias.

Other risk factors for androphobia include having: Experts believe some people have genetic differences that make them more likely than others to develop an anxiety disorder. Spending a lot of time with someone who has androphobia may lead you to start having the same fears. You’re more likely to develop a phobia if a parent or close relative has a phobia or another type of anxiety disorder. Women and those designated female at birth (DFAB) are twice as likely to develop a specific phobic disorder like androphobia. But as many as 12% of American adults and nearly 1 in 5 teenagers experience a specific phobic disorder at some point. How common is androphobia?Įxperts aren’t sure how many people have androphobia. Someone with androphobia doesn’t hate men (misandrist). Its counterpart is misogyny, hatred of women. What’s the difference between androphobia and misandry? As a result, you may avoid situations involving men or experience strong anxiety when these situations occur. This means that you are afraid of, or anxious around, a particular entity (in this case, males). Androphobia falls under the category of a specific phobic disorder. It causes you to develop a significant fear of something that isn’t consistent with the actual danger of the feared item. What is a phobia?Ī phobia is a common type of anxiety disorder. This movement was a way to show support for survivors of sexual harassment, assault or rape. Perhaps this language can be changed to reflect that it’s an old idea with renewed attention and focus. For some people, even images of men bring on immediate phobia symptoms.Īndrophobia is an old term, but the Me Too movement brought the terminology into the collective spotlight with increasing frequency. A person with androphobia experiences extreme anxiety or fear of men. Phobia means fear, and “andros” is the Greek word for man. People who have androphobia have a fear of men.

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