Same reason guys do...cuz they're unsure of posting a photo online. Or in one instance I had...he was really conceited and didn't want anyone to want to get to know him based on his looks alone. Of course his profile conveyed that without the photo. "The build up". The "c'mon now, you know you wanna see my photo" ploy. What that particular guy didn't realize, I closed him because of the conceit. That would be one of my Can't Stands if it were available, or if others wouldn't be more condusive. Who knows. Maybe they're just really shy and it's just the opposite. They don't have any confidence in what they look like and are used to getting rejected because they don't look as good as most guys expect women to look. There seems to be an awful lot of that going around. Women are all too aware of the fact that men require nothing less than perfection when it comes to looks. I know women do it too, but speaking as a woman, I can tell you, I get a little tired of being judged cuz I'm not a size 5 with perfect skin. I post a photo that shows "me". I Photoshop what I can to clean it up a little, but if I want someone with confidence in themsleves, I dang well better show I've got confidence in myself 1st. So I post my photo. At 1st, when I 1st joined eHarmony, I was petrified at the thought of some strange man "checking me out" online, so I wouldn't post a photo. That's been several yrs ago, alot has changed, I have more confidence in this online matchmaking stuff, so I can, without reservation, post my photo upfront. So maybe they're new to this, maybe they're conceited, or maybe they're not as attractive as they've been communicated they need to be. Nobody wants to be rejected based on their photo, but sadly, alot of men AND women do that.