The "Ask Women" subreddit is a place for people of any gender to ask highly specific questions and get answers from — you guessed it — women.
Recently, redditor u/user-unknown_ asked "What’s the strangest thing a person did after you rejected their advances?" After all, women are frequently put in lose-lose situations when they're pursued by someone who won't take no for an answer.
Unsurprisingly, hundreds of women shared their wild experiences — ranging from comically bizarre to genuinely upsetting. Here are some of their responses.
Content warning: mentions of harassment and self-harm.
Starting with the only anecdote that won't make you say, "Wait...WHAT?!"
1. "The strangest reaction I ever got was actually a good one! I was at a dive bar for some live music when I was 19, and a middle-aged guy offered to buy me a drink. I told him I was under 21, and he was like, 'Oh! Oh my God!! I'M SO SORRY!!!' Usually, they don't care and keep trying to be creepy, so that surprised me."
2. "After I rejected him, one guy came to my house with a Beanie Baby poster (stickers included), a Gloria Estefan CD, and a beaded bracelet. I was 27!"
3. "One person painted a portrait of me holding their heart."
4. "He named a crawfish after me and called it 'Babymomma.'"
5. "A guy tried to kiss me, and I got startled and moved out of the way, and he fell forward. LOL."
6. "The ABSOLUTE STRANGEST reaction was when a guy hit on my straight, married brother (right in front of my sister-in-law and me!) to get back at me. When that obviously failed, he actually apologized, explained he was going through some stuff, and paid for our next round of drinks."
7. "I got told I was a lesbian because I told him I'd rather dance with my friend than him. But he must've been psychic, because decades later, it turns out he was right!"
8. "He threatened to tell the principal of the school — like I’m gonna get expelled for not wanting to have sex with you!"
9. "I told a Tinder date that I didn't feel chemistry with him but we could be friends. He then tried to act like the time we'd spent together hadn't even been a date. I blocked his number, and several days later, he messaged me on the app saying, 'Actually, we can be friends!'"
10. "He publicly commented that he 'didn't have sex with me...YET!' and I explained to him it's never gonna happen. He then told me I should get off my high horse, because I'm delusional if I think I'm pretty, and he wouldn't touch me with a 10-foot pole. I guess he doesn't know what 'yet' means..."
11. "He threatened to gather his friends from prison and come to my house. Which is really funny, because the most criminal thing he and his friends had ever done was littering and speeding."
12. "A regular at my job was being really creepy, and I made it a point to avoid him (mostly by hiding where he couldn't get to me). He asked my coworker if she thought I was interested in him. Thankfully, that coworker was my mom, and she shut him down REEEEALLY quick!"
13. "He started a club with his friends and called it the 'Kill [My Name] Club.' BUT also bought me a glass elephant for my collection."
14. "A man carved my name into his arm!"
H/T r/AskWomen
Some replies have been edited for length and clarity.
You are not alone! The National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24/7/365.
Phone: 800-799-7233 (SAFE)
SMS: Text START to 88788
Or search their local resource directory.