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.)

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=twix+advert+bears&scaesv=0f2d21aa9b29aeff&scaaupv=1&ei=L7Y0ZrSAArKGhbIPyK2duAU&udm=&oq=twix+advert+bears&gslp=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&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:f09312d2,vid:5VvojZU5PqA,st:0

I agree with PPs, the point of the thought experiment is that we have to stop and think - to the point where I’ve just been googling how many different types of bear there are 🧸

All the women saying bear, I think if any of you had lived your entire (very short) existence with millions of bears and any of you had survived long enough to start a thread on mumsnet about your experience you might be inclined to vote the other way...

No, the point is you are in a wood where you are vulnerable as there is no-one to help you, so what happens next depends entirely on the intentions and behaviour of the man/bear.

and you're contributing to the circle of life inside a bear.

The song Disney did not release

Sorry about the link. It's for the Twix advert. Two male hikers eating a twix being watched by two bears

Yawn. You clearly think your name calling carries more weight than it does.

That made me laugh out loud!

Does that prove the point? Or is it the natural defence reaction of anyone who has been judged and found guilty of something they haven't done and wouldn't do? We all get pissed off when people who don't know us decide who we are in advance and unfavourably.

Why not think on it and decide that maybe women have a point?
Just an idea that rather than getting angry and defensive (classic move that ends in anger and violence, hence the question of Bear or Man) you could think "I know, next time I am in the woods and see a woman I will appreciate she might be terrified". Just some basic understanding would be nice.

I walk past men in the woods most days, no problem, but if I came across a bear I definitely would be petrified.

This makes no sense.

For the men getting angry, no woman is saying you in particular will attack her. Women are saying, we don't know if a random man is one of the ones who may attack me. This is why we have single sex spaces when women are vulnerable. Men seem to be okay about those, but then they are so used to them they have probably just never thought about why women have these spaces.

At Uni, I had a male friend who got very angry about women crossing the street if he was walking behind them at night. He took it personally. But this is mad, faulty thinking.

I wish men would stop being angry that women are fearful of men when they are vulnerable and instead take our fear as a sign that they need to do more to make it clear to all men that shit attitudes to women are not okay. If men had zero tolerance of other men being shit to women, there would be fewer attacks. They could try not wanking to porn where women are abused and degraded whilst they are at it, too.

I agree that if males really find it offensive that women are scared of them they need to create a world where women don’t feel afraid of men because men are not attacking women. What do men think should happen to violent men?

This is interesting. Upthread only one fatal bear attack a year, so statistically you are safer with a bear. We could blow a whistle or sing to discourage a bear attack. Not sure what you can do to discourage a man attacking you. Most rapists are opportunistic so a lone woman in the woods is probably ideal. No one would believe you anyway afterwards because nalmalt and as a previous poster says no one would disbelieve you of saying you were attacked by a bear.

Also if a bear did kill you it doesn’t know any better and was either starving or feeling threatened, can’t say the same for a man.

I've found it very interesting watching videos of men answering the question.

'If you had to take your daughter to the woods and leave her in the vicinity of a bear or a men you don't know, what would you choose?' it's interesting her hard they have to think about it, and watching them do the risk assessment and consider all the possible outcomes. They almost always have said 'man' but not happily and it's left them really considering why they have such a strong level of discomfort about men in general.

When asked the corresponding question of, what if the choice was bear or woman, they instinctively with no thought choose the woman.

Upthread only one fatal bear attack a year, so statistically you are safer with a bear.

This isn’t right. You need to look at fatalities as a proportion of encounters. Most people never encounter a bear, whereas we encounter men many times a day

This is a good approach.

By men thinking about it for themselves, they are coming to their own realisation which presumably stops them from resenting women for being fearful.

Of course, it only works if they have a teenage daughter..

Only if you believe that every human who’s ever encountered a bear in the wild has been killed by them (they haven’t, of course).

Depends on the type of bear. I've seen lots of bears hiking and camping. The only time I was scared was a mama bear and her cubs.

Seeing a bear doesn't equal a grizzly death.

The point of the question is to highlight that women, as a class, have to weigh the up the risks that men pose to us when planning our lives. That women don't all agree on men versus bears just shows that individual women evaluate that risk differently. Men don't have to consider the kinds of risks that women do just to go to work or go to a gig.

And no one has to think twice about women versus bears, because women as a class are safe to be around.

I would choose any species of woodland bear because repeated sexual assaults by men and boys who weaponise my vulnerability from my disability have left me traumatised and often suicidal. Bears are usually smart enough to avoid humans as long as you don't threaten them or have food. Other women are lucky enough to have been spared sexual assault and will hence choose differently.

That women, as a sex class, don't unanimously and unhesitantly say "the man" speaks volumes about men's violence, not women's risk assessment skills.

The man for me. Unless the bear is a Spectacled bear or a Sun Bear because they are adorable. Probably not much help to me if I’m lost in the woods mind you

I just found this whole going viral thing funny

I saw a powerful statement that simply said.

If I am attacked by a bear, people will believe me. And no one will ask what I was wearing.

And for me, that summed up the whole point.

Agree with a pp - all of the videos I've seen have been of men being asked would they prefer their daughter to be in the woods with an unknown man or a bear. All of them have had to think about it, which I took to be the point. They shouldn't need to think about it, but they do.

That women, as a sex class, don't unanimously and unhesitantly say "the man" speaks volumes about men's violence, not women's risk assessment skills

You misunderstand me. I agree entirely with everything you have said, which should be clear from my posts throughout the thread.

The point is that women have to conduct the risk assessment due their knowledge of the potential risk from men. The question is to highlight that women have to do this.