History Main / ParalyzingFearOfSexuality

** Dexter isn't just 'afraid of himself,' he's also faintly repulsed by intimacy (in the novel, deeply repulsed, and also pretty much despises Rita, but they made the TV character much more relatable), and every previous sexual encounter has resulted in his ability to fake normality being totally blown out of the water, since he's emotionally abnormal and spends most of his life going through the motions. [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready This does not work very well for sex.]] The reason things work out with Rita is that he does get inadvertently attached to her...and then his emotional life gets a shake-up courtesy of the Season One antagonist and his mind games.

** A less extreme example wold be [[{{Uke}} Kurt]] in the second season. As of ''Sexy'', the thought of sex makes him incredibly uncomfortable, preferring to focus purely on romance. Played with in that he didn't appear to have much of a problem with it during season one-- but then, after [[WhamEpisode Never Been Kissed...]]. It is also important to note that at his age, it is [[perfectly normal]] not to feel like you are ready for sex. Everyone develops at a different pace.

** A less extreme example wold be [[{{Uke}} Kurt]] in the second season. As of ''Sexy'', the thought of sex makes him incredibly uncomfortable, preferring to focus purely on romance. Played with in that he didn't appear to have much of a problem with it during season one-- but then, after [[WhamEpisode Never Been Kissed...]]

* If ''{{JTHM}}'' isn't explicitly asexual, he's this. His outright disgust with human sexuality and aversions to being touched implies that he may very well ''have'' a sexuality but deeply represses it.

** Generally, Liz always had a disinterest in sex, which was eventually {{Flanderized}} into this trope.

* Liz Lemon in the ''30Rock'' episode "Reaganing."

* {{Dexter}} deliberately dates a woman with this issue because it suits him down to the ground - he wants [[TheBeard a relationship for passing as normal]] and grows to enjoy the emotional connection, but they are both effectively {{asexual}} at first and that's just the way he likes it. While Dexter does have a sex drive, he's afraid of himself (he's a serial killer, and sometimes get aroused by thoughts of murder and such) and he's also afraid that his wife will see through his facade if they get intimate. However, she eventually starts to get over it and get her sex drive back, and with some work they eventually manage to build a functioning sex life together.

In RealLife, this condition is often believed to be [[MoralGuardians far more common among]] [[AllWomenArePrudes women]] [[ImAManICantHelpIt than among]] [[AllMenArePerverts men]]. When a man suffers from it, it's often partially built on a fear of [[AllAbusersAreMale being abusive]], sometimes caused by [[StrawFeminism an exaggerated or misguided form of feminism]]. In fiction, however, men who are scared of being slutty or "perverted" are sometimes [[PlayedForLaughs considered funny]].

* In ''VeronicaMars'', Mac describes herself as "frozen from the waist down" since a traumatic episode. She and her boyfriend had planned a special night to lose their virginity together. Just before the event, she takes a shower while he waits in bed for her. When she comes out of the shower, he is gone. [[spoiler:It turns out that he is a serial killer and rapist, and he left to kill Veronica because she had figured out he was the culprit.]] Come to think of it, her boyfriend [[spoiler:Beaver]] wouldn't do anything more than hold hands anyway, because of [[spoiler:RapeAsBackstory his molestation as a child.]]

** A less extreme example wold be Kurt in the second season. As of ''Sexy'', the thought of sex makes him incredibly uncomfortable, preferring to focus purely on romance. Played with in that he didn't appear to have much of a problem with it during season one-- but then, after [[WhamEpisode Never Been Kissed...]]

* Catherine Denevue's character in [[RomanPolanski Repulsion]] takes this trope to frenzied extremes.

* {{Carrie}}'s mother Margaret White turns out to have a pathological fear of sex, coming from equal parts religious fanaticism and [[spoiler:the fact that her husband raped her, resulting in Carrie's birth]]. This resulted in some seriously repressive parenting to EvilMatriarch levels, to the point where her mother didn't even tell her about her body's natural processes as she got older, resulting in her first period in her senior year being traumatic in more ways than one.

* In ''VeronicaMars'', Mac describes herself as "frozen from the waist down" since a traumatic episode. She and her boyfriend had planned a special night to lose their virginity together. Just before the event, she takes a shower while he waits in bed for her. When she comes out of the shower, he is gone. [[spoiler:It turns out that he is a serial killer and rapist, and he left to kill Veronica Mars because she had figured out he was the culprit.]] Come to think of it, her boyfriend [[spoiler:Beaver]] wouldn't do anything more than hold hands anyway, because of [[spoiler:RapeAsBackstory - he was molested as a child.]]
* {{Dexter}} deliberately dates a woman with this issue because it suits him down to the ground - he wants [[TheBeard a relationship for passing as normal]] and grows to enjoy the emotional connection, but they are both effectively {{asexual}} at first and that's just the way he likes it. While he do have a sex-drive, he's afraid of himself (he's a serial killer, and sometimes get aroused by thoughts of murder and such) and he's also afraid that his wife will see through his facade if they get intimate. However, she eventually starts to get over it and get her sex drive back, and with some work they eventually manage to build a functioning sex life together.

* Catherine Denevue's character in {{Repulsion}} takes this trope to frenzied extremes.

* Psycho Mantis in ''MetalGearSolid'', who wears bondage gear and has a disgusted fascination with sexuality, but finds the thought of sex traumatic due to having mind-read the [[FetishRetardant sexual fantasies of]] [[AMindIsADirtyThingToRead everyone he's come into contact with]].

* In {{Chobits}}, Hideki is tormented by his fear of being a pervert.

* In Fumi Yoshinaga's GerardEtJacques: Jacques is a virgin at heart, a wannabe CelibateHero, and deeply believes sexuality is, oh dear, such a sin. Unfortunately the UST between him and his, ahem, experienced master, keeps piling until Jacques succumbs to [[ADateWithRosiePalms a DIY solution]], and gets a huge moral hangover for it. The whole issue is played for light drama and fun, but in a darker work it could have fueled worlds of angst.

* In {{Watchmen}}, Rorschach has this as a part of his pathology.

* The teenage girl in FemalePerversions, portrayed as a quite natural counter-reaction to her desperately oversexualized aunt's creepiness.

* The female lead in PiersAnthony's Mode series was like this, due to past trauma. It took a JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind to fix it.
* Aliena in ThePillarsOfTheEarth has rape flashbacks when she's with Jack, resulting in KissKissSlap and her running into the woods. Jack is understandably bewildered by all of this.
* Jaenelle in the BlackJewels Trilogy has this problem after the absolutely horrific abuse she suffered as a child. (Naturally she and her love interest manage to work through it eventually.)

* In VeronicaMars, Mac describes herself as "frozen from the waist down" since a traumatic episode. She and her boyfriend had planned a special night to lose their virginity together. Just before the event, she takes a shower while he waits in bed for her. When she comes out of the shower, he is gone. [[spoiler:It turns out that he is a serial killer and rapist, and he left to kill Veronica Mars because she had figured out he was the culprit.]] Come to think of it, her boyfriend [[spoiler:Beaver]] wouldn't do anything more than hold hands anyway, because of [[spoiler:RapeAsBackstory, that is, he was molested as a child.]]

* Liz Lemon in the 30Rock episode "Reaganing."

* PetShopBoys song "It's A Sin".

* Presumably Moritz in SpringAwakening.
* CyranoDeBergerac: At Act I Scene V, Cyrano confesses Le Bret that the only thing he fears in the world is that Roxane will laugh at him when he confesses his love for her. At Act V Scene VI, Cyrano confess that he feared to be mocked by women, implying that he is a CelibateHero. This trope is justified [[FreudianExcuse because in his childhood]], [[TheGrotesque given his enormous nose]], [[MommyIssues Cyrano felt that his mom did not love him. The whole idea of being capable of being loved is strange to him]].
--> '''Le Bret:''' Her heart, her fancy, are already caught!
--> Put it to th' touch!
--> '''Cyrano:''' That she may mock my face?
--> ''That is the one thing on this earth I fear!''

* Psycho Mantis in ''MetalGearSolid'', who wears bondage gear and has a disgusted fascination with sexuality, but finds the thought of sex traumatic due to having mind-read the [[FetishRetardant sexual fantasies of everyone he's come into contact with]].

* Hannelore in QuestionableContent.

See also CelibateHero and WindmillPolitical. Compare HeteronormativeCrusader. Contrast DoesNotLikeSex.

In RealLife, this condition is often believed to be more common among [[MoralGuardians women]] than among [[ImAManICantHelpIt men]]. When a man suffers from it, it's often partially built on a fear of [[AllAbusersAreMale being abusive]], sometimes caused by [[StrawFeminism an exaggerated or misguided form of feminism]]. In fiction, however, men who are scared of being slutty or "perverted" are sometimes [[PlayedForLaughs considered funny]].

* In Fumi Yoshinaga's GerardEtJacques: Jacques is a virgin at heart, a wannabe CelibateHero, and deeply believes sexuality is, oh dear, such a sin. Unfortunately the UST between him and his, ahem, experienced master, keeps piling until Jacques succumbs to [[ADateWithRosiePalms a DIY solution]], and gets a huge moral hangover for it. The whole issue is played for light drama and fun, but in a darker work it could have fuelled worlds of angst.

* * "Glee" has Emma, who's afraid due to cleanliness SuperOCD and HatesBeingTouched.

Alice is celibate and might even come across as if she was {{Asexual}}. However, her sexuality is actually really strong, it's just that she can't express it because she is too burdened by shame, fear and/or guilt. Thus, she might be unable to take initiative herself, or to consent to things she actually do want done to her. And even if she ''do'' manage to take initiative or give consent, it might still backfire horribly as the shame etc reasserts itself.

This is a subtrope of InternalizedCategorism: Alice really can't stand the thought of being one of ''those'' people - the "[[AllMenArePerverts perverts]]", the "[[MoralGuardians sinners]]", maybe even including anyone who actually ''like'' sex instead of [[LieBackAndThinkOfEngland doing the proper thing]]. ''However'', the character does ''not'' necessarily think that SexIsEvil. Instead, she might simply [[GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex doubt her own ability to handle it]].

In RealLife, this condition is often believed to be more common among [[MoralGuardians women]] then among [[ImAManICantHelpIt men]]. When a man suffer from it, it's often partially built on a fear of [[AllAbusersAreMale being abusive]], sometimes caused by [[StrawFeminism an exaggerated or misguided form of feminism]]. In fiction, however, men who are scared of being slutty or "perverted" is sometimes [[PlayedForLaughs considered funny]].

When a character with this condition breaks free from the paralysis, the problem might be [[HappilyEverAfter resolved by entering a simple stable relationship]]. However, [[DestructiveRomance this could turn sour]] if the character haven't really dealt with the issues. Also, breaking free from the paralysis may also result in a counter-reaction, where the character turns overtly sexual. This can be [[EthicalSlut a good thing]] or [[SexIsEvilAndIAmHorny a bad thing]] depending on how the character handles it. In a balanced story, both paths are possible. And there might also be some zig-zagging as the character learns to cope with her sexuality. However, in a {{Anvilicious}} work, only one of the two paths are possible, since the author have [[BlackAndWhiteMorality already decided]] either that SexIsGood or that SexIsEvil.

Note that while this trope and SexIsEvilAndIAmHorny are sometimes ''caused'' by the same social and psychological mechanisms, they hare two very different ways of handling it: SIEAAH is about ''acting out'' in a way that is self-destructive and/or abusive, while PFOS is about avoiding to act out ones sexuality at all. In either case, the condition may be caused by [[RapeAsBackstory traumatic experiences]], [[MyGirlIsNotASlut restrictive upbringings]], or just extremely low sexual self-esteem (to the point where the person pre-emptively rejects hirself).