Hyposymbolic behaviors

Description and type: inability to discern obvious sexual symbolism in works of literature or the visual and plastic arts. Digressive/repressive disorder.

Symptoms and signs: similar to those of pseudostupidity, in that student seems to "go blank" or "play dumb" before patent cases of phallic or womb symbols in artistic expressions. May believe that snakes are merely repulsive reptiles symbolizing danger, that trains enter tunnels because otherwise they would have had to go around a hill, and that Dildo is the name of a character in Lord of the Rings.

Etiology: stems from childhood recalcitrance in response to paternal exploratory caresses and other signs of affection, leading to fear-driven rejection of instructor's expressions of interest in student's amatory and intellectual development.

Treatment: libidinol (Freudamine).

Prognosis: good, with repeated instructor follow-ups.

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Copyright 1992 Bill Kaul and Doug Robinson