Talk:Genital retraction syndrome

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[edit] Penis Panic?

Why is this article titled "penis panic"? It is more commonly referred to as "genital retraction syndrome" or "koro" in the literature. I realize people may more readily understand "penis panic", but it is a rather unscientific term. Saar42 22:30, 22 September 2007 (UTC)

Christ, there always has to be someone out there trying to bore up Wikipedia. 72.192.62.77 19:03, 18 October 2007 (UTC)

Right on, this is the funniest article i have ever read. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.83.121.172 (talk) 22:23, 8 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Treatment of Koro

How can Koro be treated by "a course of alprazolam and imipramine"? The article seems to say that Koro refers to the retraction of the penis into the body, and that this is impossible. --[[User:be inclined to put it into the large category of symptoms resulting from somato-sensory affectional deprivation, that is, lack of physical affection in childhood, adolescence and adulthood. Our own modern society is full with the most bizarre sexual fetishes, and sex panics are perhaps little more than a more chaotic way to deal with similar neuropsychological manifestations.

Take a look at these pictures. They show a monkey reared in isolation, with no physical affection. He no longer recognizes his own body parts and attacks them as if they were not a part of his own self. Touch appears to be essential for the development of self-identity, as well as for the correct "wiring" of the pleasure/pain circuits in the brain -- see this article for the underlying research and this one I wrote for Kuro5hin for some speculation about the implications.—Eloquence 02:40, Oct 26, 2003 (UTC)
Take a look at these pictures. Some other time, really. Paul Klenk 05:42, 26 Oct 2003 (UTC)
There's no penis on these pictures. If you want to see a monkey penis, here is one.—Eloquence 05:47, Oct 26, 2003 (UTC)

Someone else, excellent work on Penis panic -- we're really getting somewhere on this subject. Keep up the hard work. Paul Klenk 02:17, 26 Oct 2003 (UTC)

William S. Burroughs mentions Koro breafly in his book Naked Lunch. Auric The Rad 17:58, Nov 26, 2003 (UTC)

[edit] Question

Call me ignorant, but what's an electronic comb? Shaver, toothbrush, hair trimmer, yes but comb? Andy G 20:27, 2 Feb 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Suggestion

Suggestion:

This actually seems to belong in the category of 'dysmorphism' disorders like obsessive body-builders who would would rather kill themselves with steroids than suffer the indignity of losing their muscle definition, or anorexics who will starve themselves to death thinking they are 'fat' all the while. The only major difference it seems is that it is 'sporadic' in a wide portion of the population instead of constant in a smaller portion (if the account on the existing page is reliable). Or is there also a small segment of the population who suffer this syndrome constantly? I bet there is... I think there need to be links to and from the pages on these disorders. Hmm, there is a page for Anorexia, but not one for Body Dismorphism Disorder yet. New page needed? :)

Penis panic? Similar to anorexia? Its not like these people want their penises to go away, be stolen, etc. As far as who suffers, interestingly, particular varieties of penis panic (Koro, for example) exist almost exclusively in certain geographic regions. Don't know if there are particular segments of those particular populations that are particularly more likely to suffer from this particula phobia, though. I was really hoping I could squeeze another "particular" in there! Ha! Just did! This whole thing does remind me, though, that there should probably be a link to vagina dentata on the page, assuming the article still exists... -Seth Mahoney 02:41, 27 May 2004 (UTC)

[edit] "Common misconception"

"Another common misconception is that the penis can be kept safely in a woman's mouth."

Can someone provide a source for that? Sounds too bizarre to be true. 18.246.0.79 10:41, 14 Oct 2004 (UTC)

I don´t agree. It's not even a misconception. The penis can be kept safely in a woman's mouth. Or a man's for that matter! please refer to oral sex for more information. Stenbh 21:37, 3 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I believe that sentence refers to teeth introducing a risk of possible penectomy. Rafał Pocztarski 04:07, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Unsourced for two months. I'm deleting it. It can go back if someone sources it properly. --Dante Alighieri | Talk 19:12, Dec 15, 2004 (UTC)

In all seriousness, I suspect it may be trying to express the idea that if a man who is undergoing an attack of koro/shook yang were to have his organ held in a woman's mouth, this would thus prevent it from retracting/shrinking/disappearing. --Dpr 06:22, 5 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Rename to Genital Retraction Syndrome

Is there any support for renaming/redirecting this page to Genital retraction syndrome (GRS), allowing it to become more general. Koro is not exclusively a penis panic, thus much of the article related more to GRS than to penis panics, as it is. ~ Dpr 07:06, 6 September 2005 (UTC)

On the other hand (actually, I haven't checked the article to confirm this - I'm going on memory, so if I'm mistaken, oopsey!), there are mentions on the current article that wouldn't fit under genital retraction syndrome. We can always create an article for koro, and of course we can always have both penis panic and genital retraction syndrome. -Seth Mahoney 17:46, September 6, 2005 (UTC)
You are correct. However, the material that doesn't specifically derive from genital retraction syndrome is still related to it--in other words, all penis panics (it seems) are still instances of GRS. But splitting GRS into its own article makes sense also; if so, I'd recommend leaving Koro as part of the GRS article and describing it as both a subcategory of GRS and often a manifestation of penis panics. --Dpr 02:38, 7 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Personal Experience

First of all, I know there is a reference to the belief that Koro can be cured by oral sex in Joseph Cambell's Hero With a Thousand Faces.

Secondly, I know that an anonymous internet report carries absolutely no scientific weight, but this has actually happened to me 3 times.

The first time it happened was the first time I ever used a psychedelic drug (mushrooms). At one point during the trip, I went to urinate. I whipped it out, and as I was staring at the patterns in the floor, I noticed that my penis was actually shrinking into my body. It was odd, but I let it continue for awhile. Once half my glans had disappeared (I did not have much body fat at the time, either) I decided I didn't want to see the end of this process, and pinched what was left between my fingers. After what seemed like a few minutes, (I know, I was tripping) It stopped pulling into me, and I was able to tug it out. I waited a little while to make sure it wasn't going to try that again, then pissed and left.

The second time it happened to me, I was really drunk and had narrowly avoided a serious beatdown. I ducked into the bathroom and it happened again.

The third time I was at a small town dive bar, and had just gotten high. Things started to just seem strange, in that way they sometimes do. Once again, went to the bathroom and I had to save my penis.

Now, one could say that I was either in a state of psychosis or panic for each of these instances, but they all definitely happened. That this might actually happen is appropriately dismissed by the scientific community, but how in the world would you repeat these conditions in the lab? Even if I had had a video camera handy, capturing the event for posterity wasn't the first thing on my mind. I still have no idea what would have happened if I hadn't resisted.

One could easily imagine states of anxiety and psychosis happening more often in more primitive areas, where belief in magic and witchcraft is common. I'm probably not the only one in the world this has ever happened to. I don't doubt that in the Sudan case mass hysteria was a factor, but something like this does actually occur in reality. 207.32.47.14 15:29, 9 December 2005 (UTC)yep

Yes, I see. You were always drunk, tripping or high... but it "definitely happened". Not like you could have been hallucinating or anything. And you're not like those "primitive" people who believe in such silly things as magic and witchcratf, oh no, you are a rational-minded fellow - with a drug problem and a scientifically impossible shrinking penis problem.Rglong 20:40, 25 September 2007 (UTC)
To his defense here, I think I know what he means, although personally I haven't even tried alcohol. It's more a matter of philosophy and the definition of the word "happens". What you see, hear and feel are just signals that the brain itself creates, with help from the eyes and nerves, but still filtered and processed. So if you're under influence, and something like that "happens", it's as real to you as it would be if a real physical change would have taken place. I think he argues that the people that this happened to actually saw it, and thought it was real, so it was not just some rumour that started on no grounds. Pipatron (talk) 13:32, 22 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Which Zionist?

Under "Sudan", does the reference to supposed "Zionist" influence refer to Israel-related Zionism, as linked, or to the African Christian religion of that name? JackyR 20:39, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Breasts?

Genital retraction syndrome (GRS), generally considered a culture-specific syndrome, is a condition in which an individual is overcome with the belief that his/her external genitals—or also, in females, breasts—...

Erm, since when have breasts been "genitals"? Not that there can't be a similar, related female phenomenon, but surely it would fall under some other name? --Lode Runner 08:47, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] DSM

The DSM-IV discusses this stuff. Someone interested should probably cite the relevant section of it. Quux0r 05:15, 1 April 2007 (UTC) Yes, tits —Preceding unsigned comment added by 125.26.110.65 (talk) 02:28, 16 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] For the record

I'd shrink my penis too, if my name was combs. --71.230.142.176 22:09, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Sudan

In my opinion the sudan section seems very fake because it is idiotic and there are mistakes such as spacing mistakes. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.89.135.153 (talk) 01:39, 29 October 2007 (UTC)

"The hysterical reports were spread throughout Sudan by means of cell phone text-messaging"? I think we all need to thank World Vision for apparently delivering crates of used cell phones to Sudan. Now, instead of dealing with the real problems of AIDS, leprosy, poverty, and the Darfur conflict, these people can fill their heads with urban legends about witchcraft and shrinking penises, as well as the latest American celebrity gossip, and waste their time playing that snake game for hours at a time. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.234.13.190 (talk) 19:27, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

This is the most amusing thing I have ever read. Ever. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 125.26.110.93 (talk) 04:11, 15 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Vote to rename to Genital Retraction Syndrome

I'd like to propose a vote to change the article name to Genital Retraction Syndrome, as the current article title seems both unencyclopedic and rather suggestive. I thought that this had something to do with porn at first. Also, Koro may have some extra factors going into it, but as mentioned here, the other factors could be included or Koro could even have it's own article.Merechriolus (talk) 19:35, 12 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Change

  • Change for the reasons I mentioned above.
  • Change since it's more neutral. Change 'Penis panic' to a redirect. KellenT 21:25, 15 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Keep

[edit] Comments

http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN2319603620080423?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews&rpc=22&sp=true —Preceding unsigned comment added by 130.232.106.75 (talk) 05:57, 24 April 2008 (UTC)