(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . A Man Or A Bear? The Hypothetical Question. [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-05-07 CW: mentions of sexual assault and murder. If you've spent any time at all on social media in the last few weeks, chances are you've seen it, or at least a reference to it. "As a woman alone in the woods, would you rather run into a random man or a bear?" This hypothetical question was first posted on TikTok in early April. It gained traction rapidly and now also appears on Facebook, Reddit, Quora, and the platform formerly known as Twitter. The reason for it blowing up the internet is simple- ​​The majority of the women responding are choosing the bear.​​​​ Screenshot of the original TikTok post. A headline from MSN News in Australia. Violence against women has been escalating in Australia. A look at the statistics regarding the numbers of women who've been hurt or killed by bears each year versus women who've been assaulted or killed by men ought to be sufficient to explain why most women are choosing the bear. According to The North American Bear Center, black bears (the most prevalent species here) average about one human killed per year. Other sources indicate an average of seven humans per year killed by bears of all species throughout North America. According to the US National Park Service the odds of you being attacked in an encounter with a bear are 1 in 2.1 million. According to RAINN there are on average 463,634 victims of sexual assault aged 12 and older every year in the US. 82% of juvenile victims are female; 90% of adult victims are female. ​According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, one in five American women experience an attempted or completed rape during their lifetime. One in three victims experience it for the first time between the ages of 11 and 17. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, there were an estimated 4,970 female victims of murder and nonnegligent manslaughter in the US in 2021. Data reported by law enforcement agencies indicate that 34% were killed by an intimate partner. According to the CDC homicide is the fourth leading cause of death for girls and women aged 1 to 19 years old. It's the fifth leading cause of death for women aged 20 to 44. And then there's the everyday harassment and threats. Which are beyond anyone's ability to keep count of. May the odds be ever in our favor. Responses from men seeing so many women choose a chance encounter alone in the woods with a bear rather than them have been revealing. Much of it is really disheartening, appalling; the amount of outrage, denial, and misogyny is mind-boggling. A TikTok video has sparked a larger conversation about rape culture and violence against women, and it appears that many men are taking it personally and reacting rather badly. A post by writer and historian Kate Lister, who has written an article about the hypothetical "man or a bear" question. There are men who get it. They have some awareness of what women face just existing in this society, this culture, every single day of our lives. A lot of them don't even need to view it from the perspective of if the woman alone in the woods was their partner or daughter. And they're speaking up to voice their support. If you are one of those men, I thank you. For some it's been unpleasant but enlightening. It's true. An astonishing number of men seem to think we want to date the bear. Thank you, Kalen. I appreciate this. Carl understood the assignment. Thank you Carl. Angry misogynists seem to be the majority of men commenting on this. Or maybe the angry misogynists are just louder. Anyway, here's a sampling of what I've seen recently- Tara Shannon is a writer I follow. She recently shared this redacted comment on another of her posts. If he actually was standing with his "ursine brothers" this dumbass would be more likely to leave us alone. Similar images of a much more graphic nature, many of them AI generated, are showing up now. When you give a troll a thesaurus. This guy's pissed off that the question even appeared on Quora. Another answer on Quora. His and his wife's reasons for choosing the bear are similar to my own. Other responses I've seen from outraged men include "More lying women blowing shit out of proportion again" (The statistics are real but sure, women are lying) "If there were as many bears as there are men you'd be in just as much danger" (Not the flex you seem to think it is) and "What about all the men who get attacked while walking alone in the wilderness?" (You're so close. Keep going.) Here's a sampling from the few conversations I've attempted to have with men who are angry about the bear- Christopher is one of those who think we want to meet a bear and hang out with it. He doesn't seem to grasp that the 1 in 2.1 million are not your chances of meeting a bear. The 1 in 2.1 million are your chances of being attacked by a bear. Big difference. Not sure what Tucker read, but I didn't say anything remotely like that. The bit about good men protecting us from bad men is just laughable. This one later claimed to be an ally but says he feels attacked by this. Others believe that the whole thing is manufactured just to make them look bad. And here's Tony with an interesting arrangement of mansplaining and violent fantasy. No one is saying they want to go up to the bear, Tony. No one. Wait until they hear about the 4B movement. Like the snickers and leering grins they use in real life, the LOL reacts are beyond counting. In addition to disparaging comments and often violent imagery there are many laugh reactions. The fact that anyone can think this is funny is pretty depressing. Some of the reasons women have given for choosing the bear include "The worst thing a bear can do is kill me", "I wouldn't be forced to carry the bear's fetus to term in 24 states", "the bear wouldn't stalk me when I left the woods", "If I was attacked by a bear people would believe me", "a bear wouldn't hurt me just for the fun of it", "The bear won't threaten to kill me for refusing to give him my phone number", "the bear won't pretend to be my friend", "a bear won't enjoy terrorizing me", "a bear won't murder me for saying no." Most bears just want to be left alone and are okay with leaving us alone, too. ​​​​​ Not all men. But far too many. And we often have no way of knowing which ones until it's too late. Somewhere out there is a guy who exposed himself to me in a public park in Phoenix, and asked if I would suck his d*ck. I was nine months pregnant, tired, and just sitting on a bench. I told him that I'd amputate it. I would have at least tried to, if it came to that. Fortunately it didn't. Twenty-four years later my daughter and her best friend are chased through the streets by a car full of jeering shouting men. It doesn't end until they drive to the police station parking lot. Women who often hike and camp alone have mentioned that they carry bear spray when they do. Bears aren't the reason why they carry it. I started carrying a revolver while I worked in remote cabins up in Oregon. It wasn't because of all the bears I'd seen in the neighborhood. ••••••• For information and support regarding sexual abuse visit RAINN or call 800-656-HOPE. A list of personal safety devices, apps, and safety features which are preinstalled in many cellphones and smart watches (along with directions for their use) can be found on Wired.com For information about staying safe around bears visit the National Park Service bear safety page. ​​ ••••••• Thank you for reading. This is an open thread, all topics are welcome. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/5/7/2238416/-A-Man-Or-A-Bear-The-Hypothetical-Question?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/