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.)

If I was lost in the woods, so off the path, seeing a bear wouldn't mean the bear was looking for me so it's unlikely to mean me harm unnecessarily. A man would almost certainly have followed me and so almost certainly does. While I definitely couldn't fight off or outrun a bear I'm not sure I could fight off or outrun an average man either, especially if I'd been wandering lost for a while.

The issue, for me, is the fact that so many men (such a disturbingly large proportion of men too, it seems) are capable of committing rape and sexual assaults, just as long as the opportunity arises.

To illustrate the point, someone on Twitter posted this story.

That’s why I’d rather take my chances with a bear.

Go for a walk at midnight tonight in a secluded woods.
Or perhaps tell a child to.

I can guarantee you won’t be worried about wild animals (especially in the UK) even if there were wild animals around.

The difference between a man and a wild animal, is that a wild animal will likely leave you alone if it’s not feeling threatened.

A human man is much more likely to attack you than a bear would (there are many statistics to back this up) and no whistle would help.

"For me, it's the same question as asking who would you tell your child to ask for help if they were lost or in trouble? A man, or a woman? I bet most parents on MN have told their kids what to do if something bad or scary happens - find a woman and ask for help."

I've told mine to ask a bear.

100% team bear.

Why the fuck would I want to imagine running away from murder rapists as a fantasy?
If I am imagining fictional story I can as well have 10kg fluffy baby bear who can talk to me and we will pick berries and make pie.

I guess the chance of a random bear in the woods being predatory is pretty slim, however if startled it is likely to attack.

A random non predatory man in the woods would be unlikely to attack you if startled but the chance of a random man in the woods being a predator is much higher.

Someone did the stats and stated that if bears were as numerous as men then numerically it still worked out safer with the bear but we don't live in a calculator so increasing the number of bears to half the population would no doubt increase the number of attacks but not in a linear way so I'm not buying it.

I've thought about this a lot. I was abused as a child by a man that everyone thought was great. As a result my spidey senses tend to work overtime. I've encountered a lot of people that just make me uncomfortable but nothing has happened as I've removed myself (or nothing might have happened anyway). And I think about my adult sons and my stxh and whilst I'm getting divorced for a reason, I know that they would absolutely be no threat to any woman (or bear..).

Men do need to understand why women are reacting in this way but I'm still not absolutely sure what my answer to this is.

But the vast majority of perpetrators of sexual and violent assault are men.

I guess the chance of a random bear in the woods being predatory is pretty slim, however if startled it is likely to attack.

A random non predatory man in the woods would be unlikely to attack you if startled but the chance of a random man in the woods being a predator is much higher.

@BigBoysDontCry

Exactly this!

Of course coming face to face with a bear is scary but chances are it will leave you alone, if you leave it alone.

Being alone in a secluded area/woods with a man is much scarier as the man is statistically much more likely to attack you than a bear would.

Id choose the bear. Because as you demonstrate with the whistle, you can take precautions against a bear.

If a man wants to attack you, he will, regardless of what precautions you take. A bear might attack out of fear. Maybe if he mistakes you for food. He won't attack out of spite, or hate, or a need for power like a man would.

Some of you never watched Lost and it shows.

Men don't only attack young pretty women. Rape and sexual assault isn't about attraction it's about power.

That’s horrendous. I saw a recent story about a couple of men who raped a woman who had approached one of them.

If I remember correctly the story was something like she was lost and new to this country. Those men spoke her native language and she felt safe around them. One ended up driving her to the others home where they raped her.

Do you what the real point is here?

It's the fact that this is even a talking point. The obvious answer should be man - but it's not. And that's the issue.

Replace man with woman and everyone says they'd rather be with a woman than a bear, no question.

The fact that people would even CONSIDER whether they'd rather be in the woods with a huge powerful wild animal rather than be alone with a man is exactly the point.

It doesn't matter whether you choose man or bear. It shouldn't even be a debate. The fact that women are questioning whether a man or a bear is safer is exactly the point.

It is horrific to think that anyone could actually consider a bear to be safer - and yet many women do, for legitimate reasons. And even if you weigh it up and end up choosing the man, the fact that you had to consider it at all still speaks volumes about the problems with male violence.

I'd choose the man. Basically because if it came to it, although he would undoubtedly be stronger than me,he still would not be anywhere near as strong as a bear!

I'm the wrong side of 55. I don't expect to be found "attractive" by the average bloke, but I don't think that has anything much to do with an opportunist predatory man. Sure if he's scouting the streets for a target I doubt I'd be top of the list but if he's in the woods waiting for a victim it's not the same.

Why in the name of god haven't you reported this??

Don't try climbing a tree if you meet a bear - it can climb much better and faster than you! You should back away slowly while talking quietly.

I definitely wouldn't rather meet a bear. If you meet a bear, you've surprised it, which means it'll be more likely to be angry, so quite different from just being in the same woods as a bear but it hears you and keeps away as most do.

...or koala?

Ha! That made me laugh!

I'd choose bear.
Spot it from a distance and leave it alone, chances are it'll leave you alone.

Turns out they are not even bears 😲

It's weird, once you've been assaulted and harassed by men and suffered ensuing mental health issues, you kind of don't give a fuck about being called a misandrist.

Some people are missing the point...

The fact that many women would prefer to meet a bear rather than a man while alone in a forest is simply a reminder that many women every day are the victims of sexual and physical violence by men and as a result they think a man could be more dangerous than a potentially unpredictable wild animal.

It shows how much women are wary of men, often for very good reasons.

That's the point.

Men should take it as a hint to improve their behaviour and call out men who are violent, not as an opportunity to mansplain about why the bear is the wrong choice...

No, they’re chlamydia-ridden PERVERTS