If you were alone in the woods, would you rather meet a bear or a man? The answers to this hypothetical question are desperately true and honest with most users explaining their reasons for choosing the bear.
In some cases the answers include very hard truths and personal experiences of women about violence against them, femicides, abortion that is prohibited in case of rape in 24 states of the USA and many countries.
The simple question that became a street interview and went viral worldwide a week ago now has men and women from all over the world participating with their thoughts all over social media. The question caught fire when random women on the street were asked by ScreenshotHQ on TikTok.
The original post was the following assertion by @callmebk on TikTok that meeting a stranger in the woods is much scarier than a bear. Where due to the reactions from men she was forced to answer.
Well, #AllMenhere it is from the horse’s mouth, the MAN that started the whole man vs bear thing.
And guess what, still #TeamBear pic.twitter.com/lE4HB64t6c
— SisterFantaMaria🤘🏼 (@Urtoez75_2) May 1, 2024
6 out of 7 in the video chose the bear over the unknown man
In ScreenshotHQ’s question “What/Who would you rather meet in the woods, a stranger or a bear”, bears swept with 6 out of 7 votes.
A bear is the safest option, no doubt, said most and even experts among them. There have been over 65,000 replies under the original post, with many men understanding why women would choose the bear or choose the bear themselves.
“I asked my bride the question, you know, just for fun. He said, ‘You know, I’d rather it be a bear, because if the bear attacks me and I make it out of the woods, everyone will believe me and sympathize with me,'” he said. “But if I’m attacked by a human and I manage to get out, I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to get people to believe me and sympathize with me.”
“I choose the bear because if it attacked, I wouldn’t have to hold the fetus in 24 states,” wrote @aziedee.
“Things people won’t tell you if you survive a bear attack. what did you wear had you been drinking The bear has always been good to me. Don’t report her, you might ruin her reputation. Are you sure you said no? Did you encourage/provoke the bear (to attack you)’?
The issue is not the bear, the issue is why most women chose the bear
In the very rare cases where a bear does attack a human, 14% of attacks are fatal. Especially in the US where we are talking about grizzly bears that are territorial. Most men saw it as a question of logic or answered purely sexist without listening to the women. The infuriating thing for women is that a portion of men did not listen to the reasons they gave, but stuck to the choice of the bear.
If the bear got an overwhelming percentage of women and a large percentage of men who were asked “Would you rather your daughter or wife meet a bear or a stranger?”, it’s because rates of violence against women are dramatic across the the world and every woman has a story of violence and/or abuse to tell. It didn’t suddenly go crazy for the female sex to choose the meeting with a 400-kilogram, 2.5-meter Grizzly on her two legs.
So what the male gender had to “hear” is that women live with the fear of men, but also the fear that no one will believe them. The fear of femicides around the world and the violence against them.
This whole bear vs man thing is perfect. It’s sad but perfect. It’s actually a good way to out the creeps and assholes. pic.twitter.com/X9KhQdUJHm
— andee (@andreajordan66) April 29, 2024
Lost in translation
Reactions from some men ranged from “Not all men are the same”, to “Bears are not harmless” or that the overwhelming majority of attackers are not strangers. All right, but beside the point. Especially when they themselves would choose the bear for their daughter.
So the issue is that some responses were in the same logic of manipulation and mansplaining that women face. Fortunately, they are in the minority.
With femicide and violence against women at very high levels, the least we can understand is why 9 out of 10 women would choose an encounter with a wild animal, a bear, over an unknown man.
