Could it be that you feel women are more judgmental and catty? That’s how I feel, I don’t really associate with women because I hate all the cattiness and criticism towards other women, the glances, the gossip… men aren’t into all that superficial crap. I think you should go to the events, nothing wrong with doing a minimal amount of socializing as long as you’re polite to the moms. If your daughter enjoys the Scouts, don’t take her out just because you don’t enjoy the social aspect. Just remember, you have no obligation to become besties with these moms, just be courteous and polite. I’m shy but pleasant so people find me likable and I feel that’s good enough for me. Be patient, I am sure some day you will meet a mom that may be more like you or more friendly and you’ll hit it off. By the way, my daughter’s a social butterfly even though I am somewhat anti-social. I always thought behavior was passed down to some degree but now I’m not sure if it’s really hereditary because of the fact she’s so different from me.
Thanks for the helpful advice. I really just am painfully shy and not sure how to fit in with women I don’t know very well.
I tried some techniques that other suggested for a girl scouts outing. I sometimes talked to the kids, made myself useful, acted relaxed. A woman started walking with me on a hike and talked to me. She was nice but a bit of blabbermouth, so I had to distance myself after a while.
Later in the outing, I heard a woman say that her phone died and she couldn’t take anymore pictures of her and her granddaughter Normally, I would ignore this, but I decided to be nice and offered to take pictures for her and send them via text. The woman was so grateful. We started talking and she shared with me that she was dying of cancer. I shared that my sister had just died. She said she was my angel and that’s why we met. Amazingly, conversation went smoothly after that with other women.