Actually, women take rejection far worse than men do for the simple reason that they're generally the ones issuing out the rejections. Most men take it for granted that their proposals will be declined sooner or later until they find a woman who'll say yes. Few women can wrap their heads around the concept that someone wouldn't want them. Their collective egos are so monumentally-inflated due to the media's elevation of their social status through commercials, news stories demonizing men and tiptoeing around issues potentially critical of women, and pressure on males to be achievers that they can't fathom their appeal not filtering through to the opposite sex. In all fairness, the ratio of people doing the breaking up is probably 9:1 women/men. So their reaction is understandable under the circumstances.