Much fewer women on Strava? Female perspectives welcome

Female here. I post on Strava under a fake name. Despite a 400 m privacy zone, a dude I recently met at a bar (using my real name) found my home address through unraveling various 'clues'.

I'm not the usual target of male attention and I think I've handled the situation, but this is f**king creepy.

Going forward as I've always lived my life: I just choose - perhaps naively - to believe that I'm not really the target audience for creeps/rapists. That is: I believe I'm way down the list when it comes to being a "hot", receptive, attention/validation-seeking (interested) etc. female...

But can see why chicks aren't so keen.

(Plus, don't live in USA, so feel safer out here...)

With restrictive privacy settings, you don't show up in settings listings. I used to have my account open but started getting paranoid about stalkers. (Like many women, I had a stalker about 10 years ago. I'm older and grayer now, so I doubt it would happen again, but Strava really puts your life out there, at least if you run daily like I do.) So, I don't show up on segment listings. My theory is that a big part of the differential is that more women will have their accounts locked down like I do and not show up in segment results lists.

I also think women runners tend not to be as competitive as men on the whole, so the competitive aspect isn't as appealing overall. I am VERY competitive, so I love this part of Strava (and am really conflicted about the privacy settings bit), but I'm the exception, not the norm.

*segments listings

To follow up further, I also use Instagram, and while it may seem like that is more public, given you're sharing photos, unlike Strava, you're not telling people where you are at what time. Like many people, I run from home, so Strava, even with a privacy zone, gives people a pretty good idea where I live. Also, most women I know have Instagram set to private. I know there are a lot of nano-influencers hawking this and that on Insta, but they're actually trying to make money. I bet if you look at the fraction of women runners who use Insta on a non-private setting, it's probably very low.

Not sure the gender ratio is as skewed as you say. I clicked some popular segments nearby and they're about 65% male (about the same as a race)

This post feeds right into a point I have posted several, if not many times. "Women who run alone WITH EARBUDS/HEADPHOES, are desired targets for attackers.."

This is repeated from police and self defense instructors when they are guest speakers at any meeting for local running clubs, or running store, or even at a race with a tech meeting or race expo.

If you know this, yet insist on running alone, with music blasting in your ears, you should know, that the following is found to be true:

1) You are less likely to hear someone coming up behind you

2) You are less likely to hear someone's cry for help ( girl is attacked, dragged off trail, screams, and you jog past oblivious)

3) You are less likely to hear a siren until the last second

The fact that so many females, refuse to give up their earbuds, even knowing this creates a preferred criteria for attackers, is mind-boggling.

Please WAKE UP!

Apparently many of the LetsRun community are oblivious to the sexual harassment many women routinely experience. Why am I not surprised?

Too many creeps out there in the running community. It's only a matter of time before we hear about a serial criminal who used a GPS based social media site, like Strava, Smashrun, Garmin, etc. to commit their crimes on women or men. With the Flyby feature on Strava, it is just too easy to figure out a person's identity, home, workplace, and running habits. It is a stalker's playground. I personally don't like my women running friends to post their publicly on Strava, Smashrun, or any other site.

Women deserve respect and not to be hassled by idiots. They shouldn't feel pressure from guys which are just looking to mess around and do the deed. They are entitled to their own privacy and freedom and aren't obliged to communicate with someone who abuses their personal space.

Stop it joggers.

Strava is designed for those who ride over 30 miles a time. Not for 3 mile joggers who run around the block, starting th etime from their garage.

This the wrong forum for this discussion. Women are about 1 in ten in my ride group, if they ride at my level. And none of our group rides start at our houses. At the least, you can start strava wherever and whenever you want.

All this straw woman stuff is s waste of time. Stick to your fitbit watches and stop sticking your noses into places that don't apply to you.

Focus on the next 7 year old sprinter, or 12 year old girl running super times.

crumpetsausage wrote:

Stop it joggers.

Strava is designed for those who ride over 30 miles a time. Not for 3 mile joggers who run around the block, starting th etime from their garage.

This the wrong forum for this discussion. Women are about 1 in ten in my ride group, if they ride at my level. And none of our group rides start at our houses. At the least, you can start strava wherever and whenever you want.

All this straw woman stuff is s waste of time. Stick to your fitbit watches and stop sticking your noses into places that don't apply to you.

Focus on the next 7 year old sprinter, or 12 year old girl running super times.

This is a ridiculous comment... I hope you're a troll.