[Belinda]

I guess people tend to stereotype male and female loners in different ways- men might be judged more harshly because people suspect they might be 'up to no good' if they have no friends and might feel a bit threatened by them. On the other hand though people seem to respect a certain kind of male loner who goes off into the woods to do rugged outdoor pursuits (like Ray Mears if he didn't always have a camera crew with him).

On the other hand female loners have it worse because a lot of people expect women to be good at nurturing/communicating/forming relationships so there's the whole 'crazy cat lady' stereotype which is fairly patronizing.