Does social anxiety effect more girls then boys?

[shy_miss_fly]

Do you think social axniety effect more girls then boys. Im not saying that I have never met a shy guy before, but compared too the number of girls that Ive seen. The girls out number the guys easily. Even if you look at the people on this web site, I think theres more girls then guys, or maybe girls are just more open to talk about their feelings. I once read a poll bewteen girls and boys and it said that 80% percent of women think they are ugly and 80% of men think they are goodlooking/average.

Sometimes I blame the media and entertainment for women having low self esteem and feeling ugly. There are such high standards now for what a beautiful girl is. Not saying there arent some beautiful celebritity men out there. But if a female celebritity gains 20 lbs, you read about it all over the magazines and hear about it. But if a male celebrity gains 20 lbs nobody cares! Why is that??

 

[MaGuS]

From what I read SA effects more women then men.

but don't blame the media the girls/women are the ones doing the comparing. but yeah, I do think it is sad and unfortunate that 99.9% of people think beauty and wealth have to do solely w/ external factors.

 

[black_mamba]

For what its worth, I don't think there is a distinction between how badly SP hits either gender.

Sure, it seems as if there is a lot of pressure on females to be goddesses, and similarly theres pressure on men to be tough, insensitive and muscley, but it depends on how vunerable the individual is to that pressure. Being socially anxious doesn't neccessarily mke you more vunerable to media pressure, in my opinion.

 

[shy_miss_fly]

I think the pressure on women today is awful. I have two daughters ages 16 and 19 and the pressure on them to look good and be slim one minute or curvy the next is ridiculous.

I am 19 years old, from the age of 16 i have battled with anorexia. I always told myself im ugly and I thought if I was super model skinny, I would feel better about myself, i was wrong! I am trying to change, im working on being healthy instead of hurting myself. Also I am working on focusing on the positive things about myself, and it is helping. But im just concerned about the younger girls out there and the pressure too look good is defiently getter worse.

 

[allanboy]

Shy guys, especially probable SA ones, are kinda rare around here where i live. Well, at least looking at them. I dont do all that talking/asking about people, so it´s hard to know.

 

[anxietyhelponline]

i believe it affects more woman than men.

 

[Lost_Nomad]

yes the statistic is 2_to_1, two girls for every guy with SP. it is cultural, but also it is universal. girls are weaker than guys, they dont develope aggresive behavour like guys, and because of the role that females play to males , males are not good mothers, and females just aren't supposed to protect the guy. there should be a law suit against those damn toy and clothing corporations though, just like with the tobacco companies. they are shapin young girls minds and continue to do so in such a negitive way, i mean trying to look like a plastic doll is just stupid, and they advocate only one kind of girl, you never see the the sexy SP girls as dolls. :roll:

 

[BreakThePain]

I think mild, not-so-life-davestating SA affects more girls than guys, but severe SA seems to be more common among guys than girls.

also don't forget that "shyness" is not much of a problem to a girl as it is to a guy , specially in dealing with the opposite sex, to a guy serious SA just totally SHUTS YOU DOWN in every aspect of social life

 

[Horatio]

There are a lot of pressures on young guys, which is one reason why the suicide rate here for males is much higher than for females.

I think socially it is far less acceptable for males to be shy or have social anxiety than for females, perhaps it effects just as many people of each gender but males are less likely to admit its a problem and seek help?

 

[pitkreet]

I've no idea about the numbers but have read that men are less likely to seek help for SA, so their problem remains hidden.

One thing that I've noticed, and perhaps it's just a false perception, is that more women with SA seem to be married, have kids, etc, than men with SA, who often live alone.

Is it that the onus is still more on guys to pursue a partner? So if you have SA, you're going to find it doubly hard to make that move.

 

[kody]

I can't remember where I have read it, but i have read that whilst it is more common for girls, guys are actually more likely to seek help, because it often is a bigger problem for them.
kody.

 

[talisman]

Perhaps mild shyness is more common in girls than guys, but I find it hard to believe one sex is more likely to suffer social anxiety than the other.

 

[testobot]

I think it affects about 16% of women and 10% of men during there lifetimes. But in my opinion because of the irrational belief that men are somehow inherently (mentally) stronger, it is reported less by men.

I do agree that the media produces an unrealistic expectation for what they deam as physical perfection. But, a lot of the media that does this are women's magazines and such. Some people think that this trend came along with the obscenely thin 'Twiggy' supermodel. While some men do like thin women, in reality I believe most of us (well myself anyways) prefer curvy women- not too fat and not too thin.

But with that said- on average I believe (yes- I am mostly speaking for myself) would prefer mild physical imperfections as long as we could be in a longterm relationship with a caring and nice woman who has a beautiful personality. Do any other men feel this way?

Anywho, we all have our own pains and I sympathize with yours, but, just because some expectations are not overt like physical beauty does not mean that men do not suffer from high social expectations. How many dating websites have you seen where they ask women to prioritize what they think is attractive in a man? Usually the first thing you see is confidence, assertiveness, followed by abiltity to communicate easily. Do you know how stressful this high expectation can be for someone who has a shy temperment and who is an introvert or naturally quiet? over and over you hear it- and me as a man feels like I am taken down a notch in my self esteem and I feel less attractive by women sexually and society at large.

I dunno I have my own theories, but I am no expert... but I use to kinda wish this whole feminism thing worked out- not only so women would be equally on economic scale, but also on a relationship level so that women could find thier own confidence and stop expecting men to be thier source of strength. I mean granted- a less confident person would like to be with a confident person, but why can't shy men be more attractive towards confident women?

Anywho, I think it all comes down to... the people who are benifiting do not want change to disrupt their lives... the confident men who get the women do not want the less confident men to get into their game (so they label them as effiminate, etc) and the women who benifit in relationships do not want change in relationships... also the thin women who are benifiting- like those stick figure women in tabloids and such do not want change.

ah.. sorry for bantering for so long... lastly I think we all just want to be accepted and loved.. but I guess that goes without saying.. but most men just want to be loved by a nice girl who cares about them. well speaking about longterm relationships anyways.. as far as flings or whatever that maybe a different story.. I dunno..

 

[pitkreet]

...

 

[pitkreet]

I can't remember where I have read it, but i have read that whilst it is more common for girls, guys are actually more likely to seek help, because it often is a bigger problem for them.
kody.

Actually, now you mention it, I've read that somewhere also. I think it was something to do with the stereo-typical male/female roles where males are supposed to be the confident go-getter and females demure and timid, so if a female is behaving in a shy way, it' can be seen as normal and appropriate, whereas the male acting in a shy way is seen as falling short of the mark. Thus, a male will be more aware that his behaviour is inadequate and so is driven to seek help, although he could take the bus.

So, I think we've proved that men are more likely to seek help, and that women are more likely to seek help :roll: .

btw, nice to hear from you kody.

 

[TigerShark]

I think it makes sense that more girls seek help then men, but being a man, I can understand why there aren't many of us coming to the forefront. Think about it from the opposite sex's perspective. A regular guy sees a shy girl as possibly a challenge? Whereas an outgoing female sees a shy guy as insecure and not suitable for her needs? These are just views from my perspective so don't take them as fact, after all, I have social anxiety.

 

[arachnid]

Given that autism effects boys more than girls I would imagine social anxiety would follow a similar pattern.