Is it unhealthy or justified for men to be terrified of women?

[Anonymous]

And could the following be considered childish, or justified?

Scenario 1: A young man (with severe self doubt) finds himself face to face with a woman (who smiles at him) at a party or bar. He sweats profusely, trembles, and runs away screaming in fear.

Scenario 2: A young man is walking alone on a rail trail. Momentarily alone, he sees a young woman walking in his direction. Considering they are on a former railroad track, he panics and screams "TRAIN!". He means the woman herself is an oncoming train, her legs are the pistons, her feet are the wheels, and her voice would be the train whistle. He runs in the opposite direction trying to avoid getting hit/run over by this "train" (aka rejected or humiliated for being not attractive enough).

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

So what you’re describing specifically sounds like gynophobia, which is not the same as why men think they’re afraid of women. Gynophobia is a completely irrational fear of women, and obviously not a healthy one but there’s very little to be done about it beyond exposure therapy.


I thought you were talking about the men afraid to approach women to ask them on a date, afraid she would accuse them of rape or assault or some such. This is not gynophobia, obviously. This is a fear based in misogyny.

[Anonymous]

Both men and women have valid reasons to be afraid of the opposite sex. Men are more likely to harm a woman physically, and women are more likely to harm a man emotionally, accuse him of something he didn't do, or destroy his life with divorce, take his children from him and force him to pay child support and alimony, making it far more difficult for him to have another relationship with different woman (because one of the things that makes him most valuable to another woman has been severely compromised).

[slickrick6600]

I’m scared of certain women when they are angry like my grandmother and one of my freinds mothers. I respect those ladies so much and care a lot for them but when they yell I tremble a bit. Your scenarios seem like kind of an unrealistic fear. I don’t have a fear of the average lady I see everyday, some of the fear may be fear of getting rejected. It would be weird if someone was scared of all women.

[Nikki1989]

Yes, this perpetuates harmful stereotypes. The vast majority of women are not threatening or dangerous.