Social IssuesFEB 2, 2024

"What's The Scariest Thing About Being A Woman?": 45 People Share Their Honest Answers

Being a woman can be amazing. There’s nothing stronger than the bond of sisterhood, and women are unstoppable when they band together and support one another. Girls just want to have fun, after all!

But unfortunately, being a woman isn’t all fun and games, as ladies are five times more likely to be killed by a partner and three times more likely to be abducted. To bring attention to the frightening reality of being a woman, even in today’s modern world, Redditors have recently been discussing the scariest things women have to deal with every day. We’ve gathered some of their most harrowing responses below, so be sure to upvote the thoughts you agree with, and keep reading to find a conversation with the Reddit user who started this thread.

#1

Its so funny how in the post for scary things about being a woman, the overwhelming answer is basically men. Men raping us, men killing us, men trapping us with kids and then abusing us. Them assaulting us and then blaming us for our assault. Them assaulting us and then accusing us of lying, etc.

In the post for scary things about being a man, the overwhelming answer I saw was their reputation. Being perceived as a pedo, being perceived as a creep, etc.

And while being percieved as a threat must suck, I cant help but not feel bad because thats the result of their behaviors. You dont get to historically and systematically oppress and assault women and children and then walk around this world with the reputation of being protectors and leaders.

Women face hardship because of men. Men face hardship because of other men.

PiNKCaNDYxOxO

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246points

#2

"What's The Scariest Thing About Being A Woman?": 45 People Share Their Honest Answers

The fact that my basic human rights are up for debate and are not guaranteed.

F_UR2Cents, Anna Shvets

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242points

#3

The rise of incels and the manosphere

I am genuinely afraid of what is going to happen once these teenagers raised on alpha male podcasts and incel communities start getting into politics and law. I am terrified.

I’m terrified of the way youtube is pushing this content mercilessly in their algorithm. I’m afraid of the way some argue women shouldn’t have rights, shouldn’t vote, domestic abuse should be legal.

I’m just honestly terrified that this content is going to lead to a wave of misogynist and dangerous policies in the future

snoort, Gustavo Rangel

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212points

To find out how this conversation started in the first place, we reached out to Reddit user Forced_to_Exist_, who posed the question, "What’s the scariest thing about being a woman?” She was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda, sharing that she was simply interested in hearing about the experiences of other women.

The OP also noted what she considers to be some of the scariest aspects of being a woman. "To me personally, giving birth and having my reproductive and human rights taken away from me by the government," Forced_to_Exist_ says.

She added that she's childfree for various reasons, including how terrifying pregnancy and birth are. "But also because of how hard it is for mothers out there," the OP noted. "Our healthcare system treats pregnant and birthing women like animals."

#4

I am male but have seen it said before when regarding going on a first date. Men are scared she will be fat. Women are scared they will be raped and/or murdered.

When I was young I thought that was just anti-male hyperbole. But then after I met my ex wife and she told me the horrible things that have happened. Then other women close to me opened up

I no longer think it was hyperbole. Men do terrible things to women and often go unpunished. I am not surprised women fear. It is horrible to live in fear like that. It’s not fair and it’s not right.

Anyway not sure what else I can say. I just hope the good guys outweigh the evil.

Fistandantalus, cottonbro studio

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189points

#5

dudes will literally beat the s**t out, or even kill you in a fit of uncontrolled emotional rage over mundane things , while simultaneously claiming you are the one that's unable to control your emotions

pepper-blu, Ekaterina Belinskaya

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188points

We were also curious if the OP believes most men understand how scary it can be to be a woman. "They might have some idea when they meet aggressors who are bigger than them. But I don’t really think they will know how scary it is to be stalked or worried about being SA’d or raped," Forced_to_Exist_ says.

"I was SA’d by a high school student in a terrifying way when I worked there as a para-educator. I felt really powerless and terrified in that moment. After the giant kid aggressively SA’d me, some male school administrators didn’t understand my trauma to the full extent and even dismissed it," she shared.

#6

There is a long standing stigma of women being overly dramatic and medical professionals (even female professionals) dismissing their pain or discomfort.

I had several friends of varying ages who were misdiagnosed or ignored because the doctors assumed it was a pregnancy or period related problem.

Meanwhile, my older brother went to the doctor for what was a essentially heartburn and got every test under the sun to diagnose it.

SalemScout, Sora Shimazaki

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175points

#7

For any man reading and seeing the comments from women about rape/attacks/overpowering etc, I think I speak for majority of women when I say we don’t want/need your protection. WE JUST WANT YOU TO STOP ATTACKING US! Those doing these things are not aliens. They are your family, friends, neighbors or coworkers. Start protecting us by calling out any behavior you deem problematic if it were your daughter,granddaughter, grandma, mom, aunt, sister, niece,girlfriend/fiancee/wife, best girl friend and so on

trlblzryo

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155points

"So for men to imagine [what it's like to be a woman], it’s like you are always prey wherever you go," the OP continued. "I’m constantly scanning my environment when going on scenic walks in my countryside area, and I can’t just enjoy the nature without constantly worrying about a sexual predator driving by and abducting me, especially after a 14-year-old girl was abducted in my town a few years ago."

#8

Loss of reproductive rights in certain areas of the U.S.

mergelefthere, Austin Guevara

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152points

#9

Feeling like an inanimate object created for other's use, pleasure, and victimization.

I was a smart, sunny kid who trusted everyone. I am now a menopausal woman who trusts no one.

The things that happened in between are a whole novel, I suppose, but suffice to say that I am still working to see myself as a person who has value beyond her visual and sexual being, who can be loved as a person completely separate from my appearance, and who still has something to offer the world.

This becomes more difficult as I begin to disappear, which has happened as I have aged. It is bizarre and hurtful and unsettling. I don't know what else to say about it, except that my sense of self has been put through the shredder and the mill too often. And I really, really never expected this to happen.

suzepie, Felipe Cespedes

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148points

Forced_to_Exist_ went on to say that she found the responses to her post very intriguing. "Some of them got to my heart. As a woman, I didn’t even know such dreadful things other women go through were possible, like being sexually harassed by grown men while being children."

"One lady shared her experience of how a grown man complimented her 'birthing hips' while she was only 8," she added. "I related to the women that shared their experiences of being objectified and being treated as nothing but a walking womb or an object for gratification; this made me sick to my stomach."

#10

That there is no cure for some female specific diseases (PCOS, endometriosis ) but unisex/male diseases are much better researched.

Key_Assistance_2125, Pavel Danilyuk

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134points

#11

That almost any man you meet can easily overpower you without much effort. Any woman who ever had to physically fight a man knows well how helpless she felt at that moment.

wackogf, MART PRODUCTION

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131points

#12

Giving birth to a child is dangerous and post-partum injuries can be very serious.

FinitelyEmbark23, Büşranur Aydın

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130points

#13

Probably the fact that there are men (of which you can never identify with certainty until it's too late) who will prioritize their desire for your body over anything else - your consent, your wellbeing, your life, anything.

Ok_Status5476, Ba Tik

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125points

#14

Having to rely on men in order to have rights.

TooMuchMapleSyrup, Werner Pfenni

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122points

#15

Ah, I guess it depends on where you live, BUT as a Mexican woman I'd say existing is the scariest thing about being a woman.

Just Google "Mexico feminicidios" and you'll get it.

sinchistesp, MART PRODUCTION

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116points

#16

- There is a study that found that men are 6x more likely to leave their wives who are terminally ill than the other way around.

- In Canada, women are 5x more likely to donate a kidney to their spouse than men are (only 6.5% of husbands who are acceptable donors go on to donate). The disparity is far more extreme in some other countries.

- In Canada, the proportion of women killed by domestic partners is 8x greater than men.

For whatever societal reasons, women in heterosexual relationships are statistically overwhelmingly less likely to find the love and support that we rely on our partners for than men are, and are statistically far more likely to be endangered by the people they love. That's terrifying and tragic.

point5_2B, Andrea Piacquadio

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116points

#17

Not knowing if a guy is being friends with you to take advantage of you or if their actually being genuine. Confusing and scary

Stay_Upset545, George Pak

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116points

#18

Other things have been mentioned that I agree with. I'll add:

Not being taken seriously, especially in a medical situation.

Example: I went to the hospital in severe pain and the first things I was told and checked out for were period cramps and pregnancy, though I said it was neither. I felt like I was dying. After being pregnant and having 2 kids, I can say it felt like neither.

Turned out I had a severe kidney infection and could have died.

Edit to add since some people have mentioned it seems like a routine thing to to:

I was placed as 'not urgent' in the triage list and waited hours before they got to reviewing my test results. I sat in the corner of triage streaming feeling like I was dying and trying to tough it out because I felt ashamed and like an inconvenience that I went to the ER. When they finally did get to my results, they quickly changed their tune and treated me immediately. I could have gone septic while waiting for them to treat me.

That-redhead-artist, MART PRODUCTION

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112points

#19

As a heterosexual woman, you have to date your only natural predator.

You can also choose celibacy, but the predators will be still lurking around everywhere you go.

MarieTheHedonist, cottonbro studio

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104points

#20

The fact that every single one of us will have experienced sexual assault of one degree or another in our lifetimes.

DietPepsi4Breakfast

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104points

"What's The Scariest Thing About Being A Woman?": 45 People Share Their Honest Answers

#1

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Poll Question

How important is it to have conversations about the challenges women face in our society?

Poll Question

How important is it to have conversations about the challenges women face in our society?