Gymnophobia
Gymnophobia refers to a fear or anxiety (beyond the norm) about being seen naked, or perhaps even a fear or anxiety of seeing others naked. The phobia was popularized on the Fox show Arrested Development, with the character Tobias, who is a "never-nude," as they call it on the show. It does not necessarily mean that the person affected refuses to be seen nude by anyone and everyone. Nor does it refer to children who refuse to be seen nude by the opposite sex (common in some cultures) unless they have constant fear or anxiety that it could happen. This fear often arises from a feeling of physical inadequacy, as compared with the idealized images portrayed in the media. Alternatively the fear may stem from a feeling of vulnerability associated with the disclosure of the person, that once disclosed, others would still imagine them in the naked state (i.e. from an information theoretic point of view, once information is disclosed it cannot be private anymore). In some cases this fear may appear only in one's dreams. A typical dream would be that the person (dreaming as participant, not observer) is in an ordinary situation with other (clothed) people and then becomes aware that he/she is naked, as though one simply forgot to get dressed. This imaginary situation was exploited in advertising in the 1950's and 1960's by a brassiere manufacture. "I dreamed I was...[ doing some ordinary activity]... in my Maidenform bra.", with an illustration of the person wearing only underwear in a public place, and appearing proud and cheerful, rather than ashamed or embarrassed.
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