As a visitor to the women's section of this forum, I can tell you firsthand that the red vs green border does nothing to stop guys from commenting. There is no magic force field.
Actually, if one searches this forum via "Today's Posts" it would be quite easy to wander in there and comment without realizing one was in the women's forum.
However, I don't think the OP was limiting her audience. I think she was soliciting additional tips and real-life experience from those who might have dealt with the same fears, or have a female in their life who may have had similar issues. For her to have the courage to post about her fears, tells me that she has been working to deal with her fears...and has been making progress. Women are outnumbered on the trail, but we are way outnumbered when it comes to outdoor forums.
I agree that if one asks a question, one will definitely receive all sorts of answers on the internet! Especially on White Blaze. My take is that the OP was not coming here for advice as to what was wrong with her and how to deal with her problems. She was simply asking for
additional tips, and tools that might aide in helping her to adjust to life on the trail. A therapist can help diagnose and offer tips as to how to deal with things, but maybe the OP felt that additional tips and ideas from those who have been on the trail (and have had real-world experience with that lifestyle), might also be beneficial? Obviously if her therapist has never backpacked, they will be unable to give the OP a better idea of what life is actually like on the trail, or offer suggestions as to how one might handle themselves in particular trail situations. If the OP asks her therapist "what should I say if a guy wanders up and wants to know how far I am hiking," the therapist might not be able to give her the tool of telling her she has the option to say she is meeting up with her friends/hubby in just a little bit. That is where asking for help from the hiking community can come in handy.
I never got the impression the OP came here for all the answers, or help in place of seeing an actual therapist. My impression is that she came here to gain more insight and get advice as to how she might be able to handle particular situations that may arise. From her initial post, I got the impression that she had a broad idea of what life was like on the trail, but just wanted to feel-out potential situations (like, what should she do about sharing a room) before she found herself stuck in the middle of an unwanted situation. I get the feeling she stopped by this forum more for reassurance that the boogeyman does not lurk behind every tree, rather than advice on how to solve her problem.
Personally, I find it encouraging she felt strong enough to pose her question of everyone on the forum. I also think she received a lot of great suggestions. I think that once she gets out there she will discover there are many awesome people on the trail. It's just a matter of taking that first step.