Reddit Asks, “Are Women Scared Of Men In Elevators?”
Louise Peralta
People are naturally scared of being stuck in any confined space.
Thankfully, there’s only a limited number of instances where one will be forced or will willingly go into a small space.
One such instance is getting into an elevator.
There are lots of understandable reasons to fear getting into an elevator, like that stray thought of what if the elevator somehow falls to the ground, or what if the power went out and were stuck in there for hours? The fear is relatively common, although there is no official phobia of elevators. Elevators also may trigger claustrophobia and agoraphobia.
One Redditor was curious though and asked one question in particular.
“Are women scared of men in elevators?”
Speaking as a woman and an almost daily elevator user, it can be scary sometimes.
Setting aside my fear of awkward greetings or small talk, there’s always that little nervous feeling when you get into an elevator with another person, regardless of gender, because who knows what they can do in the small amount of time you’re with them in an elevator ride?
Say that you have little faith in humanity; you’ll always have doubts about people’s intentions, you know?
This Redditor wrote, “I entered an elevator at 1 am. There was already a woman in the elevator; she didn't look happy about me entering the elevator and looked at me throughout the entire time.”
Anything can be scary at 1 AM, really. But hideous crimes often occur during these times.
“For reference, I'm 6'4. Perhaps she was afraid of me. Is that common?”
Given that OP might look intimidating due to his height, maybe he’s right to assume that the woman was afraid of him.
One person said that women are simply cautious and added their own story about how his wife went to a college back in the 70s where the male professors were notorious for groping women students if they got on an elevator. Disgusting behavior.
Another person kindly provided a tip by saying, “From my experience, the best way to avoid unintentionally scaring a lone woman in an elevator or small closed-off space is to just [mess] around on my phone while only 'half-paying attention' to my surroundings.
“They usually relax after noticing that I have no interest in them and would rather be glued to my phone (for at most a few minutes) to minimize face-to-face interaction. It also helps to have a relaxed, 'mellow' bodily posture (if you're standing up all stiff and robot-like, it looks creepy).”
I do this as well, just so I can avoid eye contact with anyone in an elevator, but it’s still important to pay attention to your surroundings, even if you or the person you’re alone with is using their phone.
All this must sound judgmental to some, but it’s important to recognize that being cautious like this is just because we need to keep ourselves safe no matter what.
As another Redditor commented, “We KNOW most men won't hurt us, but we don't know if the one coming towards us will!”
Read the original post below.
Are women scared of men in elevators?
by u/Altruistic_Good_9053 in NoStupidQuestions
