Comment by dauertewigkeit | Hacker News Reader

Comment by dauertewigkeit | Hacker News Reader

What do masculinity social norms have to do with the possible danger that comes from meeting a lone stranger in the woods? You don't trust strangers because you don't know them. It has nothing to do with masculinity, men or some gender wide conspiracy.

If I met a tiny petite girl in the woods, while I was hiking, and if she wanted to stick around with me, I would also be wary of her. I would think that she's maybe part of a some elaborate robbery scheme or something. Stranger danger and all that.

And if a man, or anyone, finds themselves in a position of power, and they decide to abuse that power, that is on them. There is no social norm that teaches men to take advantage of women whenever they feel like it.

Ultimately this is a worthless discussion because you cannot legislate evil away. Some people will always behave badly and no amount of preaching about the patriarchy will change that.

I don't know what this "woods" or "hiking" stuff is about, but the scariest moment in Elite Dangerous is when you're far, faaar out of the human bubble, in deep, remote space... and, against all odds (the game is literally astronomical in scale), you pick up another player on your radar. You're lonely, so the encounter is exciting. And shocking. And mortifying. Out here, there's no system security. There's no repair facilities. You might be carrying months of exploration data. If they want to kill you, you're screwed. It's all the best and worst emotions all at once. :D

I wrote a sibling comment pointing out something similar, but I also realize the situations are still different.

If you take any woman/man combo meeting alone in the woods, chances that the man will feel compelled to get closer even if not encouraged (physically or even just emotionally, as the author points out) is, I think, greater than the other way around.

As I wrote, if I meet that man alone in the woods, I will still be wary and feel uncomfortable at first. But I can probably get to the point of letting my guard down more easily and faster, because the chances of me having anything the other side desires or that desire developing is just lower.

So yeah, I think sex/gender are a factor in terms of when it's possible to decide to take the risk and relax. Keep in mind I am talking about perceived risk, the man in the hypothetical doesn't have to be an actual predator.

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