So for what it's worth, I've noticed kids and teenagers---including girls---are just NOT scared of my snakes. Even if they claim to be scared of snakes, they go from wary to curious to handling the animal in about 5-10 minutes.
But adults, man. When an adult says they're scared of snakes, they really mean it. I've seen adults get over it, too, but it takes months of effort on their part. It's almost as if the fear doesn't really lock in permanently until kids turn into adults.
Re: Interesting Article About The Fear of Snakes and Other "Crawling" Things
Another theory is that primates developed the sharp vision we enjoy today - a rarity in the animal kingdom - to avoid getting eaten by snakes (proto-primates used to be quite small). And once they evolved the better vision, around 60 million years ago, snakes developed venom.
Look up Lynne Isbell. Interesting stuff. I did a research paper on it for my anthropology class.
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