15. Man✋🏻 vs Bear 🐻?: Why women chose Bear over men - Gender and Safety in Natural Environments

Man or bear? How gender affects experiences of natural environments with varying levels of vegetation density and different danger threats" by Bornioli & Gatersleben (2025) provides crucial empirical evidence about gendered experiences of safety in natural settings. The authors, Anna Bornioli and Birgitta Gatersleben, conducted three experiments with adults from Southeast England, inspired by the viral 2024 "Man or bear?" social media debate that highlighted women's preference for encountering a bear over an unknown man in the woods.

Their research demonstrates that women experience significantly higher levels of fear and perceived risk in natural environments compared to men, particularly in dense vegetation settings and when social threats are present. The study reveals that social dangers—primarily the threat of harassment or assault by men—emerge as the primary barrier preventing women from fully enjoying and engaging with natural spaces. This research is foundational to our feminist park project as it provides concrete evidence for why traditional park design often fails women and highlights the urgent need for safety-centered, gender-responsive green space planning.