FollowWriter for the New York Times, Emma Fitzsimmons, published an article last December about the new target of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) board in New York City: “manspreading.” This inelegant phenomenon can be defined as “those men who spread their legs wide, into a sort of V-shaped slouch, effectively occupying two, sometimes even three seats.” Moreover, this phenomena extends to the behavior of females on public transportation as well. While Fitzsimmons comments on the impact of manspreading in the subway system of New York City, I can’t help but notice its presence permeate the public transportation system of Berkeley and the Bay Area.
How many times have you boarded the 51B in hopes of taking a seat for a 45 minute bus ride, only to find that the one potential spot you could sit in has been occupied by a woman’s left leg? How many times have you been robbed of a seat on BART by a man’s oversized duffel bag? Why do people choose to take up vastly more surface area in public situations than is physically necessary?
I have encountered this situation on a consistent basis. Every time I use public transportation, there is a high chance that there will be not just one, but a gaggle of individuals occupying more space than required. What’s more is that these manspreaders perfectly distribute themselves throughout the train car or bus, which most efficiently narrows your seating options. Once you become aware of it, this experience is nearly impossible not to notice.
Personally, I feel that manspreading isn’t a huge issue that deserves an excessive amount of attention. For many, sitting with legs spread wide, without a care in the world, is simply a very comfortable position. Many a times it is harmless — it’s even natural.
Yet, what strikes me about manspreading is the subconscious message that it sends to fellow users of public transportation. If you take notice of the people who engage in the act of manspreading, they are often sitting alone, rarely striking conversation with their neighboring passengers. In fact, these individuals may even avoid eye contact with anyone in their immediate surroundings.
With this in mind, perhaps manspreading is not an indulgent act aimed to assert dominance in an unfamiliar situation, as Fitzsimmons posits. It is possible that the “inconsiderate” nature of manspreading that Fitzsimmons dwells on is not intentional at all. Perhaps instead, manspreading is a mild coping mechanism that creates a personal bubble of comfort around the individual that allows him or her to get from Point A to Point B unfazed by their surroundings, distanced from the people they are in such close physical proximity with. Oh, the irony.
So while the MTA produces PSA posters that exclusively target men (although women appear to be equally responsible) ultimately aiming to decrease the impact of manspreading on the New York City subway, I think the root of the phenomenon is being neglected.
Before we campaign to negate all traces of manspreading, we need to figure out why sitting next to strangers on public transportation makes us uncomfortable. We need to grow through our discomfort and realize that no, it is by no means necessary to talk to strangers on the train — but it is necessary to be present and recognize that each passenger is chugging along together, whether we acknowledge one another or not. When we use public transport, we are never traveling alone, so why pretend that we exist separately from everyone else? Commuters as a collective whole should be respectful of others who are utilizing the bus and require seating.
Inevitably, manspreaders will continue to spread, and onlookers will continue to postulate the intentions of said manspreaders. It probably shouldn’t be our top priority to contemplate, but it’s definitely worth a slice of our time. Do we spread to avoid human contact? Do you engage in this behavior yourself? More importantly, how the hell did the MTA receive funding to campaign an “issue” such as manspreading? It may be more important than we initially thought.
Image Sources: The New Yorker, feministcurrent.com, www.buzzfeed.com
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