Outnumbered 17 to 1

I can imagine the shock you received, wolfie. But, on the bright side you may have struck it lucky because women are usually more outgoing and make friends easily. It certainly depends upon your past relationships with women - whether you bond easily with them or not. I know that for most of my life I have had close friendships with men more than women. I think you should just take the situation in stride and see what happens. You will make friends quickly judging from the charisma you display here on myLot. Even if you're not very confident just yet it will come.

OH Wolfie..I hope you step out of your comfort zone because you will be SO popular with all those ladies I just know it! I would seek you, probably. I'd actually probably feel more comfortable with you, because women often make me feel that way too. sshh don't tell.

It sounds very interesting and I wish I could take it with you. I'm learning alot with my counselor but a class, such as the, would be awesome! Enjoy it!!

Hi wolfie34,Guess I would feel the same to a point depends on if you really want to be there I suppose and learn enough. Apart from that try it a week give it a whole week and give the ladies time to get to see you and maybe you can find a way to break the ice with them.
Maybe it will work maybe it won´t I really would´nt know but if it was me wanting to learn this I would be there in the thick of it regardless of the situation.
I felt like that when I had to take my Driving Test in Spain and you could not learn it in English.
There were no easy learning curves for me they gave me none but I passed.
So you see I really think you can do it but if you start with the ifs and buts then you´ll always be with ifs and buts.
I would give it a whole week and see how things fare if not then try another week extra go on go for it Wolfie you will not be sorry at least I don´t think so.
Reckon the feeling of being uncomfortable will pass like everything does go on be brave.
Take care and hope you learn and pass any exams if you have to take them.

Hm, I can imagine your surprise, and yes, anxiety wouldn't help that situation be any more comfortable. I DO think adult education classes are far more mature than high school, or even our college years.

When I was married, my ex-husband was a road commission superintendent, and ALL the field workers were men. I often helped at Christmas dinners and such, so I know what it's like to feel out-numbered, but...I just swallowed my anxiety and made small talk. Once we all got to know each other, it was fine!

Keep us updated on how this goes, Wolfie. And take heart. Most women are very nice, in spite of your experiences in romantic or marital situations.

Hugs,
Karen

I must admit, as much as I like men I dont fancy being out numbered by 17 to 1.
Uncomfortable I can relate to.
As you say, it must be quite strange for them as well, and I bet that there will be a few who would feel a bit guilty at your non inclusion in the canteen.
Anxiety issues wont help either.
Lets talk about you first Brian,
I can fully understand why you would feel intimidated and nervous. But I am sure you only feel intimidated because of the nerves.
So you have to get rid of the nerves, and with that, the intimidation will disappear, as you wont be dwelling on it
Its important also that you contribute and once you take that first giant step, you will feel better all over for being able to overcome these hurdles

You did enjoy the course, thats the main thing and over the next 8 weeks I fully expect you to report here, that one by one you have overcome feeling intimidated, and report much contribution to. I also fully expect you to make many friends.

I know, I expect a lot, but I have prior knowledge of how your life has moved forward over the last 3, well soon to be 4 years,
You will succeed,

Having just started, I will probably have the same feeling. But I'm sure as soon as people get to know each other, this feeling of being intimited will surely go away. I'm not sure if is has got to do with being a man or a woman. It may depend on the person's emotional or psychological build up how he reacts to the situation. Being outnumbered can definitely be a cause for anxiety but familiarization later on will help change the atmosphere.

Wolfie,

My thoughts are that you should lighten up and join in. These women would absolutely love having you in their class. I remember taking a craft class years ago and there was this one guy in the class. It didn't seem to bother him a bit that he was surrounded by women. He made the class so much fun. He wasn't hitting on any of us or anything. He was truly there to learn about crafts but he was such a cool person and he did not care what anyone thought of him. The coolest thing about him was that he was comfortable in his own skin. You are way too hard on yourself wolfie. I get it that you may be the only guy in a child care class which unfortunately is pretty sad. So many guys could stand to learn a bit more about child care. I am surprised that you are the only guy in a psychology class. All that and I guarantee you that if I took an auto repair class and found myself being the only woman, I'd probably be awkward too. So I get how you feel. I'd love to learn more about those things and i'm sure I'd be very uncomfortable . Your feelings are very normal, wolfie.

I'm glad you went to the class, Wolfie - and don't worry about the ladies, I'm sure they won't think it strange at all that there's only one of you! I know it must feel a bit weird and confronting, but soon you'll start to put names to faces and things won't seem so 'new'. Hopefully you'll soon feel confident enough to contribute your thoughts during class - and the ladies will be interested to hear your opinions, I'm sure! It sounds like a very interesting course, so you'll probably find you are so interested in the subject matter you forget about being self-conscious, shy or anxious. Try to live 'in the moment' and enjoy yourself - remember you are interesting and intelligent, and have as much to offer as anyone else in the class.

Wolfie, i think you are just conscious about yourself. correct me if im wrong. when you go to a crowded area you worry about how people would think of you, right? what if when you go to a crowded area, you think of how you would think of the people around you? try it. its fun. and around a lot of women, its going to be a blast.

hi wolfie

i am outnumbered in my office too ..

my position as a manager, i have 4 male co workers who are managers as well and my director is also a man ..

yes we have admin staff who are female but it does not count ..

as my work is compared with this guys .. i stay back late, i have to put extra efford then this man .. my boss enjoys chatting with this guys, leaving me out ..

so whenever the managers are called for meeting, i will be the only rose among the thorns

cheers