Well, Holmes does explicitly say to Watson in SIGN: "Women are never to be entirely trusted, — not the best of them."
At the end of SCAN Watson states: He used to make merry over the cleverness of women, but I have not heard him do it of late. That is, Holmes didn't use to think much of women's intelligence but Irene Adler changed his mind (at least in her case).
In VALL Holmes says: "I am not a whole−souled admirer of womankind, as you are aware, Watson..."
So in abstract Holmes certainly does seem to dislike and distrust women. I would guess this attitude was pretty typical for the Victorian male and in Holmes' case comes from growing up without sisters, being educated solely with other males and, because he has no interest in romantic relationships with women, not having much social contact with women as an adult.
But I can't think of a single occasion in the stories when Holmes positively seems to dislike a woman simply because she's a woman - a stronger case might be made for him distrusting women I suppose. It's as though Holmes has this attitude but it breaks down for every woman he meets - every woman is an exception to the rule.
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At the end of SCAN Watson states: He used to make merry over the cleverness of women, but I have not heard him do it of late. That is, Holmes didn't use to think much of women's intelligence but Irene Adler changed his mind (at least in her case).
In VALL Holmes says: "I am not a whole−souled admirer of womankind, as you are aware, Watson..."
So in abstract Holmes certainly does seem to dislike and distrust women. I would guess this attitude was pretty typical for the Victorian male and in Holmes' case comes from growing up without sisters, being educated solely with other males and, because he has no interest in romantic relationships with women, not having much social contact with women as an adult.
But I can't think of a single occasion in the stories when Holmes positively seems to dislike a woman simply because she's a woman - a stronger case might be made for him distrusting women I suppose. It's as though Holmes has this attitude but it breaks down for every woman he meets - every woman is an exception to the rule.