I think that part of the problem is that people tie their identities to labels.
When someone says "I'd rather encounter the bear than a man", some people will say "I'm a man, and that means she's afraid of me (personally)"...and go on to have their feelings hurt by it because it's interpreted as a judgment of who they are as an individual.
Honestly, I think a big part of it is ignorance of women's experiences and a difficulty with perspective-taking.
Maybe men aren't as statistically dangerous as bears. If they aren't, why are women afraid? There are reasons for that.
I can imagine some men extrapolating from this and wondering "How can I ever approach a woman if they're all afraid of me?"...but the answer is "NOT alone when she's alone in a secluded spot in the woods"...
If the question was "Would you rather encounter a bear or a man at a board game café?", you'd find a lot fewer women hoping to encounter a bear.