During a recent segment on The Daily
Show with Jon Stewart, one of the correspondents did a story about a phenomenon
known as Man-spreading. As usual the
segment was hilarious, but it also made me think. I began to pay attention when I went to public
places and yup – there it was – Man-spreading.
Sitting in my stadium seat to watch a
basketball game, my husband sat on my right with his legs spread as wide as the
seats would allow and on my left another man doing the very same thing. I looked down the row and I had to fight the
urge to laugh out loud. Every single man
had his legs spread wide apart and every single woman sat with her legs
together.
Men will be happy to explain to you
that they need more room for their …umm…male parts, but seriously how much
extra room do they need? This has become
such a problem for transportation providers in crowded cities that the NY transit authority
actually created a campaign to remind men to be respectful. The slogan, “Dude, stop the spread please”
can be seen on signs and billboard in New York.
Beyond just the anatomy differences,
this idea of man-spreading also brings up a philosophical question, why do men
feel more comfortable and confident in asserting their ‘space’?. Women rarely take up extra space. Are women just more conditioned to think of
others? Does this inequality in space
resemble the inequality in other aspects of our lives?
I would love your to know your opinion
about man-spreading – please leave a comment below.
I'm sure I have an opinion but I can't stop laughing to figure it out. Now I'm on the look out for man-spreaders! lol
ReplyDeleteIts amazing how much man spreading you see once you start looking for it :) Thanks for stopping by
DeleteThis drives me insane! I don't live in a place with a ton of public transport but I do see it. I've even noticed it on airplanes where it crosses over into the armrest. I don't think most men even consider it unless someone brings it up to them. I really hate it when a strange man just lays his leg on me! I believe there is a whole tumblr dedicated to this subject.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ginger, I think there is really something disrespectful about taking up space that belongs to someone else.
DeleteWe live in a city of 11 million and ride the metro train everywhere. YES! It's annoying when there would be seats if those guys would just not take up quite so much room--but they never seem particularly interested in making sure there's as much space as possible for others to sit down on. I always "sit small".
ReplyDeleteThanks Rachel - I really do wonder why woman are more prone to think of others, is it in our DNA?
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