Are women more risk-averse than men?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Okay - I know this is likely to be an inflammatory topic, and that this Board has had some regrettable experiences with trolls piously intoning “I am not trolling, this is a serious question” while trolling their little troll hearts out like bridges were going out of style. So, if this is seen as a troll, I can understand that, and I truly apologize. But I honestly don’t mean it as a troll.

That said, here’s the question: Are women, either as a result of culture or genetics, more risk-averse than men? Or do they assess risk in consistently different ways?

The reason I ask is that I’ve noticed I frequently do things - exploring new cities by myself, heading to bars by myself, and so on - that female friends find to be incredibly, foolhardily dangerous. Tonight, for example, I’m staying in New Orleans. I hopped on a streetcar by myself, took it to Bourbon Street, walked around for a while, had a drink, and came back to my hostel the same way.

This struck me as totally, completely safe. The streetcar was well-lit, and the driver was a petite woman with the disarmingly endearing New Orleans habit of calling everybody “baby”. Bourbon Street itself, for those who don’t know, is the main bar strip in New Orleans - I certainly wouldn’t call it family-friendly, but it’s brightly lit and heavily policed.

When I came back, however, the women I was staying with were shocked that I’d have done that. “I’d never do that!” “You could have been hurt!” and so on.

I’ve seen the same reaction to a lot of similar things I’ve done. Now, I’m totally willing to concede that I may simply be a colossal fool who’s avoided trouble so far only by sheer luck. And I’d also point out that, when I ask about risk-aversion, I’m not trying to impugn womens’ courage, or character, or anything of that sort. But there does seem to be a very real disconnect between how I (and other dudes I know) view the world, and how women view it. Do you, the Teeming Masses, think this is something real? Or am I imagining it from insufficient data and a stunning lack of good sense?

2

Perhaps the reality is that women have more to worry about than men do. I don’t mind doing stuff by myself, but quite a few men out there see this as some kind of sign that I am secretly lonely and dying for the pleasure of their company. Sometimes they can be quite insistent. It doesn’t stop me from going out alone, but it does make me warier about things my guyfriends probably wouldn’t think twice about. YMMV.

3

Well, the evolutionary psychologists would postulate that high risk/high reward behaviour pays off for men a lot more than women.

4

I was just reading about this today. Here’s the link I saw: News

It’s a quick run-down of an article published by a UC Davis researcher. They found that women were more cautious about risks than men, even pre-school aged ones.

5

Every study I’ve ever heard of says that women are more cautious then men.

I don’t think so. Men are more likely to be the victims of violent crime except rape ( discounting prison ) than women. People are more willing to to help women as well.

6

Women can find themselves in all kinds of bad situations that men don’t normally have to encounter. I can see why some women might not to want to go to Bourbon Street by themselves, rape of course is a danger, but so too is a group of drunken frat boys screaming “show us your tits,” groping passengers on the street car, etc. etc. What was safe for you might not be safe for a woman by herself.

Of course, having said that, there are plenty of women who are not as risk averse as your friend.

7

I use a Safety Risk Assessment at work. The higher the score, the higher the risk. Female = 1 point, Male = 2.

8

I would’ve happily hopped on the streetcar by myself and gone to Bourbon Street, but only if I were meeting people at a bar there.

The only bars I have ever gone to alone were the ones I worked at. That way I knew half the crowd and the whole staff.

If you’re a woman and you’re under ninety years old and even remotely attractive, sitting at a bar by yourself is an invitation to all sorts of annoying attention. Most of it harmless, but still. Not the most enjoyable way to spend an evening.

I don’t know that I’ve ever thought of it as a “risk,” though. It’s just not something that sounds like fun.

Perhaps there’s a point there. Perhaps men view things as fun or worthwhile that women see as either risky or just pointless.

I’m not averse to taking risks. I just don’t encounter very many things that are worth it.

9

Agreed with everything you said. I’ve walked around the Bourbon Street area by myself at night, but a woman going to a bar alone, just about anywhere, sounds like the equivalent of slapping a “hit on me, I’m looking for a good time” neon sign on. And that sounds like zero fun. (Unless, of course, that’s what you are looking for!)

10

From the time they’re little girls, women are bombarded with warnings about going anywhere alone, talking to strangers, being out at night, etc.
Public perception is that the world is more dangerous for women than men, even though statistics show that men are attacked by strangers more than women are.
It might be that men are attacked by strangers more than women are because women have been warned so thoroughly that they rarely ever do what men will do without even thinking twice about it.

11

“More to worry about” isn’t just our own personal safety, it’s about protecting our young. Yes, I’d say women are definitely more risk-averse than men. There’s the stereotype of Mama providing the soft nest for the kids, while Dad encourages them to roughhouse.

In terms of young children, I don’t think the difference between my twins is vast, but my son is a bit more physically adventurous than my daughter. Even at age 2, he was stronger and his build has always given him an advantage. He’s got this rangy frame, all bones and muscle. My daughter’s more cuddly, just melts into me. But, she’s more clever and manipulative.

12

Your twins must make a fascinating in-house study. As I remember it, my son was as cuddly as my daughter, and both are intelligent, but his intelligence manifested in trying things out, taking more risks to do so, and figuring stuff out. She’s more likely to try something once, and then talk someone else into doing it for her. Even if she knows how to do something, she’ll tell you she doesn’t, often grinning as she does so, in order to get you to play with her. “Manipulative” is a spot on word choice.

13

There is much discussion in feminist criminological theory on risk aversion as it pertains to both female victims and perpetrators. Anne Campbell suggests in Men, Women and Aggression (1993) that one compelling reason that fewer women commit the most serious categories of crime is, in fact, risk aversion. She argues that women are socialized to avoid risk because of the detrimental impact of risk taking on child rearing, especially at a time when breast feeding was the norm. Campbell’s work has since been expounded on and, in my opinion, corrupted by those who would support the notion of hard-wired difference between the sexes, separate from gender roles.

From the victimization stand point, Meda Chesney-Lind (I believe) relates the story of being at a public laundry, alone, late at night. She expressed embarrassment and anger with herself that she was so frightened that she would run to the machine, start the cycle, and then run back to her car and lock herself in. She awaited the end of the washer’s cycle and would again dash to the machines, change the laundry to the dryer and run again to her car. Her point in relating this was that women, in our society, are socialized to be very aware of the perils of public life. This was mentioned before, above. I use her story to illustrate the difference in perceived and real risk, as they related to sex, in class. It is very useful in that frequently men are oblivious of something that is largely taken as a given in the life experiences of women.

14

I get warped by this concept. The most important people in my life are my young daughters, my wife, and my mother. My mother is a full-time professional speaker and author and travels the world largely by herself including the Middle East and Asia. My wife travels the world as well. Just hand her a plane ticket and she will go wherever it is like it is the most natural thing in the world. My oldest daughter is brave to an almost unhealthy level (look at this snake I caught daddy!) and the youngest is trending that way as well.

These are all anecdotes I know but they are the ones that really matter to me. My wife and I went to college in New Orleans and we are fully aware that some things are dangerous. She has gone back herself. It would never occur to her that any reasonable location would be something she couldn’t handle.

15

I am also reminded of fairytales where girls take risks and are punished, while boys take risks and are rewarded (generally speaking; of course there are exceptions). For the longest time society has urged girls to stay safe at home and not wander off the beaten path, so to speak.

I remember when I was 20 and about to take a trip to Europe on my own - my friends thought I was crazy, even though they didn’t blink an eye when a guy friend of ours traveled by himself in India. Statistically I may have been less likely to encounter trouble than my guy friend, but the public perception is that women are more vulnerable than men, and when everyone around you is wringing their hands it’s hard not to be affected by it all. (Not that it ever stopped me from doing what I wanted.)

16

Well, we DO send our boys off to war while keeping the girls at home.

Some of it’s cultural (hating fairy tales right about now), but I think plenty of it is hormonal or otherwise physical. Two kids try the same act and get different outcomes, it shapes their perception of themselves and the world.

(yes, WhyNot, it’s fascinating!)

17

Well sure, but the question is what is “reasonable”, and does it differ, roughly speaking, on gender lines. I, having never been to New Orleans, would say that it’s reasonable for me to refuse to walk alone at night there - I’d find someone to hang out with, even it if was just another woman. My husband thinks that’s odd, and he would (and has) walked around in N.O. alone after dark. We’re only two more anecdata points, but it supports the general research.

And, having gone to college there changes things, I think. When you’ve gotten to know an area, it changes the perceived risk. I will walk alone at night on most of the streets in my neighborhood, but I do avoid one street with a nasty bar on one corner and an abandoned Burger King on the other which I suspect, although I don’t know, would make an excellent hang-out for dealing and gang use. When I first moved here, I wouldn’t walk anywhere alone after dark, until I better acquainted myself to the neighborhood. Yet, again, our first night here, my husband walked through that very block to pick up some hot dogs for dinner after the move.

And my husband, unlike me, *has *been jumped and physically beaten, badly enough for him to land in the hospital for several days. It was years ago, but I’ve often wondered why it didn’t make him more risk-averse. But no, he still goes traveling to unfamiliar cities and stays in hostels and walks alone at all hours in areas where I’d rather order delivery and stay in!

18

I read this and the first thing that popped into my head was Little Red Riding Hood, daring young chick that was eaten by the wolf, and had to be rescued by the woodsman. On the other hand, we have Jack the thief and his big beanstalk. Though he was saved twice by the giant’s wife, in the end he had to be the ‘man’ and save himself by cutting down the beanstalk.

When I was 17, two friends of mine and I piled into a station wagon and drove west for a month long vacation, armed only with a pile of cash, sleeping bags, tents, guns, fishing poles and ok - some illicit herbal materials. Mom and dad thought nothing of it. When I was 20, I bought a Eurail Pass, a round trip ticket to London, and disappeared with a friend for a month, again, no second thoughts. My sister wanted to do almost the same thing when she was 22, and my folks were having none of it.

19

I think women rate risks the same way men do: what are your chances of protecting yourself or extracting yourself from a situation should you run into a jam? Some women can handle themselves in a physical confrontation. Many cannot (read: ME). If you’re not strong or agile or comfortable with using a weapon, you may think twice before getting into risky situations.

Most women I know tend to cut the risky stuff down once they have children. I think it’s natural to feel that way. I know men who sold their motorcycles once they became parents, but it was often at the request of their wives.

20

I probably wouldn’t go to a bar alone, but not because I’m afraid, more because I just don’t want to look like a loser.

But now that I think of it, sometimes I am in the mood for a drink when I’m by myself. And men who would be hitting on me are probably led around easily by their dicks…which equals free booze. Hooray!