Are women safer if they encounter a bear or a man in the woods?

Isn't it men's reactions to this question that's the interesting thing?

I honestly don't know which way I'd go with this, I've met and had trouble with lots of men but no bears, so I can't make a logical choice, or even really an illogical one. But if I were asked this question I'd have to have a long hard think, which in itself would probably shock most men

It's like you simultaneously understand and are missing the point 😄

It's sad and sobering to read if so many women on here who have had bad experiences with men.

I have met a bear with a cub,halfway up a mountain. I'd pick the bear.

So many missing the point even on this thread. The point isn’t that women are underestimating bears, or need you to educate us on their deadliness. The point is that we’re choosing potential death at the paws of a bear over the much more horrific events that could be dealt to us should we choose the wrong man to spend time with in the woods.

(Apologies to all those who aren’t ‘what about teh menz‘-ing.)

Seems to me to be a fucking useless question designed to take a certain strata of society offline "debating" it. Presumably to hid bad things elsewhere ?

"a bear" ??????

species ?
sex ?
age ?
protecting cubs ?
in good health ?
habituated to humans ?
on heat/in season ?

When I have all the facts, I can draw some conclusions.

Or was I a fucking idiot to study sciences ?

This viral question really does prove something though.

Is your plan just to avoid men altogether?

Sending you a hug and hope you have support in your life. I know this was a trivial post in a way, to make a point, but you made the point.

Thank you.

You cannot reason with a man intent on raping or murdering you either.

No. And how do you even KNOW why he's there?
Bears live there.

Yes. Men are the problem.

The only plausible answer for a real world scenario is to choose the man.

Bears, presuming they mean brown, black, Kodiak or Grizzly given the mention of "woods" are a lot more dangerous than I think many people realise. There is absolutely no way to defend yourself or protect yourself from one if it decides to attack. So you're relying on a wild animal not being hungry, pissed off with you or just a bit mad.

Those that choose "bear" are not doing so here because they hate men. That's very very obvious from the comments people are making. They have more experience of interacting with men than bears (!), and too many men have hurt them or made them feel like they were going to be hurt by them. That's a real issue, that this viral question highlights. Anyone who is angry at those women for fearing men has really rather missed the point.

Bear for sure.

With a bear it'll either kill me and possibly eat most of me, or it won't. It won't torture me for days, or force me to perform sex acts or rape and then kill me. It might kill me slowly sure, I've read about what bears can do, but if it's doing that it's not for sexual gratification. It wouldn't kill me then do abhorrent things to my dead body just for its own kicks. It's just doing what's in its nature. Whereas a man could do so many unimaginable horrific things. NAMALT blah blah, but I've read enough about what some men's nature can be to want to take my chances with the bear. Yes the man could very well be a nice non-rapist sort of man, but I'd still rather be alone with a bear, because the chances are better.

I saw an interesting comment on Reddit about this, someone trying to explain to the men why women were answering this way. The thing was basically 'some of these MandMs are poisonous' man asked how could you tell which ones were ok. 'You don't, they all look exactly the same, you can't know which ones are poisonous til it's too late. That's what it's like for women encountering unknown males. So why choose to eat any of them?' I don't know if any of the baffled men got it in the end.

I'm choosing the bear every time!

A bear cannot be reasoned with.

More man hating nonsense.

Who would I rather spend time with?

Men who have built roads and hospitals, are medics and first aiders, top university graduates and soldiers or police (mostly) helping to protect us

or a wild animal?

if you picked bear you have a problem.

Having encountered both men and bears in woods, I would say man with no hesitation. The bear did me no harm, but hung around watching while we cooked, and came to check out the tent overnight. It was a little unnerving, though probably not especially risky.
It wouldn't cross my mind to assume I was in danger from a random man who also happened to be in the woods, and find it incredibly sad that so many women (have reason to) feel otherwise.

I thought the point was to ask the "man or bear" question, and have the man you're asking consider that for a while before then asking which would they choose out of a bear and a woman. When they answer "woman" without needing any debate, that's when the penny is supposed to drop.

Well I could shoot a bear and not get in trouble for it

Bloody hell SwordToFlamethrower I'm so sorry 💐💐💐

Bear if I get to choose the bear (koala) but man if I don't (have you seen a polar bear up close? Their paws are giant, they're really fast & they're hungry)
Totally understand why others would choose the bear though 😔

I walk a lot birdwatching, some of it in woods.
So far none of the men I've met have done anything except say good morning, and sometimes chat about the birding.
I've just had 4 days away, and each day I met some really nice blokes , with whom I had some interesting talks ( again, mostly about birds/nature!)
I am cautious always if I'm on my own but I reckon even I have a better chance against a man than a bear, particularly a bear close enough to talk to.Bears are definitely armed, could outrun me,smell and hear me in situations where a person couldn't....
And yes, like everyone I've had bad experiences.But not out walking yet.

Bear. I wasn't trafficked into prostitution by a bear, or sold to thousands of bears.