My profile picture usually has me and my boyfriend in it. One time he saw me changing my picture to one without him, and he got his feelings hurt, and asked me if I didn’t want people to know that we were together, so he’s in about half of all my profile pictures, but I rotate them, and he doesn’t happen to be in it right now.
I can’t speak for all women. I would definitely say that different people make their choices for different reasons.
Mine are kind of an amalgamation of what I just said + what casheroo said: I just have more pictures with other people in them + what several people mentioned: you want to show a picture where you’re having fun or a picture of a time that was special to you, and usually this involves more people than just ourselves, so other people are in the picture too.
I like it, I think it gives a little glimpse into your life, better than just a headshot of you, close up with a white background. That reminds me of a modeling card, where the person viewing it is just evaluating you on how thin you are, how shiny your hair is, how clear your skin is, the curve or your nose, and how well you fit some kind of profile of what they’re looking for. No thanks. Not for my personal life.