Some Men’s Reactions to the ‘Man or Bear in the Woods’ Question Just Prove We’re Right in Our Choice

It’s bittersweet to realize a man had to explain to his peers as if they were children why women are so afraid of men, and yet they didn’t get it.

TikTok user @callmebkbk went viral with his animal allegories trying to explain why women fear men in general. From owls to bears, he tried to explain a heartbreaking yet obvious reality: women cannot trust men.

The user explained why a woman would rather be stuck in the woods with a bear than with a man. A street interview video by @screenshothq further promoted the question. Most women answered that they would choose the animal in the hypothetical situation.

From then on, the question has gone viral in different formats. From husbands asking their wives to women asking fathers of little girls. The answer is almost unanimous: women rather get stranded in the woods with one of nature’s most dangerous animals than with a man.

While women almost unanimously choose the bear, some men agree

Despite what the manosphere might say, the social experiment is not about hatred towards men. In North America (yes, including Canada), there have been over 180 fatal bear attacks since 1784. There are around 40 bear attacks on humans worldwide every year.

On the other hand, an average of 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States. Women ages 18 to 24 and 25 to 34 generally experience the highest rates of intimate partner violence.

The perpetrators of gender-based violence are predominantly men, and the victims are most frequently women.

“I agree with these women,” said @lifecoachshawn on TikTok about the women who answered they’d choose to get stranded with a bear. “If I were alone in the woods, I’d prefer to see a bear than a man. It’s not a bear that’s roofying women. It’s not a bear that women must fear when they divorce or break up with a man.”

“I genuinely think this should be disheartening for men,” she continues, realizing that so many women “would rather take their chances with an animal than one of them.” 

Women’s comments were even more heartbreaking

“Bear, because if I got attacked by a bear, people would believe me,” one user wrote. “A bear wouldn’t act like the attack is what you wanted,” wrote another.

And some men seemed to agree.

TikTok user @jon.the.detective, a police officer for 31 years, shared his perspective. After his wife asked him if he’d rather have his daughter in the woods alone with a man or a bear, he said bear. Jon argued that while the basic logic would indicate a man would be more “helpful,” a bear would only kill if he’s trying to protect something. “Men kill because they make a choice.”

Even professional bear hunters chose the bear:

A simple question shows the radical disconnect between women and men

While the vast majority of women on social media agreed on choosing a bear, some men were, well, not having it.

Comments like “If you are that scared, you’d move away,” “Then they’re going to ask us for help getting away from the bear,” or “Watch a video of a person being eaten by a bear and then come back to me,” were almost always made by, (you guessed right!), men.

The hypothetical question, then, only proved how gender-based violence is the norm in the logical thinking of many men. They still think women should not only choose them first but need them. 

The situation is so dire for women around the world that the evidence is in plain sight: women’s main predators are, indeed, men.