Do some guys start humming/making noise around women to not frighten them?

Different people have different ways of trying to appear non-threatening. If I am ever behind a woman, I just start running behind them in a friendly chase fashion just to break the ice and make them realize that I am just a goofy harmless guy. Usually, they play along and run as well.

Yes.

I'm 6'5" and broad but the number of jump scares I cause is ludicrous. Most people (especially women) seem to have no situational awareness to the point where they miss gorillas approaching them.

If it's a stranger then I'll try to announce my approach from further away. If it's someone I know I'll see how high I can make them jump.

Edit: just saw you label some of these people creeps. They're not. This is a massive green light that they don't want to accidentally scare you.

Not just with women. I usually drag my feet to make some noise when coming from behind. Most times I’m walking faster than other people so I constantly have to overtake them but don’t want to surprise anyone.

Women specifically I try to avoid passing directly, if it’s not too inconvenient or I will look in another direction, on my phone or whatever to make it clear I’m not interested in them.

But if a creep approaches her, I do make sure to stand nearby and be openly aware.

I hate that women need to be so afraid.

I'll clear my throat, jingle my keys, make louder footsteps to make my presence known, especially at night or when turning a corner. It's not just for women, but for any person or animal to not be startled.

I think it's a combination of courtesy, habit from having worked in a restaurant kitchen, and camping in bear country.

Yes, the fear is typically that we don't want to be accused of following you, sneaking up on you, or being creepy, so there is usually some noise or overt thing we do to try to imply we are just minding our own business.

Sometimes to avoid the situation all together, (let's say I am walking home at night and I see some woman walking the same direction ahead of me, and I know I am going to end up passing her because my pace is faster), then we will literally cross the street just so that we don't have to be put in the awkward situation of walking up to and past you at 3 am on a public sidewalk.

There are other things beyond this as well that men do or avoid doing which women might not realize. Most men in my experience are really careful to never be left alone with children for example. No one blinks an eye if a woman is, but men have learned to avoid potential false accusations in this way as well.

A lot of men are fearful to do something as simple as taking their kids to the park because of this. You can search for articles in which fathers who take their own kids to the park have been accused of being pedophiles just for sitting on a bench while their children play, or accused of kidnapping just because they are an adult man with a child in public. You won't find any articles about this happening with a woman.

I took a different approach, I put my keys on a carabiner so I jingle when I walk. It makes it really hard to accidentally startle people.

I go for walks for exercise. Sometimes I encounter lone women in the woods etc and I'll try and take another route to avoid walking behind them. I feel like announcing by whistling etc would just make things worse. It annoys me that we have to think about these things tbh. I'm gay for fucks sakes, ive got zero interest in women. Im just out and about minding my own damn business.

If I'm in an elevator alone with a woman or something I will usually just give a friendly nod and adopt a very relaxed posture, like leaning against the wall. The youtuber Contrapoints talked about this exact scenario in one of her videos (a black man whistling in the elevator so she wouldn't feel scared) and it made me more aware of it.

I'm physically quite large, but most people will outrun me for medical reasons, but you can't tell just by looking at me. It wasn't until #metoo that I considered what it might be like to walk on the street and be afraid for your safety all the time.

My partner shared a few historic experiences which made me want to throw up.

I've read the responses here so far and I've done similar things for the same reasons, noise, humming, nodding, etc.. I'll also cross the road if I think my presence might make someone feel uncomfortable, or if I feel uncomfortable.

I have also walked off a footpath onto the verge to give the person coming towards me, space to move.

I'd be interested to hear what that feels like for people who are experiencing this kind of interaction.

If I'm walking around its likely I'll be having a conversation with myself in my head which eventually ends up with me absent mindedly speaking to myself out loud so if I see someone in public I immediately try to shut myself up lest they think I'm truly mental.

I mostly use my dog as a way to introduce that I am near and mean no harm to anyone not expecting someone following the same path (mostly rather long streched bike&pedestrian roads with no exit but with park benches and geen patches for dogs and so on).

Simply by saying "Dogs Name, are you coming sweety?".

Announces that I am nearby with a doggy and by no means any poser that wants to appear scary.

At dark day times I mostly have a flashlight with me to shine on my dog and whatever she is currently sniffing (or sneakingly trying to eat...). Which has the sideeffect of her being better visible to others. (She's a bigger dog with black fur - so some people would be scared of her anyhow. Especially in the dark if there is a barely visible big dog. Which is why I hope to make people not that uncomfortable by speaking softly and shining light on her. (And of couse because bicicle riders need to be able to see her, to not run her over))

One time I was out walking someplace and a woman was walking about 20 feet in front of me. I just took out my phone and called my wife and rather loudly announced where I was walking to, asked her about her day etc. The woman visible seemed to relax.

Yes! Another one is 'the sniff'.
There's been so many times when I walk past somebody and they do that weird outward sniff thing, like they want me to know they're there.

IDK, maybe, I might be one of those guys and didn't really notice before.
I don't believe I do this differently around women vs men.
I'm often too busy in my own head to pay much attention. So, if your body language isn't sketchy like drunk or overly aggressive, odds are I've zoned out and you didn't register much.

Anyway, I'm a generally silent walker.
If I'm not paying attention, I might end up sneaking up on someone without meaning to, which can then startle them or spook them. Like, I spook my cat often enough and they're the actual predators.

But yea, late at night, I think I might subconsciously make myself known ahead of time just as a simple courtesy.
I'd rather not find out whether anyone's more of a fight/flight person when they finally notice me. ¯(ツ)_/¯

Me? I'm the throat clearing guy. Hi. Ahem.

PS: I have 20+ years experience of throat clearing. Yes I've seen doctors, they didn't find anything other than yea we can see inflammation in your vocal chords, no there's nothing we can do, just stop doing it. That or prescribe random shit that actually fucks up other basic bodily functions and create actual problems.

Anyway, I'm sorry if it's weird.

I certainly don't. I just act like they don't exist and mind my own business unless they make some effort to engage with me. I'm built like a goblin though so I don't think I'm particularly scary to most people.

I do try to make some sort of noise, or i will shift what i am holding to what ever side i am passing a woman, or will cross the street to avoid having to cross paths… mainly because accusatory stares, or women clutching their children as i pass is too hard to bear

If I am alone I will announce myself, but I am usually with my dog and they see her first.