I can't say how it's going to affect all men, but for me (who is a man) that is not how it affects me. The fact that there exists a lot of mysogonistic men doesn't reflect on me. I am confident that I'd be one of the men who'd just leave a woman alone if we ever met in the woods, so knowing that there are a lot of men out their who wouldn't doesn't get me salty at the women who are fearful of them; but rather, it gets me salty at the shithead men out there who are ultimately the root of the women's fear.

Right now, you are ultimately expressing your anger towards the hypothetical victim rather getting angry at the hypothetical asshole.

Bro. I know you're not a rapist, but you're going to have to accept that lots of men are rapists. If you want people to think of men in general as nice people, you need to fight the rapists. Right now you're not doing that.

Awwww are your fee fees hurt

Dude you sound so sad. Yes, dudes suck towards women, a lot. Accept it. It's not a reflection on you personally. But, your reaction is telling (all about ME and MY feelings)

you DO realize how horrible it is to hear "I think you're more dangerous than a random bear just for existing"?

Just about every person is more dangerous than your average bear encounter.....

The vast majority of bears that people run into in the wild are black bears, which are mostly harmless.

I as an experienced outdoorsman would much rather stumble across a bear in the deep woods than another lone person, especially in a survival situation. Desperate people are the most dangerous animals by far.

supposed to give men lasting mental health issues and extreme social anxiety?

If this is what gives you extreme social anxiety then you are in serious need of professional help. That sounds like more of a you problem a societal one.

Here's a short video for you, it's a compilation of women on a bus just existing in a public space: https://www.tiktok.com/@specere/video/7472932570162924831

Yes, not every man on those busses is being creepy. But if there's one on every bus that is what women are going to remember. Now imagine a woman who takes the bus regularly dealing with this every day, then being asked if she'd rather encounter a random bear in the woods or a random man in the woods.
She's encountered random men in public spaces and this is what has happened. No wonder she doesn't want to encounter them in the woods.

Let's try a quick thought experiment:

Say you're driving down the road and following all the rules. You come to a gradual stop at a red light, and you're suddenly hit from behind because the driver behind you wasn't paying attention.

This accident is not your fault in any way. You did everything right, the other driver fucked up.

But does that mean you can just walk away and everything will be taken care of for you? No, you have to contact insurance companies, arrange for vehicle repairs and alternate transportation until it's done, notify law enforcement and other agencies under some circumstances, etc.

So why do you have to do anything if it isn't your fault?

It's because fault and responsibility are not always the same thing. It sucks, it's unfair, but it's just how things work. Sometimes we have to clean up other peoples' messes.

When it comes to the man or bear question, which is also a thought experiment rather than a personal indictment, it's not the fault of all men that many women feel the way they do about us. But even for those of us that didn't cause the problem, it is still our responsibility to acknowledge the lived experiences of others and listen without making it about ourselves.

Enough other men are shitty towards women to make a lot of them sincerely consider whether they would be safer with an average man or average bear. Nobody said anything about you personally or whether they were choosing guaranteed death over time with you.

Empathy is the only way to take meaningful steps toward changing the perception. Invalidating women's feelings or pretending the pattern doesn't exist won't help anyone, including yourself.

how is this being upvoted?? is lemmy really this misogynist?

you DO realize how horrible it is to hear “I think you’re more dangerous than a random bear just for existing”?

Dating men is a minefield. Discarding caution because "it might not be necessary" goes against the point of caution. They feel safer encountering a bear because the bear leaves them alone if left alone. Some men, on the contrary, would actively do something bad even if left alone. The point is not that all or most men are like this. It's that they can be and assuming that they aren't is unsafe.

And this isn’t supposed to give men lasting mental health issues and extreme social anxiety?

No?? Strangers not trusting you is perfectly normal. If you think you are owed trust because all women will magically know that you're trustworthy, you aren't trustworthy.

Oh, won't you think of the men! 🙄

My guy. What the fuck. Why would this question give you anxiety? It's not about you. Why are you taking this so personally it's giving you anxiety?