Bootney Lee FarnsworthJust when you thought radical feminism couldn’t get any zanier, the “Femi-Nazi’s” bring the term “Manspreading” to the English lexicon. Manspreading as defined by Wikipedia:
“Manspreading, or man-sitting, is a neologism used to describe a man sitting in public transport with legs wide apart, thereby covering more than one seat”.
Logically speaking, no one sympathizes with the asshole, male or female, who takes up two seats on crowded public transportation, but in my opinion these are the quirky issues where the radical feminist lose their credibility. Here is an example of Sarah Kahan in “Manspreading is an Important Feminist Issue, Not Just Bad Social Etiquette”:
I’ll acknowledge, having never had a cock and balls myself, I don’t know if men really need all that extra space for their man-parts. But if they do, how come women don’t claim extra room as well? I don’t know about you, but when I’m on my period and I’m wearing a pad, I literally want nothing more than to spread my legs wide when sitting anywhere—the last thing I want to do is keep them tightly shut, which scrunches up the pad and often causes leaks. Not to mention when I get up after sitting with closed legs, physics does its job and the newfound air sucks out large clumps of period blood and makes me feel like I’ve dropped a load from my pussy. All because I sat with closed legs and then got up and opened my legs a little.
Alternately, even when I’m not on my period, I like letting my vagina have extra space. With the hair down there and various vaginal fluids constantly dripping out, and panties, which can be restrictive in themselves, keeping my legs closed is a pain in my ass most of the time. Dropping my knees to the side and letting my vag get some space is a glorious feeling.
Spreading one’s legs is not a privilege for men, but is also practiced by women too. Kahan in her blog articulated above why a woman would want to take up two seats. This practice is not gender specific, but is a personal preference based on comfort. I’ve had a senior female colleague who would spread her legs, even when she wore dresses. Trust me, it wasn’t a pleasant sight, but I didn’t run to HR. Kahan’s Collectivist rhetoric is based on a theory of patriarchy, but she brings no empirical data regarding this issue. Instead of educating the public on the need to maximize space on mass transit, the radical feminist promote Manspreading to direct their anger at all men. Kahan:
This is the patriarchy for you: raising girls to feel like they are doing the world a disservice by existing, and raising boys to feel like the world is their oyster—both of these even if the individual doesn’t realize it him- or herself. And this trickles down into every aspect of the lives of all genders: from how we sit and where we choose to sit, to what we say and how we decide to say it, to what we wear and how we’re treated when we walk down the street.
Seldom ever will a man and woman have the same experience in any of those situations, and more often than not it’s the male-identifying cis men who will have it easiest, and that will allow them to sit with their legs spread and often be totally unaware of anyone else until someone pointedly asks them to adjust themselves to accommodate those around them.
This issue is more of manners and etiquette, as opposed to a gender inequality issue. This issue can be easily solved with a little human interaction. By simply saying, “Excuse me sir or madam, may I sit.” Most humans are reasonable creatures and will respond to this simple request. Being considerate is gender neutral.
H/T: http://www.gender-focus.com/2016/02/13/manspreading
