Parasitic Paranoia: Our Fear of the Freeloading
Asking why the majority of us are intrinsically afraid of parasites is like asking why one would feel apprehensive towards the guy in your hallway with a particularly large knife. It’s obvious from an evolutionary and instinctual standpoint that the fear of parasites stems from the inherent harm they cause us: No one is trying to argue for the benefits of a nice case of ringworm. But is that the only reason why we get the shivers from thinking about tiny organisms with a penchant for slithering around our intestines? Read on as we explore this universal anxiety, and whats its cinematic adaptions tell us about the human psyche.
Sexual Assault
So it might seem a bit far-fetched of me to insinuate that a fear of parasites is linked to an inherently sexual anxiety. But is it, truly? The whole concept of a parasite is simple: Someone who shouldn’t be inside you…is inside you! Tiny microscopic worm or otherwise, the invasion of one’s “sanctuary” — the fleshy vessels we‘re all forced to flop around in until its inevitable failure — is a disturbing concept. As such, cinematic horror has taken the fear of parasites and bumped it up one through the insinuation of sexual undertones, giving viewers further revulsion towards the idea of parasitic infestation. This comparison isn’t expressed anymore vividly than it is in Shivers (1975), where the hosts of the movie’s creepy-crawlies “turn into erotically obsessed maniacs who pass the bugs on through violent sex.” Sickening, right?
Fear of Death/Decomposition
Now this one is a bit easier to understand. Of course we as living, breathing organisms who’re hyper-aware of the inevitability of death find any natural-occuring threats to our health as sinister. One might argue, however, that the fear of parasites goes deeper than that…Worms, bugs, and everything else the weird guy next-door keeps inside jars possess the connotation of being unhygienic, mainly because they’re also nature’s decomposers, meaning they get a sick-kick out of invading our corpse’s personal space to break down our organic matter into nutrients for both themselves and the soil. Having something so seemingly harmless and minuscule inside of you pre-death gives the unfortunate feeling of being decomposed in a waking-state, a jarring mental image that has most of us washing our hands roughly three times before each meal. Who wants to be utilized for their nutrients by a foreign entity regardless? At least when we’re dead its nothing personal!
Fear of Contagion/Uncleanliness/STD’s
So you’ve contracted a classic case of protozoa. What does that say about you? Looks like someone hasn’t been keeping themselves clean, or has been mucking around in places and near things they shouldn't have. To become infected with a virus in itself is a result of a microscopic parasite (The more you know!), but to become infected by something perceivable? That’s puking territory right there. We all want to believe we’re hygienic people, that our modern values will prevent our chaste bodies from falling victim to any malicious forces…But sometimes things happen! But to come to terms with these realties, we tend to place the blame elsewhere, be it contamination from another person’s disgusting pathogens, or maybe in food we had given the benefit of the doubt. Regardless, a fear of parasites is a direct fear of the reflection such infestation places on us, usually resulting in tremendous shame.
So what can we do with this information?
Besides hold down our lunch? We can acknowledge where these anxieties stem from, and in doing so help pacify our own internally anxious, sobbing child. (Believe me, this used to be an extreme phobia of mine! Thankfully adulthood is a twisted game of beating down one’s fears and weaknesses through exposure!) But beyond that, we can also acknowledge the unfair stigma placed towards those unfortunate enough to be met with the shit-end of life’s stick. Parasites, in all their forms, are good at what they do for a reason: They evolved to make infiltrating our good-health as easily as possible (thanks God[?]). That being said, if you find yourself in your own twisted state of repulsion towards reality, take a step back and acknowledge that you’re only human, and such hinderances to one’s health is not a reflection of your character, but rather choice evidence of a) God’s lack of existence, or b) Proof the guy is kind of a fucked-up sadist. Next time you contemplate such universal anxieties to an uncomfortably intimate extent (Or is that just me?), remember to be objective in analyzing where the fear stems from, and how you can utilize this knowledge to break-down any biases you’ve formed.
