Freud called this concept schwanzangst. Not.

Freud called this concept schwanzangst. Not.

This widely-quoted blog post from OkTrends claims Freud coined the term “schwanzangst” (roughly, “fear of penises”) to describe irrational homophobic fears.

Sharp-eyed MadeByMark reader Steve left a comment tonight noting that his Google searches had found virtually no reference to the term, save its appearance in dozens of citations of Rudder’s blog post. 

Prompted by Steve, I downloaded the complete works of Freud and performed an exhaustive search for the term which, of course, never appears in any text Freud published. 

I think writer Christian Rudder is pulling our leg a bit … and I’m calling shenanigans!

(Thanks, Steve.)

Mark McElroy

I'm a husband, mystic, writer, media producer, creative director, tinkerer, blogger, reader, gadget lover, and pizza fiend.

2 comments

  • actually, schwanz is German slang for the "member", so it would make sense 🙂 though schwanzangst is not officially a word…yet

Who Wrote This?

Mark McElroy

I'm a husband, mystic, writer, media producer, creative director, tinkerer, blogger, reader, gadget lover, and pizza fiend.

Worth a Look