Surely I am not the only woman who would chose the man, not the bear?

[Idpicktheman]

You know that, would you rather meet a man or a bear in the woods thing?

I would choose the man.

I've hiked in the Rockies where there are bears. If you come across a bear, you have surprised and startled it. All the stories I heard of people being attacked in the Rockies were of people who have surprised bears with their appearance. I blew a whistle every couple of minutes when I hiked to make sure a bear was not surprised by my appearance. Therefore I think if I met a bear in the woods, there is a good likelihood it would attack me.

I also walk in the woods a lot in the UK as I live in a semi-rural area. I regularly come across men and they either ignore me or say hello as they pass and carry on walking their dog/ cycling/ or mountain biking.

So whilst there is a chance a man would attack me, I think the probability is that they would not.

But whilst there is a chance the bear would amble off and leave me alone, the probability is that it would attack me.

So I would chose the man.

( I realise the point of this though experiment is to show that women think this through, because both can be dangerous to them, whereas men instantly say' well, I'd chose the woman obviously' because women are not a danger to them : but I have seen a lot of women instantly saying ' the bear!' but, being literalistic about the actual answer, in all honestly, the bear is more likely to attack you than the man.)

Most of the videos I heard, the question was if your teenage daughter was alone in the woods, would you prefer she found a man or a bear. It is slightly different I think.

Why are we assuming that? The question is not "Would you rather meet a man or a hungry aggressive grizzly bear". The point is an unknown man or an unknown bear.

Yes, that's how I read it too. It's not a given either the bear or the man is a killer.

OK, but are you saying that you didn't get the point was that men do far worse to women than just kill them?

Its not a stupid question.

It shows women stop to think about it. Because men are a danger to women.

I could fight a man. I couldnt fight a bear.

The man every time, and I was assaulted, by a man, one night walking home at about 11pm, I’d still pick the man, as I know that most men are not like this, and most bears really will attack.

I think one of the points of the question (and i could be wrong) is that alot of people need to think hard about their answer, they start weighing up the pros and cons etc.

Whereas if the question was the same but the option was a woman or a bear you wouldn't even need to think for a second, everyone would say woman.

You are assuming that everyone would prefer to die than be attacked sexually.

Not everyone will think like that.

The point as I see it of the question is, who would you rather take the chance of them leaving you alone, the bear or the man? The question does not say you will be attacked. Its a question to draw out the assessment of risk.

It should obviously be the man you would choose, and it is the very fact that women are even considering the other option that is the whole point of the thought experiment.

I've actually found it quite interesting in this thread to look at the different angles women are taking to the point of this thought experiment. And the reactions to it.

I agree though, I see the point of the thought experiment being that there is even anything for women to debate.

You could die both ways; after being sexually attacked by someone some of you would think would protect you. They might keep you alive for a while or they might even rape your corpse. RIP Amber Gibson.

I wonder if a she bear were walking in the forest, would she rather encounter an unknown male bear or an unknown human 🤔

I’m a woman and categorically state I wouldn’t pick being killed by a bear.

But then I think I’m unusual on mumsnet in that I don’t see men as a concern and have really never felt threatened or harassed or had a negative experience.

I'd chose a man anyday.

I'm a rape victim and a victim of sexual assault.

But in 43 years I've met 100's of men and only 2 have posed a risk. Most have been meh and some have been amazing and way beyond helpful, kind and supportive.

I'm pretty sure if I met a bear in the woods my success rate if it being a disaster would be 100%!

Well of course, but you are going down rabbit holes of more and more unlikely events.

Even of the subset of men who would attack you, only a minority of them are going to be psychopathic sadistic sexual torturers.

So if that is your fear you still have a choice of a startled bear who is highly likely to attack you or a random man who is very unlikely to be a rare psychopathic sadistic sexual torturer (who quite likes nature and that is why he was out for a stroll).

I’d prefer to meet a black bear than certain men. But I’d choose a man over a Grizzly bear and there’s no way I’d want to meet a polar bear

This!

I think I’d be shit scared of a grizzly bear, marginally scared of a man out hunting, not scared of a man out for a hike, and excited to see a black bear.

But then I think I’m unusual on mumsnet in that I don’t see men as a concern and have really never felt threatened or harassed or had a negative experience

I don't think you are unusual amongst mumsnet, you must be unusual amongst women.

You either have quite a high bar of what you consider threatening, harassment or negative ( so discount experiences most women would include in this) or you have lead a very unusual life in that you have missed the ordinary experiences other women have.

My life as a young woman was full of these incidents and I was not even particularly attractive. Just ordinary.

Even as a middle aged women I still have negative experiences of men, though often different in character.

Most bears won’t attack you either. There’s an average of one fatal bear attack a year in the US.

Having said that, I’d probably choose the man, because if either one attacked me I think I have more chance of surviving the human attack.

But to me the point of the thought experiment is that we even think about it, compared to the millisecond it takes to answer “would you rather meet a woman or a bear in the woods?”

I’ve actually been in very close proximity to 4 bears in the wild and none of them attacked me. But I’d still choose a man because the bears were bloody terrifying

It’s not a thought experiment but an attempt to polarise, much as many other viral internet “trend”. I am not surprised that many users on this site have lapped it up.
I would find it equally ridiculous if a question generalising women was making the rounds.

It's a thought experiment, not a wilderness guide.

In theory my order or preference would be:

Panda
Man or black bear
Grizzly
Polar bear

But in reality I often walk through Epping forest alone, pass lots of men out walking/jogging alone, and think nothing of it. If I saw a bear of any kind in Epping Forest I can safely say I would shit myself.

The fact that you are not surprised that a site full of women has found that a thought experiment drawing attention to how women have learnt to be caution of men when they are in potentially vulnerable situations (no-one can hear you scream) has resonated with them, rather proves the point of the thought experiment, rather than proves the point you think you are making.