Man or bear? Viral hypothetical question sparks concern over women’s safety

The latest viral TikTok trend is raising concerns about women’s safety. The trend involves the hypothetical question- Would you rather encounter a man or a bear if you are alone in the woods? The astounding number of women choosing a bear instead of a man has ignited a raging debate on social media. This hypothetical scenario was led by the TikTok account Screenshot HQ, asking seven women the same question. Much to the viewers’ surprise, only one woman chose the option of a man, while the rest would prefer to come face to face with a bear.
With over 65,000 responses under the original video on TikTok, the theory gained major traction. However, almost all of them agreed that a bear is the safer option. One woman wrote, “No one’s gonna ask me if I led the bear on or give me a pamphlet on bear attack prevention tips.”
An X, formerly Twitter user pointed out, “Reading responses to the bear vs man in the woods question and someone said “if I die by a bear I’ve fed its survival instincts, if I die by a man I’ve likely only fed his fantasies.” and the way my whole jaw needs to be scraped off the floor…”
TikTok user Meredith Steele asked her husband whether he would prefer their daughter be alone in the woods with a man or a bear; he admitted that while neither option is great, he was “leaning toward the bear.” “Maybe it’s a friendly bear,” he added.
Another X, formerly a Twitter user, created a poll to settle the dispute, writing, “Would you rather be alone in the woods with a bear or alone in the woods with a man? No, you don’t get to choose the man and you don’t know the man.” The poll generated the maximum answers for the “Bear” option in case of women, while more men opted to encounter a “Man” instead.