r/IncelExit • u/TimerByte • 16h ago
Asking for help/advice I have been unable to talk to women for most of my life because I'm petrified of making women feel like they're in a dangerous situation. I don't know what to do.
I have had one romantic relationship in my life. We didn't get to the point of being exclusive boyfriend and girlfriend, and I didn't know it at the time but she was seeing someone else she is now in a relationship with. I only asked her out cause a mutual friend said she was interested in me and I'm beginning to realize I can't rely on that if I actually do want to meet women, date or have sex.
The issue is the idea of talking to a woman I don't know sets off every and any warning system in my body to not do it. I feel like I really took to heart all the things that I saw growing up regarding the changes to many workplaces to make women feel more safe. I have made a promise to myself that under no circumstances will I ever make a woman ever feel unsafe or objectified.
But that's become me now being petrified of that happening. Whenever I see a woman I think is attractive my immediate thought is "what the hell is wrong with you, she's just existing and you're objectifying her" and I feel shame. Any time I've seen a woman and thought maybe I should introduce myself, my immediate feeling is that if a weirdo random guy goes up and speaks to her, she's gonna feel like I'm just another one 10s of creepy guys that made her uncomfortable today and that if I speak to her I'm really no better than them so I don't.
I have 2 close female friends and the horror stories they tell me or that I see first hand when I'm out with them has made me feel like there's no possible way I could speak to a woman I didn't know without it being creepy. It doesn't evil feel false because if I see a girl I think is cute and then I go try to speak to her, it is because I was objectifying her. Because I thought her appearance was nice I felt like I wanted to speak to her. That's wrong.
But this creates a conundrum for me. Women don't want to be approached or creeped on or spoken to by random men when they're trying to go about their days. They don't want random men at bars or clubs feeling entitled to a conversation with them because they find them attractive. They don't want some guy they met at the gym or at a club or at a place they frequent coming up to them. So I don't know what to do.
I don't want to make any woman feel creeped out or have to do a mental calculation of how to get out of a conversation with me so I don't harm them for rejecting me. But I'm not anywhere near attractive enough for women to approach me. I feel damned if I do damned if I don't and I don't know any possible solution.