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My Thoughts on the Man vs. Bear Debate
I’ve never been victimized, but I’d still choose the bear.
A woman on TikTok posed a simple question to her followers and viewers: if you were alone in a forest, would you rather encounter a man or a bear?
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Needless to say that video went viral. Women, unequivocally chose the bear. Men, for the most part, failed to understand the question. Some even took it as a personal attack.
Most of these men are spouting the same thing they always have: not all men.
And I agree. Not all men, if they found you alone in the woods, would hurt you.
Lucky Girl
In fact, I’ve never personally been victimized by a man before. I’ve never been catcalled, or stalked, or harassed, or leared at, or assaulted — in-person or online. I consider myself extremely lucky for this. Lucky, because I know the statistics, the odds, I know many women in my life that are not as “lucky” as I am.
I’ve heard the stories of friends and family, seen the news reports, and the anonymous stories on social media.
I’ve never been victimized, but I have had a rape escape video appear on my social media feeds. I have researched and watched martial arts and self-defense videos. I’ve known how to hold my keys between my knuckles since I got my first house key at age 11. I knew when I was learning how to drive that the first thing I needed to do when I got in my car was to lock the doors. Even in broad daylight with lots of people around.
I know that if I ever find myself walking alone at night and someone, a man, starts following me, to cross the street, to call someone, and to make a scene if they catch up.
I was young, maybe 10 years old, when my parents told me that when I was older and I went to bars and parties I was never to leave my drink unattended. I was to keep the glass covered with my hand. If I ever set it down and left for a moment, I was to order a new drink and not take even a sip of the other. I was never to accept a drink someone else ordered for me. My parents were teaching me how to protect myself as a girl and as a woman before I even hit puberty.
