“That many women would rather face a bear than a man speaks volumes about the urgent need for cultural and structural changes”
A RECENT thought experiment made the rounds of Facebook and other social media platforms polarized readers and highlighted gender-related issues of security, safety, and trust.
The scenario: a woman is hiking through the woods alone. Who would she rather meet, a bear or a man?
Many women chose the bear.
As an admin of the “Feminist News” page on FB posted this explanation: “Because the threat of the bear is a known quantity and thus a much more controllable one.
“A bear is more likely to just keep foraging and move on its way than outright attack you, unless under very specific circumstances.
“The man is not a known quantity and, whether he openly displays aggression or not, a woman cannot know for certain what his intentions are.”
Some commenters explained why they choose the bear: “The bear wouldn’t pretend to be my friend.” “The bear would only kill me, not tell me to enjoy it.”
“If it was a bear, no one would ask what I was wearing or if I drank too much.” “A bear wouldn’t brag to his friends.” “A bear wouldn’t record it and use it for blackmail.”
“Feminist News” added: “We aren’t choosing the bear because we think we would survive. We choose the bear because we know there are worse things than just being killed.”
Many men became angry because they construed the scenario as “who would you rather get in a fight with?”
The point is women find men’s behavior so problematic they would rather encounter a wild animal that would likely just leave them alone, than a man who might engage in behaviors that would make her feel unsafe or even cause her harm.
Many men missed the point of the scenario.
British historian Kate Lister, who wrote the original “bear vs. man” article, posted on social media she has received “abusive emails” from men proving “they are the safe choice,” by calling her names, telling her she is wrong and if she were lost in the woods she would be begging a man to save her.
Lister’s punchline? “So far, no bears have written in.”
Lest you think this hypothetical scenario would be applicable for discourse only in the US or other country where they have the leisure and privilege to indulge in thought experiments, be aware that Filipino women are as unsafe in the Philippines as any woman in many countries around the world.
Last February, Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos said in some parts of the country, rape is the number one crime.
“I was surprised na merong lugar na hindi nakawan, hindi cybercrime, kung hindi number one crime is rape (that there are places where the number one crime is not robbery, not cybercrime, but rape),’’ news media quoted him as saying.
The Philippine National Police reported from July 2022 to Jan. 7, 2023, rape was one of the most frequently occurring crimes in the country.
Meanwhile, data from the 2022 National Demographic and Health Survey showed 17.5 percent of Filipino women aged 15 to 49 have experienced physical, sexual and emotional violence from their intimate partners.
The horrors of rape choose no age – not even children are spared.
The 2022 National Baseline Study on Violence Against Children showed 17.1 percent of Filipino women aged 13-17 have experienced sexual violence, while 3.2 percent are victims of forced consummated sex during childhood.
This is why women (and perhaps children) would still choose to meet a bear over a man when out walking alone.
The experiences of victims of sexual violence and violence in general contribute to a societal climate where women are conditioned to be wary of men, particularly in vulnerable situations.
The preference for the bear highlights the broader issue of trust – or the lack thereof – between women and men.
It reflects a societal failure to ensure women’s safety and to hold perpetrators of violence accountable.
This fear is exacerbated by cultural narratives that often blame victims, thereby discouraging women from reporting incidents or seeking help.
How many comments have we seen from Filipinos that run along the lines of, what were you wearing, why were you outside late, why did you let yourself be the only woman among a group of drinking males?
The tendency of many Filipinos is to blame the woman for her predicament, rather than holding the male accountable for his actions.
The “bear vs man” scenario reveals deep-seated gender inequalities and the impact of patriarchal structures on everyday life.
It calls into question the societal norms that allow such disparities to persist.
That many women would rather face a bear than a man speaks volumes about the urgent need for cultural and structural changes to address and mitigate gender-based violence.
* * * FB and (X): @DrJennyO / Email: writerjennyo@gmail.com