Man or bear explained

"Man or bear" (also called "man vs. bear") is a viral social media debate and Internet meme centered on a scenario for women to consider: whether they would prefer to be alone in the woods with a man or a bear.[1] The meme originates from a popular TikTok video by Screenshot HQ posted in April 2024. The prominence of responses choosing the bear has been associated with the widespread violence against women.

Background

The meme originated from a TikTok video published by Screenshot HQ in April 2024 which interviewed eight women on the question, with seven out of them picking the bear. The post went viral and gained over 16 million views in two months.[2] [3]

Response

Online reception

The online reception to the Screenshot HQ video was divided.[4] Most women responded to the meme saying they would also choose the bear.[5] One of the main reasons they chose this answer was that men are more likely to commit sexual violence against women than bears.[6] Other popular arguments included that bears are unable to commit acts worse than murder, that they are more predictable, and that they treat women as people.

When posed the same question, many men also chose the bear.[7] Many men also negatively responded to the common choice of the bear among women.[8] [9]

Commentary from journalists

Some journalists compared the response of women sharing their assault experiences online with the

  1. MeToo movement
.[10] Femi Oluwole of The Independent argued that the debate showed that men need to be more informed about the dangers women face in society.[11] Journalists highlighted various murder cases such as Grace Millane's and Futura Junko's.[12]

Rachel Ulatowski of the feminist magazine The Mary Sue called men's backlash to women picking the bear "bizarre" and "laughable" due to weak arguments with misused statistics and claims of misandry. Some journalists compared it to the

  1. NotAllMen
meme. Clarissa-Jan Lim of MSNBC argued that discussion focusing on the actual hostility of bears misses the point, which she said was the "dangers that women experience in [a] world" with men.

Wilfred Reilly of the National Review criticized the bear-favoring statistics people shared as an example of the base rate fallacy that he stated was widespread in modern American politics.[13] Megan McArdle of The Washington Post argued that those statistics were a confusion of the inverse fallacy that "reinforce harmful stereotypes" of women being "irrational, neurotic and bad at math".[14]

Legacy

Later in July, the influencer Amanda Wylie shared a video to TikTok about her encounter with a bear in the woods. She compared it to the "man or bear" meme, saying she would still "choose the bear".[15] [16] In addition, the influencer Sir Carter referenced the meme in the most viral LGBT TikTok of mid-2024.[17]

Kayleigh Donaldson of Paste associated the novel Bear (1976) by Marian Engel with the meme.[18] According to Tamlyn Avery of The Conversation, Julia Phillips's 2024 book Bear alludes to the debate during a scene with the main character Sam at a family funeral.[19]

Statistics

The World Health Organization states that one in three women face sexual or physical violence in their lifetime, overwhelmingly by men. In contrast, there have been 664 bear attacks over fifteen years with most being non-fatal, which means bear attacks are far less common. Bear expert Jean-Jacques Camarra says that bears have evolved to fear humans, and would therefore most likely run away.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Murray . Conor . Man Or Bear? Many Women Say They'd Rather Be Stuck in the Woods With a Bear in Latest Viral TikTok Debate . 2024-07-31 . . en . May 29, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240529041543/https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2024/05/03/man-or-bear-many-women-say-theyd-rather-be-stuck-in-the-woods-with-a-bear-in-latest-viral-tiktok-debate/ . live .
  2. Web site: Adams . Abigail . Would You Rather Be in the Woods with a Bear or Man? TikTok Users Weigh In on the Debate . 2024-08-01 . . en . August 1, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240801122416/https://people.com/would-you-rather-be-in-woods-with-bear-or-man-tiktok-8644184 . live .
  3. News: Philibert . Marjorie . 2024-06-21 . Alone in a forest, most women would rather run into a bear than a man . 2024-07-31 . . en . August 17, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240817022338/https://www.lemonde.fr/en/our-times/article/2024/06/21/alone-in-a-forest-most-women-would-rather-run-into-a-bear-than-a-man_6675309_39.html . live .
  4. Web site: Encinas . Amaris . Man or bear? Hypothetical question sparks conversation about women's safety . 2024-07-31 . . en-US.
  5. Web site: 2024-05-20 . Women will stop fearing men when men are less frightening . 2024-08-01 . . en-US . August 17, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240817022344/https://www.seattletimes.com/life/why-women-prefer-the-bear-in-manvsbear/ . live .
  6. Web site: Sugiura . Lisa . 2024-05-02 . Why women would prefer to be alone in the woods with a bear than a man . 2024-08-01 . . en-US . May 14, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240514051028/https://theconversation.com/why-women-would-prefer-to-be-alone-in-the-woods-with-a-bear-than-a-man-229140 . live .
  7. Web site: 2024-05-07 . Why a question about whether a woman is safer with a man or a bear has made people angry . 2024-07-31 . . en . May 30, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240530230739/https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/man-vs-bear-tiktok-question-women-rcna151081 . live .
  8. Web site: Ulatowski . Rachel . 2024-05-01 . Men Are Proving the Whole Point of the Man vs. Bear Debate . 2024-07-31 . The Mary Sue . June 4, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240604233827/https://www.themarysue.com/man-vs-bear-tiktok-debate-explained/ . live .
  9. Web site: Willingham . A. J. . 2024-05-06 . Man or bear? A viral question has revealed some uncomfortable truths . 2024-07-31 . . en . May 27, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240527133521/https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/06/us/man-bear-safety-tiktok-question-cec/index.html . live .
  10. Web site: Bokody . Nadia . April 29, 2024 . Men missing the point in viral man vs. bear debate . August 1, 2024 . news.com.au.
  11. Web site: 2024-05-01 . Are women safer with men or bears? I vote bears – and I'm a bloke . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240817022339/https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/women-safer-men-bears-bumble-dating-safety-b2537930.html . August 17, 2024 . 2024-08-01 . . en.
  12. Web site: Rahman . Nufaiysa M. . August 18, 2024 . Men vs Bear: Why Women Will Always Choose the Bear . August 19, 2024 . . en.
  13. Web site: 2024-05-14 . The Man-vs.-Bear Fallacy . 2024-08-01 . . en-US . August 17, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240817022345/https://www.nationalreview.com/2024/05/the-man-vs-bear-fallacy/ . live .
  14. News: McArdle . Megan . May 9, 2024 . Who loses in the 'man or bear' showdown? Women. . August 1, 2024 . . May 18, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240518110433/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/05/09/man-bear-question-hurts-women/ . live .
  15. Web site: 2024-07-17 . Woman has close encounter with grizzly in Montana — but would still 'choose the bear' . 2024-07-31 . . en.
  16. Web site: Shafiq . Saman . Video shows woman's scarily close encounter with grizzly. She says she'd still 'choose the bear.' . 2024-07-31 . . en-US . August 17, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240817022913/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/07/15/grizzly-bear-glacier-national-park/74407552007/ . live .
  17. Web site: Maskell . Emily . August 16, 2024 . The funniest and most viral LGBTQ+ TikTok videos from the last six months . 2024-08-17 . PinkNews . en-US.
  18. Web site: Are You Team Bear? This Novel Was Ahead of the Curve . June 11, 2024 . 2024-08-17 . Paste . en-US.
  19. Web site: Avery . Tamlyn . August 15, 2024 . A post-pandemic novel with a fairy tale twist, Julia Phillips' Bear is a harrowing story of economic hardship . 2024-08-17 . The Conversation . en-US.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Man or bear".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.