Talk:Coulrophobia

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Thanks for creating a seperate article, The clown article has been in need of a good sorting for a long while.

--Soggy biscuits 20:43, 2 February 2006 (UTC)


I feel the image used in this article is deceptive. The issue here is with coulrophobia, which is based primarily around a fear of clowns of the normal variety, not the aggrandizement of intentionally frightening clown images. This image shoudl be replaced with a suitable average clown photo, preferably one that isn't copyrighted. --Soggy biscuits 09:00, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

Please allow me to disagree, scary clowns is the depiction of courlophobia. And among the "normal variety" of clown are often pretty scary. Besides, what is "normal"? All clowns are unique. Mukadderat 23:32, 16 June 2006 (UTC)


Contents

[edit] Alternate Spellings?

I seem to remember there being mention of two popular alternate spellings, though I can only remember one of them completely: "caulrophobia." I know this is shaky ground since the original spelling isn't even that widely known, but I've seen a few people employ that spelling rather than the one in this article (one of these people is probably an English major). Why was it removed? Ours18 04:27, 31 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] chucky from rugrats is coulrophobic

isn't he? (for coulrophobia in popular culture) 82.13.83.244 23:59, 16 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Children

Should discuss greater prevalance of condition in very young children. --Daniel C. Boyer 14:31, 15 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] NPOV

I've tagged this with NPOV. I'm not sure how to fix it, but it does currently convey an unencyclopedic, opinionated, unsupported with references, stance on the reality of this "disorder". While I think it's probably spot-on, and I agree with the opinions presented, it's not encyclopedic. Gigs 16:20, 20 April 2006 (UTC)

This article is virulently pro-clown. Coulrophobia is real and not uncommon, many children fear Santa and clowns. The media portrayals should be limited to the pop culture section.Ghosts&empties 20:16, 13 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Merge from Can't sleep, clown will eat me

Can't sleep, clown will eat me is too small, so I suggest a merge. The article will continue to remain is at is if nothing is done about it. What do you think? Kilo-Lima|(talk) 20:51, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

Nah, let it stay as Simpsons trivia. Oppose. - CrazyRussian talk/contribs/email 21:40, 8 May 2006 (UTC)
Yup let it stay, it's more useful that way. bbx 22:58, 8 May 2006 (UTC)
if you are going to merge it, merge it with the neologisms of the simpsons list... - Adolphus79 11:21, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Image traumatic to coulrophobes?

I find it kind of ironic that a page that deals with the fear of clowns has pictures of clowns on it. Just because if someone were researching their own coulrophobia, they'd be afraid of the page. Or something. --AndrewNeo 05:11, 21 June 2006 (UTC)

AGREED! I am coulrophobic and cannot view this page because of the clown images. PLEASE REMOVE IMMEDIATELY. I beg you. It is INSENSITIVE to have these images on this article. --TechnoGypsy

<Sigh!> You could have done it yourself, but I have done it for you. --Dennette 01:23, 23 June 2006 (UTC)

Not a serious reason to vandalize the page. Images restored. Mukadderat 22:09, 27 June 2006 (UTC)

I don't consider myself coulrophobic, but these photos give me cause to be very afraid. To contradict those who would deny coulrophobia, these images speak volumes.

I agree. Would you put a picture of wide opn spaces on a page on arogaphoia? Or bring a drink to an AA meeting. This is not only wrong, it is cruel.

The page at Arachnophobia has no images of spiders. Further, the links at the bottom include the warning: 'Insecta Inspecta Arachnophobia (Warning! If you have Arachnophobia, this page contains some graphic material that might disturb you, proceed with caution!)'. Please do not assume there's a dearth of spider images in Wiki images. Tha arachnophobia page demonstates some sensitivity. I am removing the image again, and will refer to the objections to to the image on this page. An image of a clown is not needed to illustrate the fear of clowns any more than an image of a spider is needed to illustate fear of spiders. Currently, all other arguments aside, as the image conveys NO additional information to the article, it should be left off until someone can justify *why* the article needs an image of a clown. If someone doesn't, in fact, know what a clown is, they can follow the link. 69.181.120.218 04:42, 14 July 2006 (UTC)


(BTW Please note I left the pennywise image as it is relevant to the text it is next to as an illustration, doesn't include an insulting and POV caption, and is further down the page making it not visible until scrolling)

This is not AA meeting. This is encyclopedia. Censorship not allowed for whatever reasons. Argument "if someone doesn't know what a clown is" is irrelevant: we are not repeating the description of clowns. Image of "normal" clown is good for comparison with the scary clown. Mukadderat 17:38, 14 July 2006 (UTC)

My ealier unsigned comment (...this photo gives me cause to be very afraid. To contradict those who would deny coulrophobia, this image speaks volumes) has been misconstrued. This page definitely needs a picture of a scary clown. A coulrophobe is likely to find a picture of a clown to be far less traumatic than the real thing. The photo serves to remind former child coulrophobes that their fears were grounded in reality. Only a clown apologist or a truly evil clown would supress the power of a picture. Ghosts&empties 22:20, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

I'm not a coulrophobe and as far as I know I don't have any phobias. But from my perspective, having an image of a clown here is not particularly 'encyclopedic', and seems to me to be just mean spirited. There is an article here on Wikipedia about clowns where there are several images available. I've noticed that a few of the other phobia articles have similarly displayed images of the fear in question, but they are in the minority. -- Johorne 14:02, 7 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Coulrophobia not in any dictionary

"Coulrophobia" is not in any dictionary that I could find, not even the OED. How do we know this is a legitimate word and not a neologism that would run afoul of Wikipedia:Avoid neologisms? Are there any reliable sources we can cite for this word? TacoDeposit 16:46, 11 August 2006 (UTC)

A search of Google just returned 55,400 page hits ... and I'm pretty sure that you will find it in the big, multi-volume edition of the OED that's only found in public libraries. A lot of obscure words, like Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (74,700 hits on Google) and Floccinaucinihilipilification (80,300 hits), are omitted from the "home" edition, although you might find "Arachibutyrophobia" (25,300 hits). Many smaller dictionaries do not include FUBAR or SNAFU, either. --Dennette 09:58, 12 August 2006 (UTC)
I am talking about the full edition, not the "home" edition. It's not in there. I am aware there are plenty of Google hits, but are there any reliable sources of this word's legitimacy? TacoDeposit 14:04, 12 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Answer this, or pull it.

What additional, useful, and relevant information does the photo of a clown add to this article? 69.181.120.218 06:35, 12 August 2006 (UTC)

I dunno but it sure is scary! 66.160.120.185 20:48, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Inclusion of the clown picture

I came here because of a Mediation Cabal case being filed concerning this article - I wanted to hopefully start a discussion about the inclusion of clowns in this article. The fair use image was rightfully removed as there are indeed free image alternatives, but free image or not this is an interesting bit of discussion. While Wikipedia is not censored, a key point is determining whether the image has a purpose in this article. So, could people please discuss here whether they think pictures of clowns should be included or not? Thanks. Cowman109Talk 23:50, 12 August 2006 (UTC)

Also, as a pre-discussion compromise, how would you feel if the current image of the clown is at least made smaller as simple courtesy to readers? Cowman109Talk 23:54, 12 August 2006 (UTC)
I don't think making it smaller would help. It may not be intended to be a scary clown per se, but it is indeed a scary clown, and including any image of the object of a phobia in an article about the phobia seems cruel. A link to the clown article is sufficient. I don't think this is censoring or over reacting. Over reacting would be replacing the word clown with cl---.Lkinkade 00:01, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

As mean as it might seem, I think an image of a scary clown would probably be more appropriate. (Ideally, the Pennywise image would have been perfect, but it's not free.) This is an article about the fear of clowns; I think a clown whose appearance is traumatic is topical, whereas a mundane clown isn't. - A Man In Bl♟ck (conspire | past ops) 00:05, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

To someone suffering from this disorder, any image of a clown is "scary", not just Pennywise ... they have been known to injure themselves and others (I have the scars to prove it!) in their attempt to flee from an unexpected image of a clown. I think that the image should be removed from this page, but I already deleted it once, only to have it restored because of "No Censorship". <Sigh!> --Dennette 05:24, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

Template:Linkimage

It seems like a drastic proposal, but another possibility would be using a tag like the one to the right. Cowman109Talk 05:29, 13 August 2006 (UTC)


[edit] "Popularity in the media"

The following section was removed, because it remnainted unreferenced. If someone can provide quotations, please do so. Mukadderat 23:46, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

Of late, the preponderance of coulrophobia as a convenient punch line in mainstream media has led to an "outbreak" of epidemic proportions of this condition.[citation needed] It provides a convenient and humorous ailment for those looking to garner attention and at the same time not appear weakened by their condition. Coulrophobia also legitimizes scapegoating a group, people who dress up as clowns, who some dislike for their style of entertainment and acting personality. While it is impossible to prove that every individual who claims to have coulrophobia is doing so to placate their need for attention and recognition, it is a fairly simple task to separate the malingerers from the truly phobic. Those who suffer from chronic phobias tend to seek to alleviate themselves of their ailment, as it is crippling, whereas "Faux Phobics" revel in their dysfunction.[citation needed] As a corollary, there has been a dramatic rise in coulrophillia in the last decade, leading to large communities of clown fanciers around the world.[citation needed]

[edit] Coulrophobia in popular culture

The helpfulness of this section has clearly been questioned - it does appear to simply be a reiterating of some items in evil clown and doesn't necessarily add much to this article. This should be an informative article explaining coulrophobia (of which, I should mention, I cannot find any verifiable sources concerning). I think that the details there don't serve much of a purpose in this article, as this article is not about evil clowns, it is simply the fear of clowns in general. Cowman109Talk 00:09, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

I have removed references to evil clowns that don't seem to concern, but the mention of notable popular culture characters suffering from coulrophobia does seem to have more to do with the article. Cowman109Talk 00:13, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
Can we stick to characters strongly associated with coulrophobia, instead of listing every single character who has ever been scared of a clown in one episode of a long-running series? This has attracted a ton of nonsense of the form "Character foo was scared of clowns in episode X of series bar." - A Man In Bl♟ck (conspire | past ops) 00:15, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
Yes, a good idea. Mukadderat 19:34, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
If we're listing fictional characters with established coulrophobia, shouldn't we have some mention of real-life celebrities who have it as well? Johnny Depp, Daniel Radcliffe and Sean Combs are all admitted coulrophobes. Sylocat 15:38, 18 May 2007 (UTC)
Should not the horror film "The Thing" be mentioned? My cousin developed Coulrophobia from early childhood to early teenhood from that movie.

[edit] People in Character suits

It seems to me that fear of people in character suits (Mickey Mouse, Kool-Aid Man, Easter Bunny) would stem from the same reason people clinically fear clowns. Would this be grouped under the same term or would this be a phobia on it's own? --Infosocialist 12:10, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] TfD nomination of Template:Linkimage

Template:Linkimage has been nominated for deletion. You are invited to comment on the discussion at the template's entry on the Templates for Deletion page. Thank you.   — Jeff G. (talk|contribs) 23:24, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Female clowns not scary

I'm not a coulrophobe per say, but male clowns tend to creep me out, whereas female clowns have no affect on me at all. What is it that makes male clowns seem so menacing? --Candy-Panda 06:38, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

It could be that you had a bad experience (that you haven't yet remembered) with a male clown, a large clown, a man, or a large person, and that translates into your male-specific coulrophobia. Good luck figuring it out!   — Jeff G. (talk|contribs) 22:48, 23 April 2007 (UTC)
Male clowns tend to be more grotesque, don't they? Female clowns are generally made to look cute and not all that weird. And exaggeratedly scary clowns are generally male. Plus, you see more male clowns, which may factor into it somewhere... just my wild hypothesizing. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.134.240.33 (talk) 23:37, 15 October 2007 (UTC)
I do feel that too. I think that's because in generic teratomorphic disfigurments for entertaining reasons it is a trend that the teratomorphic traits are intentionally less exaggerated in females, partially that's because of the social value of feminine atractiveness (female uglyness is some kind of social taboo) while feminine traits are retained in the disguise (sex transition disguises are also a taboo especially in asociation with children's entertaiment). Keep in mind that human femininess is a uniquely human trait, so retaining them in the disguise is adding to the anthropomorphic traits. The second reason applies if you are an adult or teen human male. Since feminine traits are universally attractive to our knee-jerk reproduction instincts they keep us distracted from the teratomorphic traits ("stop staring at my boobs and look me in the creepy painted eyes!")--Draco ignoramus sophomoricus (talk) 00:09, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] KYUR

NAM SOM FUKN KYURZ!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.188.17.249 (talk) 06:13, August 27, 2007 (UTC)

If you have anything to say, please post in English in the future. Also get your broken Caps Lock key fixed. 86.144.204.125 17:43, 27 August 2007 (UTC)
Dont you recognize spam when you see it? Can this part be deleted? - Redmess (talk) 18:44, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] STUDY

Has anyone actually seen the study cited indirectly about kids and clowns? Aside from being totally misstated in Nursing Standard, and subsequently being misreported in the news, the study in Sheffield found nothing resembling the results that NS and the various "news" sources reported. Unfortunately, they did not publish the full study but results are here: http://www.cscy.group.shef.ac.uk/research/spacetocare.htm Before I start correcting the issue, I thought I'd see if there was any other information available.

Peter Camper (talk) 11:41, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Bozophobia

A popular English language term that describes fear of clowns is the word "Bozophobia" (which obviously has an etymological origin in the famous clown character Bozo the Clown). The term "Bozophobia" has 1,810 Google web search hits (as of 03MAR2008).

The article should be editted to reflect that the word "Bozophobia" is also used in the English language to describe fear of clowns.

72.82.198.10 (talk) 19:19, 3 March 2008 (UTC)

Then again, doesn't "Bozo" have more than one meaning in current parlance? Not just a clown in the circus sense but a jerk in the business or worldly sense? I'm not opposed to adding it but maybe you should be sure it's apples:apples. Do all your Googleicious hits refer to circus clowns? Peter Camper (talk) 03:15, 4 March 2008 (UTC)