To be honest I can barely even write down the words, but for as long as I remember I have been terrified and physically disgusted by bows. I think it started with them being on my vests and underwear when I was little, but I remember I used to rip and cut them out frantically, cutting the offending lace or fabric into little bits and hiding it at the bottom of my bin. Strangely the smaller the size or compactness of them made me more terrified of them. I can handle a knot in a shoelace for example, but a girls hair clip with even the shape of a bow sickens me. And this fear has only gotten worse and spread over time. It used to be just bows related to girls fashion that freaked me out, but now it’s spread to bows that men wear. I can’t even bring myself to write it down, so I’ll write it backwards- seitwob. It’s so bad that I will physically gag and run away in restaurants if a waiter is wearing one, I avert my eyes while going past shop windows with men’s clothing, plus weddings and proms are a no-go area. I have actually crossed the street and ran for a bit to get away from shops that I know had mannequins in the window wearing tuxedos and the bows around their necks. I genuinely feel so sick and uncomfortable just writing this down. I cannot look at pictures, even drawings of bows on or off a person, let alone in real life. In some ways pictures of them are worse to me cause they are static. Honestly just the thought of them makes me want to wash my brain out with bleach and leave the planet. How the hell I got like this I have no idea. I have no traumatic experiences relating to it that I know of. My mum has no idea either. Must have been murdered by someone wearing one in a past life or something cause I’m at a complete loss here. Life is difficult especially living in the West where it is fashionable. Anyway if anyone else in this big world shares this fear. You’re not alone.
I am petrified of bows
What Now?
Read comments from others who are dealing with this phobia or share your own experiences below. Remember, you're not alone!
Ken says
I am relieved that I am not the only one who can’t stand this. I think my phobia comes from my younger days when my cousin would wear a hoodie and constantly chew on the hood strings (it grosses me out just trying to type this). Now, any time I see a bow, I want to gag. I just avoid looking at it. A lot of the time, it is tied so haphazardly that I cannot for the life of me see why anyone could possibly think it looks good. None of my shoes have laces (replaced with elastic ones). I also do what someone else here does, which is tuck the laces into the top of my sneakers (If I still had ones with laces). Now that people wear all these shorts and bathing suits with drawstrings on the outside, I’m totally befuddled. What makes people think that this looks cool? I find nothing about putting your drawstring on the outside attractive or cool in any way, shape, or form. Forget me ever wearing a pair of surfer shorts. It’s like the laces are on the outside for decoration. Why in the world would someone actually like or wear this???
Katie Tawoda says
I just found this thread. I have an irrational fear of lace. If someone comes near me wearing lace, it makes me jump out of my skin and cry out. I hate it so much.
Dax says
I understand. It’s not my biggest phobia. I am petrified of sauces. Tomato sauce is the worst. But all sauces make me angry and scared, and I can’t be near them. But I also get creeped out by ‘girly’ things like bows, silky things, floaty sleeves, floaty scarfs, and flowers in people’s hair (not flowers just being flowers). Anything like that makes me feel sick. I could list a million things, but I do understand why bows are gross. I can be near them, but I’d rather not. I have never been formally diagnosed, but I think all of these fears are some form of sensory processing disorder possibly related to autism. As I’ve said, I’ve had no diagnoses, but I believe I have OCD and some level of autism. So maybe you all do too.
Trevor Jordan says
Finally I’ve found someone who shares my phobia about “‘girly’ things like bows, silky things, floaty sleeves, floaty scarfs, and flowers in people’s hair (not flowers just being flowers).” It’s such a relief to know that I am not alone, thank you for sharing this.
Kelly says
Finally, someone else that understands! I have been disgusted, terrified, and have felt the creepy crawlies over bows my whole life! If I’m in the same room as one, I can’t stop looking at it even though I can’t stand it. I am much better about it than I used to be! My mom likes to joke about how I wouldn’t sit by a girl in kindergarten because she had bows on her shoes. I don’t remember it, but even as an adult, I still wouldn’t sit near her! I can’t remember anything traumatic that’s ever happened to me, but if something ever did, bows had to be involved!
Myself says
Aha! So I’m not totally alone! Bows gross me out. When I was in my 20s, I learned to deal with shoelaces. But I still tuck the sides into my shoes. Yes, the smaller the bow, the worse it is. I feel sickened when I see them – especially the tiny ones on girls’ shirts. Any piece of clothing I ever encountered with a bow did not remain anywhere near me. I can’t look at people wearing them. I don’t care how pretty the person is; it’s a revolting thing to look at. I played softball for 3 years, then the coach had the bright idea to hot glue a giant bow in our school colors to the visors, and I quit then and there.
Suzanne says
Oh wow, I’ve finally found my people! I don’t think I’ve ever met anybody who shares my hatred of bows! I hated them when I was a kid. I wanted them cut off my shirts. I didn’t want them touching me (I also couldn’t stand embroidered clothing or shirts with itching fabric or anything like that, so maybe it partially started as a sensory thing?). To this day, I dislike the sight of them. I’m not made physically ill by them or anything that extreme, but I don’t want one near me, and I definitely don’t want one touching me. I don’t even want to hold a baby that’s wearing one. If I see that gross lingerie that has them, I’m disgusted. I don’t like ribbon bows on flowers or on gifts (I know it makes me sound ungrateful, but if I’m opening a gift that has a bow, I get it off as quickly as possible with as little contact with it as possible). In fact, all of Christmas is tricky because they’re everywhere. I love Christmas, despite the bows. I’m perfectly fine with shoestrings, or if I’m wearing a dress with a “sash,” I can tie that (but it has to be a thin string sash, those big wide ones are too much). Oh, and bowties are gross too.
the outlier says
I have an irrational fear and absolute disgust of silk bows. Like those on bras, or those that often young girls wear in the hair or baby girls. I hate them, I cannot look at them for prolonged periods, and it’s very hard for me to touch them, almost impossible to hold them. I have had this since I was a kid. I remember asking my mom to cut off the silk bow from her pajama because it upset me. I don’t know if my mom remembers this, but no one knows this. I’m so ashamed because this is one of the most ridiculous fears! I’m afraid of people making fun of me. Does someone else feel like me? I feel so alone in this.
Chino says
I just realized my own phobia of them. It’s only gotten worse living so close to Disneyland in CA because girls think the bow mini mouse hats or ears are cute and it completely destroys me.
Ilsa says
Me too! In my case I can trace it back to being babysat at 2 1/2 while my mother was in hospital having another baby (aka abandoning me!) – and a bow was put in my hair. Can’t stand them. Not so keen on ribbons either. Horrible slippery things. The sight of an infant with a bow makes me feel physically ill.
Corina says
I also share this absolute disgust with bows for as long as I can remember. Anytime I see, think, or even hear someone talk about them I just get so grossed out that my mouth salivates and I feel like I want to puke or run away. It’s to the point that even lace ruffles on socks/dresses can get me because usually bows are included. Also some ribbons can get me, especially if I’ve deconstructed the bow. I don’t understand why I feel like that for just a piece of fabric even if it’s a picture or painting or cartoon. Just bleh! My family doesn’t understand it either, my aunt thinks it’s a subconscious thing from when I was a baby, the nurses in the hospital where I was born in glued a bow to my head for my picture. Or in my past-life (if you believe in that), something horrendous must’ve happened for me to have such an aversion to them. Bow ties aren’t so bad for me, it’s the bigger and more frilly they look, the more it just downright sickens me.
Fin says
Not just me then!
Mirelle says
This is so weird, I have the same thing! They make me feel physically sick. I was just talking with my family about how strange it is and they told me to look it up, and I’ve found this! The only person who understands, wow.
Hannah says
The thing is, I wouldn’t call mine a fear, just a deep hatred for them; they’re gross and fake, and I don’t know why, but I can’t stand them. It’s fine if other people want to wear them, but I usually avoid those people just because of that. When I was younger, adults would call me cute, and I hated it because I associated the word cute with bows, and I hated those. Any bow asks to be ripped off; it’s overly cute, making it feel gross. I’m also not a fan of lace or tulle. If a dress had a string that would wrap around it and tie in the back, I’d take the whole thing off. Until late high school, I’d never wear shoes with laces. For me, the larger the bow, the more disgusting, like the bigger the spider, the grosser, but that also doesn’t make tiny ones any less nasty. I sound like I’m trolling right now, don’t I? It might’ve started and stayed with a dislike of extremely cutesy things. Cute animals are fine, but it’s gross when people make them pretty with a bow. Flat formal shoes are fine, but with bows on them, nope. I’ll accept flowers in hair or dresses, or jewels or glitter or sequins or studs, but that’s because they’re done to look elegant or natural, not whatever the heck nastiness a bow has. And obviously, I can’t stand seeing bow ties on men or anyone else. I don’t understand how they’re supposed to make you look nice or even “handsome.” Honestly, they make people look worse no matter how good-looking they are. In my college, I see grown women walking around with bows in their hair, and it’s gross; it’s terrible on kids, but I get it. It’s so much worse on adults. I’ve only recently been able to accept shoe laces and things that tie for the sake of the easy-to-pull drawstring; I get the utility of it, but for everything else, there’s no excuse. People are free to wear them, but I’m free to hate them.