The “man vs. bear debate” is a hypothetical question that asks women to contemplate which one they’d rather come across if they were alone in the woods. The trend of asking the question has recently taken TikTok by storm, with the bear heavily favored (much to the dismay of many men).
In a viral video posted by @celestenield, the woman — whose profile describes herself as “Just a Mom who’s trying to find beauty in daily life” — poses the question to her father, asking him whether he’d prefer his three grown daughters to encounter a man or a bear if they were alone in the woods at night.
Heartbreakingly, the father answers, “A bear,” to which an unidentified female in the background replies, “You answered right.” When his daughter asks why, he says, “’cause a bear might leave you alone. A man… perverted.”
The answer is a sad indictment of the state of the world and serves to highlight the lack of rest women — and indeed their parents — have in men in 2024.
How did TikTok react?
The almost universally collective response of the TikTok community was one of forlorn despondency, highlighting how sad the state of affairs must be for a father to prefer his daughters to encounter a wild bear than a random man. Many users also recognized how disappointed the dad was that he lives in a time where that’s the case.
One commenter named Sandra Jackson said, “The sadness in his eyes when he said bear and the realization of what that actually means broke me.” Another named Catalina echoed that sentiment, writing, “He looked so sad when he had to choose bear and you can see the thought hurt him,” as did a third, Kim Irons, who commented, “The reluctance in his answer… SPOKE VOLUMES cuz he knew bear was the one from the beginning of question.”
Other users commented on what their fathers said when posed the same question. Brenda Bell said, “My dad is 73. Has 4 daughters. 9 granddaughters. He said bear without hesitation. Didn’t even look away from the TV.” Kim wrote, “My dad had almost the exact same reaction.”
Several dads in the comments also agreed with their fellow father from the video. User @aphawolfdad wrote, “As a member of the Dads with Daughters union, i approve this message 👍🏻.” User @lglaker said, “As a father, I appreciate his answer. It’s sad but true.”
However, some had more faith in their fellow man, as @scotsman863257 commented, “As a father of two grown daughters I’m picking a man, I know I’d look after anyone that needed help in that situation.”
Despite this video, research by Pew Research Center suggests that American mothers tend to be more overprotective of their children than fathers in the modern world. Compared to 38% percent of dads, 51% of moms claim to be overprotective of their children. Regardless, we bet most parents of all genders would fight off a bear for their kids if they had to.