It’d be nice to be able to walk down a street without making other people uncomfortable because men in general are less assholish than bears.
Eh… The vast majority of encounters with bears are generally with black bears where both sides are usually just scared of each other and scamper away.
I think most men just lack the perspective of just how vulnerable women are compared to men. Imagine if you lived in a world where you were surrounded by dudes the size of your average NFL lineman, and a non insignificant percent of them have a history of sexual violence towards someone your size… You too might be nervous walking in the dark by yourself.
I am 6’3 with a cut weight around 245lb and I have to be mindful about how I carry myself, or how closely I walk near people to not make people of any sex uncomfortable. There’s a reason a big jolly guy is a stereotype, no one is comfortable around a large dude with an attitude.
I am nervous walking in the dark by myself. I simultaneously am relatively tall and will be perceived as male by anyone, so I also try to be wary of how I might make anyone else nervous.
The actual experience that most women have of smaller aggressions even in safer contexts probably also plays a role. I’m probably nervous walking alone at night because of a combination of being physically quite weak in spite of my looks, having experienced bullying throughout my childhood so “unpleasant random encounters” is a concept engraved into my brain, and because I’m affected by reading/hearing about any kind of assault happening to people walking alone.
Replace the bullying with “random men being assholes/threatening/worse” and most women have all 3 of those factors as well.
Eh… The vast majority of encounters with bears are generally with black bears where both sides are usually just scared of each other and scamper away.
I think most men just lack the perspective of just how vulnerable women are compared to men. Imagine if you lived in a world where you were surrounded by dudes the size of your average NFL lineman, and a non insignificant percent of them have a history of sexual violence towards someone your size… You too might be nervous walking in the dark by yourself.
I am 6’3 with a cut weight around 245lb and I have to be mindful about how I carry myself, or how closely I walk near people to not make people of any sex uncomfortable. There’s a reason a big jolly guy is a stereotype, no one is comfortable around a large dude with an attitude.
I am nervous walking in the dark by myself. I simultaneously am relatively tall and will be perceived as male by anyone, so I also try to be wary of how I might make anyone else nervous.
The actual experience that most women have of smaller aggressions even in safer contexts probably also plays a role. I’m probably nervous walking alone at night because of a combination of being physically quite weak in spite of my looks, having experienced bullying throughout my childhood so “unpleasant random encounters” is a concept engraved into my brain, and because I’m affected by reading/hearing about any kind of assault happening to people walking alone.
Replace the bullying with “random men being assholes/threatening/worse” and most women have all 3 of those factors as well.