Melanie Jeffs said one person "threatened to put a machete" through the back of her head.
Nottinghamshire Police has received 22 reports and made two arrests since recording misogynistic hate crimes.
They included verbal abuse, threats of violence, assault and unwanted physical contact.
Ms Jeffs, centre manager at Nottingham Women's Centre, said she was "stunned" by the volume of tweets and messages posted on Twitter and Facebook.
She said: "They ranged from the ridiculous to some that were quite aggressive.
"One person said I should get cancer, I had somebody threatening to find me and tie me up and lots of comments about my appearance.
"There is one that I'm having discussions with the police about, but most of them I just brushed off."
She said "people think it's completely acceptable to target women in this way".
In a statement, Nottinghamshire Police said: "We have been speaking to a victim of online misogynistic abuse who has received offensive and threatening messages.
"We have offered our support and advice and the victim has stated that they do not want to make any official reports at this time.
"We will be speaking to one of the perpetrators to reiterate the seriousness of their actions."
Ms Jeffs led the research into hate crime in the city which resulted in Nottinghamshire Police becoming the first force in the country to expand its hate crime categories to include misogynistic incidents. It came into force in May.
It means abuse or harassment which might not be a crime can be reported and investigated by police, and support for the victim put in place.
Incidents range from unwanted sexual advances through to physical approaches.
The force defines misogyny hate crime as "incidents against women that are motivated by an attitude of a man towards a woman and includes behaviour targeted towards a woman by men simply because they are a woman.
A crime that the victim or any other person perceives to be motivated by hostility or prejudice towards any aspect of a person's identity.
Police forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland annually monitor five strands of hate crime:
Forces can include their own definition of a hate crime with several recently adding sub-sections.
A woman who helped launch a police campaign to record misogyny as a hate crime has received hundreds of abusive messages.