And really, I am NOT making that up about huli jing. Huli are the explanation for a culturally bound syndrome called “koro” that is common in China. The most common version has men terrified that their penises will retract into the body, like a tape measure. Less common versions have the genitals being stolen by spirits (like huli jing) and replaced with inferior equipment, the penis of ghost, or the penis of a dead man.

Koro is also a contagious form of insanity, and can spread as a mass panic. There’s an article on this in the American Journal of Psychiatry: http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/145/12/1538?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=1&andorexacttitle=and&andorexacttitleabs=and&fulltext=koro&andorexactfulltext=and&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&sortspec=relevance&resourcetype=HWCIT

It’s also a common fear in some African countries, where witches are accused of stealing men’s penises.

Culturally bound syndromes are fabulously bizarre and vary wildly… but boy there’s a lot of ones related to things going wrong with the penis… And they aren’t confined to “primitive” cultures. The US has several culturally bound syndromes of it’s very own! (we actually had an incident involving on of them in my home town over the weekend, go fig!)

Here’s a handy summary of many of them:
http://fenris-lorsrai.livejournal.com/269711.html
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