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

[IcakethereforeIam]

This is an interesting thought experiment

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/relationships/article-13360727/man-bear-viral-question-domestic-violence-australia-dating.html

The DM nick enough off MN, so no apology for returning the favour.

Definitely team bear here.

There are links to articles regarding DV in Australia.

turns out the edge is a guinnessguzzler ...

I saw a really good reel on this idea. Was a man saying "not all bears!" The way people bleat "not all men!" It really highlighted the issue. Yes not all men/bears but it's about the risk. He then when on to say the stats for people(women?) killed by bears when walking alone in the woods and the stats for women killed by men. Men are by far more dangerous to women than bears

... and then I see this story ....

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/bear-car-crash-victim-massachusetts-b2540941.html

Men can, and too often, do much worse than kill you and eat you.

So team bear, who is living his life in his woods where I have chosen to walk, not team random man who I have no choice but to share the human environment.

And my DH does know a rapist, he just doesn't know he knows one. All he knows is there is a certain relative that we don't socialise with if it can be avoided.

If I told him, then DH would be a murderer. And DH would go to prison and I would not be able to live with the guilt of having caused that.

I apologise if this has already been posted but I have just seen a post on FB which summed up a lot of the discussion.

www.facebook.com/share/p/ogBsNqeFqZamRqnx/

Don't be utterly ridiculous. It's not about 'spending time'. Wtf do you think this is about? Roasting marshmallows in front of a campfire together??

It's about finding yourself isolated and alone with one or the other. The fact that so many women say 'bear' speaks to the level of sexual violence thousands of women have and do experience, some of which has occurred even with men they thought they could trust. If you can't empathise with that, then you are the problem.

Yep. Other than sexual violence, I think it must be lost of many stupid people that men can, and do kill women with just their hands through strangulation, and that men on average are faster and significantly stronger. They also do depraved things to women after they die, so yeah, no wonder so many women would rather the bear.

People's lack of empathy towards women is so utterly depressing. Jesus Christ.

You're on the women's rights forum ffs.
You're very welcome to leave.

@Watermelon197 I feel the same. I had an experience with 3 men where I was unharmed, but that really chilled me. Unlike other encounters I've had with men walking alone, I felt like I was close to danger and it's haunted my walks ever since then. Really don't like feeling vulnerable like that.

>> Men can, and too often, do much worse than kill you and eat you.

Well, that's enough Internet for me today.

Just one more time

There's an article in the Times on this that I found interesting

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/viral-video-debate-bears-witness-to-womens-fear-of-male-violence-qk0t2vv6g

https://archive.ph/t0zO1 this'll bear you past the paywall

There's a link in the article about Rachel O'Reilly (Callaly). She did get justice, in so much as her husband is currently in jail, but the sheer evil, effrontery of him speaking at her funeral and what he said. My bear wouldn't do that. My bear wouldn't accept the condolences of my family and take over the care of my children.

Men either understand why women want to encounter a bear or are the reason why we choose the bear.

If I got attacked by a bear people wouldn't ask me what I was wearing

Obviously having a shit.

Only read the first page, are people just not getting the analogy?

So either a few men are going around the country raping at will (is it 80k reported rapes and 5 times more unreported) therefore few men know a rapist, unlikely.
Or a lot of rapists are around and men refuse to see the signs or admit they know one, more likely.

#teambear

@Winnading , I'll have to put my hand up and say I didn't really get the analogy until I read @anothernamitynamenamechange's explanation above that,
"The woods" in the question are sort of a stand in for being away from other eyes etc.
So it's like Lord of the Flies. It makes alot more sense now: the question is, would I rather be eaten by a bear, or take my chances with an unidentified man who is in a position to do whatever he likes (with me or to me) with no repercussions whatsoever.

The choice isn't being 'eaten by a bear', it's 'be alone with a bear', the bear unlikely to do anything to you but you have to take that chance, ditto with the man.

Who the fuck mentioned segregation? We are just discussing an allegory about men v bears.
We are here on mumsnet, unlikely to change the entire world by segregation.

Christ alive, how do you sleep at night with the catastrophizing.