I had a very interesting conversation with a friend in Seattle tonight. She said that as a woman you won’t be approached in a bar in Seattle, whereas in Australia you get approached at least a couple of times a night.
Are men in Seattle afraid of approaching women? Is it a cultural thing?
Interesting! I had this same conversation with a female friend. We're both here in Seattle area. And she said the same thing as your friend. This conversation started because I said a lot of men in Seattle are very wussy. I've been in settings where the men just seem like caged animals who look at me with some skeptical and bitter look if I am near them and their women acquaintences are near.
It took me about 15 years, after 3 months in Texas, to figure out why the men are this way. They have adapted to liberalism and feminism. It's not as bad in the suburbs, which is where I am. The women are generally liberal here too. But they still want a manly man. I see women approached in the gyms and clubs here all the time. But in Texas, it was still a much more fitting environment for me. The women encouraged you to be men.
Overall, to answer your question, I don't think men are afraid of rejection. I think the women just aren't very feminine and thus the men aren't motivated and encouraged to be manly. So they adapt or retreat in dissatisfaction.