Just a few brief observations and praises about my experiences and the subreddit. I have a background in philosophy (BA) and looking around my classes I noticed a distinct gender disparity amoung my colleges. Both in and out of school I have found women in general to be unwilling to engage in neither contemplation of discussion of philosophical ideas. In fact the times which I have actively pursued such conversations seem to either provoke hostility or extreme discomfort. I have not found this to be the case with men. A few ideas arose from this:

(Most) Women do not (seem to) like philosophy because:

-They are unable to understand that philosophy is not confrontational in nature, and are unable to distinguish a critique of an argument or idea from a critique of the person. On the flip side, their arguments often devolve to "ad hominem" attacks

-Women are either unwilling or unable to place themselves into another frame of thought or mind to pursue an argument from multiple angles. I have found that they have a stance they viciously (and often poorly) defend withing being able to realistically or faithfully consider alternative or counter-arguments.

-Feelings do extremely little to advance any argument in the overwhelmingly majority of cases and their augmentation tends to exclusively or massively consist of "I feel..." or "How would you like..." statements. The only area where this occasionally would be admissible is ethics and it is still a very weak form of argument.

-(Good) Philosophy demands clear and concise definitions of relevant terms and ideas to lay the foundation for any kind of mutual understanding and debate. Posing a definition for the sake of argument or compromise is often met with "well that isn't what it means to me" or they are unwilling to admit/consider cases or arguments that challenge the one extremely narrow definition they have chosen for the sole purpose of making their argument work.

-One of the goals of philosophy is often to challenge assumptions, women often hold assumptions that are both extremely advantageous to their position and thoroughly unexamined. They cannot afford or are frightened of a change in world view.

-Finally, unwilling to compromise or admit that they may be wrong about, or have an incomplete understanding of an idea, assumption, or concept.

I am curious if you have had similar experiences and either agree or disagree with my observations or points above.

There are always exceptions to the rule somewhere. Much of this may be tied with their lack of desire for self improvement as well. And finally I would like to applaud this subreddit's dedication to discussing and confronting truth, despite how uncomfortable it may be sometimes. The level of intellectual discussion on here astounds me for an internet fourm, I saw not 1 but 8 philosophy quotes discussed and used in proper context in a thread recently. Most importantly you guys tend to be civil and show a foster a level of brotherhood and respect I have come to love. I am still new and learning, but you guys have given me much hope for this endeavor.

TLDR: Women don't like philosophy for a myriad of reasons. You guys are civil, intellectual and foster real discussion and continue to push your brothers to be better, and I love that.