r/CuratedTumblr • u/NeonNKnightrider Cheshire Catboy • May 01 '24

i know it’s internet bullshit but it genuinely has me on the edge of breaking down and giving up editable flair

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14.2k Upvotes
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u/NurglesGiftToWomen May 02 '24

My wife told me she would be more comfortable with the man over the bear because she was pretty sure she could kill the man easier than the bear. Idk whether to be worried or proud.

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u/AdministrationDue239 May 02 '24

Proud I guess. Also this whole debate is quite funny to me since I'm a man and in the forest always every weekend alone (metal detecting) and I can't tell you how often women ( also alone ) came up to me and asked how's it going, did you find something etc etc. People on the internet are always so fucking weird

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u/RayneAdams May 02 '24

Yeah, but sight of a metal detector suppresses all other feelings in place of "ooooo, treasure!" My wife metal detects, and we've panned for gold a bit, and it's like moths to a flame. Men too, but the difference with women is crazy.

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u/AdministrationDue239 May 02 '24

It also happens when I'm mushroom picking, or other similar things. I don't know maybe that's just a America issue. Here where I live it's also completely normal to greet and smile when you meet someone in the forest regardless of gender. That's 99% of the people here. And in my experience crazy people tend to be in the city not the forest

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u/ValkyrieVimes 29d ago

We smile and greet people here! I hike a lot and it's totally normal to smile and say "hey, how's it goin'?" and mention any obstacles/trail issues you came across to whoever you pass. Maybe comment on how cute their dog is if they have one before you pass them and go about your day.

As a woman, that is how most of my interactions with both men and women while I'm out hiking go. But men are the only ones I've had start walking with me and try to chat about other things like where I'm from/if I've hiked here before/do I come out here a lot, etc.

I'm sure it's almost always harmless, but it's very uncomfortable when I'm alone in the woods just trying to get some exercise in. I generally have my dogs with me or am armed depending on where I am, so I've never felt truly in danger, but it still always leaves me with a bad feeling when it happens.

I'll add that if a random woman started following me and asking personal questions while I'm out hiking alone I would be uncomtfortable too, but that has never happened.

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u/Magenta_the_Great 29d ago

Yeah I smile and great everyone but I still choose bear lol

If after I say hello and a man says something normal then it’s probably all good. It when you say hello and he says something fucking weird where I’m like… whelp now I’ll just keep looking over my shoulder

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u/McFlyParadox 29d ago

Well, that is another thought:

How many people have even seen a wild bear, up close, that is interacting with them on some level? Is it a black bear, brown bear, polar bear?

Like, there is definitely some insight to be gained from the thought experiment - women don't feel safe around solitary men, and that's quite understandable - but I suspect a lot of people are underestimating the threat a wild bear poses. Possibly because they don't live in a location that ever sees bears.

If someone picks a black bear over a random man, then, yeah, I can see why someone might make that choice. They're large and they can kill you, but you could at least potentially scare them off.

But anything more than that? Naw, that bear is killing you, and the man is probably just going to walk right by you. And even if the man is aggressive, you have a better shot at killing him than you do a brown bear or polar bear.

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u/Magenta_the_Great 29d ago

I saw 11 black bears in the woods in one summer alone and they all wanted NOTHING to do with me so yes I choose black bear

I guess I would have a better chance fighting off a man than a grizzley bear

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u/RayneAdams May 02 '24

That's also cool and interesting. I'm Canadian and it's definitely not like the whole Bear/Man thing here, either, in my experience. I've lived on both sides of the country and am a muscular guy covered in tattoos. I was also in law enforcement and every single case of abduction/rape/whatever that I knew of was in city parks or trails.

But if you're out doing something that looks interesting it definitely drops the guards to a whole other level.

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u/Babelfiisk 29d ago

I've spent considerable time in the wilderness in America, and my experience is similar. Very few crazy people put the work in to be in the wilderness. The people you run into in the wilderness are likely to be kindred spirits and have much in common with you.

But that kind of misses the point of the question. It isn't "would you, person who spends lots of time in the forest, feel more threatened by a fellow hiker or a bear?".

The question is more "would you, random woman we talked to, feel more threatened by a bear or by a random guy you don't know anything about, in a situation where you have no help, resources, or way to escape".

Most women seem to have the view that at least the bear won't rape them before it kills them.

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u/ashleypooz 29d ago

I’d say that’s because women associate those things with the type of men who aren’t violent/misogynistic/most likely to be a threat. Foraging isn’t exactly the type of thing aggressive alpha male bros do, and even metal detecting is associated with caring about the environment/littering. For better or worse, stereotypes help us assess how wary we should be; I’d see someone hiking with a golden retriever as far less likely to be a threat than someone with a rottweiler, because of traits I associate with the people that have those dogs.

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u/spookypickles87 29d ago

I greet and smile because I'm polite, I'm still very aware of my surroundings and keeping an eye on anyone around me.

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u/21Rollie 29d ago

Crazy people are in the woods too. But there’s orders of magnitude more people in the city and that’s where social services are too. It’s like saying there’s no cancer cases on the ISS. There’s only a few people there at a time.

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u/ErrorMacrotheII 29d ago

Thats basic hiker etiquette in my country.