Who is a bigger threat to a woman alone in the woods? A man or a bear? This was the question that sparked a viral debate on social media earlier this year. To the consternation and outrage of many men, most women said they would rather be alone with a bear.
In many ways, the online debate over the relative danger men and bears pose to women mirrors #MeToo posts a few years earlier. But if anything, the man vs. bear social media exchanges appear more heated and volatile, reflecting a new dynamic in the post-#MeToo era. In the last few years, women have become more fearful of men.
After 2017 there was a dramatic increase in the concern women reported about becoming victims of sexual assault. In 2017, 39 percent of women under the age of 50 said they often or sometimes worried about being sexually assaulted. A year later, that figure rose to nearly half (47 percent). Concern dipped during the pandemic years, but by 2023, a majority (55 percent) of women under the age of 50 said they worr…
