A lot of it has to do with the title, as it insinuates you either have an understanding, or are the reason women would pick the bear. This completely leaves out the innocuous “I don’t understand” group of men, which makes up a large chunk of people.
They don’t understand, so they are a predator? Well now they have joined the conversation on the wrong side which contributes to the defensiveness and increases the toxicity.
Most men will never have to deal with someone stalking us. We don’t live in fear of a male attacker trying to rape us, roofy us, and in fact most dudes get to walk around like male lions most our lives and just hang out not worrying about much of anything. I was this way until having close female friends in the army, and we had a candid conversation about this when I took one of them home after she had been slipped something.
I have been ridiculously aware of the man-in-the-woods since then, and it has gotten more keen after having kids.