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THIS WEEK, NEW York authorities announced plans to tackle ‘manspreading’ and now Londoners wish to follow suit.
But what exactly is it? Allow us to explain.
What is manspreading?
‘Manspreading’ refers to when a man sitting on public transport sits with his legs spread open and takes up more room than his fellow female passengers who are often forced to sit cross-legged.
Subway passengers have long complained about this scourge.
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Why are people talking about it all of a sudden?
Well, it’s sort of all come to a head in recent weeks.
So much so that the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) has stepped in and launched a campaign urging men to be more considerate about how much space they take up.
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(For the record, they have also released posters warning against wearing your backpack and eating on trains.)
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Naturally enough, the manspreading advertisement is the one that has attracted the most attention.
Do other countries want to follow the same route?
Many Londoners have taken to social media to ask Transport for London to implement a similar initiative and put an end to the likes of this.
While the MTA’s actions to curb manspreading has won widespread support, a number of male commuters appear to disagree that it’s a problem and explain that it’s necessary owing to their, ahem, junk.
Most of the pics feminists use as "damning evidence" of #manspreading actually show not much space being taken up & no 1 inconvenienced.
Friday 15 November, 2024
Friday 15 November, 2024
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Explainer: what is 'manspreading' and why are people talking about it?
THIS WEEK, NEW York authorities announced plans to tackle ‘manspreading’ and now Londoners wish to follow suit.
But what exactly is it? Allow us to explain.
What is manspreading?
‘Manspreading’ refers to when a man sitting on public transport sits with his legs spread open and takes up more room than his fellow female passengers who are often forced to sit cross-legged.
Subway passengers have long complained about this scourge.
Whoops!
We couldn't find this Tweet
Whoops!
We couldn't find this Tweet
Why are people talking about it all of a sudden?
Well, it’s sort of all come to a head in recent weeks.
So much so that the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) has stepped in and launched a campaign urging men to be more considerate about how much space they take up.
Whoops!
We couldn't find this Tweet
(For the record, they have also released posters warning against wearing your backpack and eating on trains.)
Whoops!
We couldn't find this Tweet
Whoops!
We couldn't find this Tweet
Naturally enough, the manspreading advertisement is the one that has attracted the most attention.
Do other countries want to follow the same route?
Many Londoners have taken to social media to ask Transport for London to implement a similar initiative and put an end to the likes of this.
Whoops!
We couldn't find this Tweet
Toronto commuters are also asking for manspreading to be stopped.
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It’s even won some support from Dublin commuters who have spotted it on the Luas and DART.
What has the general reaction been?
While the MTA’s actions to curb manspreading has won widespread support, a number of male commuters appear to disagree that it’s a problem and explain that it’s necessary owing to their, ahem, junk.
Conservative commentator Milo Yiannopolous also weighed in on the issue with a fairly scathing column.
In his article, he called it “pathetic feminist pipsqueakery” and “ludicrous spectacle of inanity and stupidity”.
But several male commuters also seem to be on board with the measure, describing it as an issue of space as opposed to a gender issue.
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Explainer manspreading Public Transport