manspreading

There is no scientific study explaining the physiology of this phenomenon. Author and fitness journalist Lou Schuler speculates that "manspreading" is natural due to men's inherent physical differences which make spreading knees the "least-stressed sitting position for men":

{{Blockquote |Here's what happens when someone like me sits with my knees close together: The round ball at the top of the femur will pinch against the outside edge of the acetabulum (the hip socket), straining the labrum that lines the socket. To get into that position, I have to activate the adductor muscles on my inner thighs. That automatically triggers resistance from the abductor muscles on my outer thighs, creating tension that can reach all the way up into the lower back. The second I release the contraction, my thighs spring apart, leaving a gap of about 15 inches from the center of each kneecap, more than three-quarters of the distance to a proper manspread ... Women, on the other hand, have a wider pelvis and thighbones that more naturally angle in toward the body's midline, rather than away from it. Sitting with the knees close together is a stress-free position most of the time, although that changes during pregnancy, when the weight of the belly pushes the knees out.{{Cite web |last=Schuler |first=Lou |date=July 18, 2017 |title=There's a Reason Some Men Take Up So Much Space When They Sit |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/manspreading-is-an-anatomical-necessity/ |access-date=2020-08-11 |website=Vice}}}}

The male anatomy typically has a higher center of mass, partially due to increased shoulder and upper arm musculature and partially due to lessened fat deposits on the thighs and buttocks. Men with long torsos also have a longer pendulum arm, which amplifies lateral forces due to motion of the vehicle. Men on average also have narrower backsides than women, providing a less secure base. If the chair offers lateral lumbar support, this can help to alleviate swaying, but much public transportation features spartan seating design, and spreading the legs to increase the base of support is the natural option to maintain a secure posture.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

Larger men with broad shoulders are often as wide at the shoulder (or wider) than the seat provided; there is often very little tolerance for swaying sideways without contacting the person in the adjacent seat, especially for larger men seated side by side. Men can reduce their shoulder width somewhat by curling the shoulders forward and sitting with their forearms crossed over their horizontal thighs, an upper body posture akin to manunspreading.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

Manspreading could also be due to the factors such as the overall width of the pelvis, which is relatively greater in females and the angle of the femoral neck, which is more acute.{{Cite web|date=2017-07-27|title=There's an entirely reasonable explanation for 'manspreading'|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/manspreading-scientific-explanation-revealed-men-behaviour-public-transport-etiquette-a7862771.html|access-date=2020-11-10|website=The Independent|language=en|archive-date=9 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109024549/http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/manspreading-scientific-explanation-revealed-men-behaviour-public-transport-etiquette-a7862771.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Meyerowitz|first=Anya|date=2018-03-21|title=The biological reason for 'manspreading'|url=http://www.redonline.co.uk/health-self/relationships/a528852/scientific-reason-manspreading/|access-date=2020-11-10|website=Red Online|language=en-GB}}

File:Innocence in an Omnibus (enlarged).png (26 March 1848)]]

Sitting more expansively may also signal dominance and sexual attractiveness for males. Tanya Vacharkulksemsuk, a UC Berkeley post-doctorate researcher, recently published studies that found spreading out legs and arms is more sexually attractive when males do it. Using photographs, she found that images of men spreading out got 87% of interest among female viewers. Expansive poses were not as effective for women, who appeared "vulnerable" and "starfish-like" according to other researchers.{{cite web|last1=Khazan|first1=Olga|date=29 March 2016|title=Does Manspreading Work?|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/03/is-manspreading-sexy/475728/|access-date=15 May 2016|website=The Atlantic|archive-date=10 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810131758/https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/03/is-manspreading-sexy/475728/|url-status=live}} On the other hand, some analysts have found that women sitting cross-legged may be perceived positively as an expression of femininity.Burns‐Ardolino, Wendy A. (2003). "Reading woman: Displacing the foundations of femininity." Hypatia 18.3 (2003): 42–59. The opposite seating posture to manspreading, leg-crossing, is often viewed as effeminate.Barlow, David H., E. Joyce Reynolds, and W. Stewart Agras. "Gender identity change in a transsexual." Archives of General Psychiatry 28.4 (1973): 569–76.

File:EMT Madrid amplía su señalización a bordo del autobús para evitar el “manspreading” (01).jpg in 2017.]]

In 2014, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in the New York metropolitan area and Sound Transit of Seattle instituted poster campaigns encouraging respectful posture when other passengers have to stand due to crowding on buses and trains. The MTA campaign, which criticized many behaviors such as leaning on poles and applying make-up, used the slogan "Dude, stop the spread please!"{{Cite news|last=Tahseen|first=Ismat|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Mumbais-got-its-own-man-spreaders/articleshow/45609512.cms|title=Mumbai's got its own 'man-spreaders'|date=23 December 2014|work=The Times of India|archive-date=25 December 2014|access-date=16 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141225114033/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Mumbais-got-its-own-man-spreaders/articleshow/45609512.cms|url-status=live}} Transport officials in Philadelphia, Chicago and Washington D.C. have not noted complaints against manspreading in particular although the Philadelphia Transportation Authority at that time had an etiquette campaign with the slogan "Dude It's Rude... Two Seats — Really?" aimed at people who occupied seats with bags. Despite social media pressure and public debate to extend the campaign to the Canadian city of Toronto{{Cite web|url=https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/movement-to-ban-man-spreading-on-transit-picks-up-speed-in-toronto-1.2158517|title=Movement to ban 'man-spreading' on transit picks up speed in Toronto, CTV Toronto Published Monday, December 22, 2014|date=22 December 2014|access-date=15 April 2020|archive-date=11 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111204204/https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/movement-to-ban-man-spreading-on-transit-picks-up-speed-in-toronto-1.2158517|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/lifestyle/man-spreading-debate-spreads-to-toronto-1.2165494|title=Jesse Tahirali, 'Man-spreading' debate spreads to Toronto. CTV News. Published Monday, December 29, 2014|date=29 December 2014|access-date=15 April 2020|archive-date=11 December 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241211112832/https://www.ctvnews.ca/lifestyle/man-spreading-debate-spreads-to-toronto-1.2165494|url-status=live}} a representative of the Toronto Transit Commission stated "We're not commenting on the manspreading campaign," and she reminded the users to be courteous to each other, allowing someone else to take an empty seat beside them.{{cite news|last1=Yuen|first1=Jenny|title=Anti-'manspreading' campaign called sexist|url=http://www.torontosun.com/2014/12/29/anti-manspreading-campaign-called-sexist|access-date=5 December 2015|publisher=The Toronto Sun|date=5 December 2015|archive-date=20 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020022633/http://www.torontosun.com/2014/12/29/anti-manspreading-campaign-called-sexist|url-status=live}} Since 2017, taking more than one seat is forbidden by Madrid Municipal Transport Company.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/06/08/europe/madrid-manspreading-transit-trnd/index.html|title='Manspreading' is now a no-no on Madrid's public buses|first=Julia|last=Jones|website=CNN|date=8 June 2017|access-date=2019-01-19|archive-date=25 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190125091853/https://www.cnn.com/2017/06/08/europe/madrid-manspreading-transit-trnd/index.html|url-status=live}} In some cases, people who find manspreading offensive have taken to photographing manspreading, and posting those images on the Internet.

The term came into controversy after laws against manspreading were used to unduly target the Latino population. Two Latino men were arrested for 'manspreading' under the MTA rules, and a teenager was allegedly charged after keeping a backpack next to him. Huffpost called it an example of 'broken windows' policing.{{Cite web|date=2015-05-28|title=Report: NYC Cops Arrested Men for 'Manspreading' on the Subway|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2015/05/report-nyc-cops-arrested-men-manspreading-subway-katherine-timpf/|access-date=2020-09-02|website=National Review|language=en-US|archive-date=26 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026073345/https://www.nationalreview.com/2015/05/report-nyc-cops-arrested-men-manspreading-subway-katherine-timpf/|url-status=live}}

File:Outbursts of Everett True 1907-02-04.jpg, (A. D. Condo, 1907)]]

Both this posture and the use of the neologism "manspreading" have occasioned some internet criticism and debates in the US, UK, Turkey, and Canada.Radhika Sanghani, [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/11309866/Ban-manspreading-Brits-want-men-to-sit-with-their-legs-together.html "'Ban manspreading': Londoners want men to sit with their legs together on the Tube"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170613063735/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/11309866/Ban-manspreading-Brits-want-men-to-sit-with-their-legs-together.html |date=13 June 2017 }}, The Telegraph, 23 December 2014.{{Cite news|last=Johnson|first=Eric M.|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-transportation-manspreading-idUSKBN0KQ01120150117|title=One body, one seat: Seattle's campaign against the 'manspreading' scourge|date=16 January 2015|publisher=Reuters|archive-date=17 May 2021|access-date=5 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517055920/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-transportation-manspreading-idUSKBN0KQ01120150117|url-status=live}} The controversy surrounding manspreading has been described by equity feminist writer Cathy Young as "pseudo feminism – preoccupied with male misbehavior, no matter how trivial." She argued that the usage of the term is 'about shaming directed at males.'

According to UNSW professor and academic Emma Jane,{{cite web|title=Journalism and Media Research Centre (JMRC) : UNSW Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences|url=http://jmrc.arts.unsw.edu.au/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610192415/http://jmrc.arts.unsw.edu.au/|archive-date=10 June 2011|access-date=2011-06-08|publisher=Jmrc.arts.unsw.edu.au|df=dmy-all}} "A key component of activism in this domain has involved feminists taking candid photographs of male commuters engaged in manspreading and posting these images on social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr. Many of the male subjects are identifiable and appear alongside mocking captions and comments." The criticism and campaigns against manspreading have been counter-criticized for not addressing similar behavior by women. Men's rights groups have taken issue at the gendered nature of the term, and have contended that anti-social Behavior in transport is an issue of individual etiquette rather than gender, pointing to instances of women taking up more than one seat by keeping bags on them, a practice dubbed "she-bagging". The practice of taking non-consensual photos of men with emphasis on their crotch has been compared to creepshots or revenge porn.

The practice has also been described as a form of public shaming.{{cite web|last1=Devon|first1=Natasha|date=16 January 2015|title=The rise of stranger shaming: How humiliating others became acceptable|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/the-rise-of-stranger-shaming-how-humiliating-others-became-acceptable-9982260.html|work=The Independent|access-date=4 September 2017|archive-date=13 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190413191058/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/the-rise-of-stranger-shaming-how-humiliating-others-became-acceptable-9982260.html|url-status=live}} As an example, in New York, actor Tom Hanks was photographed on the subway, taking up two seats and criticized for it. He responded on a talk show, "Hey Internet, you idiot! The train was half empty! It was scattered – there was plenty of room!"{{cite web|last1=Friedman|first1=Megan|title=Tom Hanks Defends His "Manspreading" Subway Habit|url=http://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/news/a27445/tom-hanks-manspreading-subway/|website=Elle.com|date=24 March 2015|publisher=Hearst Publishing|access-date=19 October 2016|archive-date=12 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612164251/https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/news/a27445/tom-hanks-manspreading-subway/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web |last=Barrett-Ibarria |first=Sofia |date=January 25, 2015 |title=Uh Oh, Tom Hanks Is Guilty Of 'Manspreading' |url=https://www.bustle.com/articles/60452-tom-hanks-is-guilty-of-manspreading-on-the-new-york-city-subway-but-well-forgive-him |access-date=2020-09-02 |website=Bustle |language=en |archive-date=16 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416203417/https://www.bustle.com/articles/60452-tom-hanks-is-guilty-of-manspreading-on-the-new-york-city-subway-but-well-forgive-him |url-status=live }}

The Canadian Association for Equality (CAFE), a Canadian men's rights group, has been critical of campaigns against manspreading by transit authorities. The CAFE has argued that it is "physically painful for men to close their legs" and that campaigns against manspreading is comparable to "[forcing] women to stop breast feeding on buses or trains...."{{cite news|last1=Otis|first1=Daniel|title=Man-spreading, a transit controversy with legs|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/12/28/manspreading_a_transit_controversy_with_legs.html|access-date=8 December 2015|publisher=The Toronto Star|date=28 December 2014|archive-date=30 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151030030951/http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/12/28/manspreading_a_transit_controversy_with_legs.html|url-status=live}} Commentators in media have made similar arguments regarding the need for men to spread their legs to properly accommodate their testicles.{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/11374213/Is-the-manspreading-campaign-just-prejudice-against-big-guys.html|title=Is the 'manspreading' campaign just prejudice against big guys?|first=Gareth|last=May|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=30 January 2015|access-date=2016-07-12|archive-date=14 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614015650/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/11374213/Is-the-manspreading-campaign-just-prejudice-against-big-guys.html|url-status=live}} Peter Post, the author of the book "Essential Manners for Men" has been cited as saying that the proper way for men to sit is with their legs parallel rather than in a V-shape.

In 2016, the word appeared on Lake Superior State University's list of "banished" words and phrases.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/01/us/banished-words-lake-superior-state-university.html|title='Manspreading', 'Vape' and 'So': Hated words for 2016|first=Christine|last=Hauser|work=The New York Times|date=31 December 2015|access-date=2016-07-12|archive-date=26 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181026182700/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/01/us/banished-words-lake-superior-state-university.html|url-status=live}} In 2019, two women received criticism for a "womanspreading" banner that they displayed on a feminist march in Pakistan.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-47832236|title=The 'womanspreading' placard that caused fury in Pakistan|last=Ebrahim|first=Ammar|date=6 April 2019|work=BBC News|access-date=6 April 2019|archive-date=6 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406002300/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-47832236|url-status=live}}

In 2019, Laila Laurel, a student of the University of Brighton, created a chair which was designed to encourage men to sit with their legs closed; she also made a different chair designed to encourage women to sit while taking up a larger portion of space.{{cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/insider/style/laila-laurel-manspreading-chair-a4193106.html|title=Anti-manspreading chair wins London design award|work=Evening Standard|last=Hampson|first=Laura|date=July 18, 2019|access-date=December 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201206151854/https://www.standard.co.uk/insider/style/laila-laurel-manspreading-chair-a4193106.html|archive-date=December 6, 2020}} These chairs received criticism online, with some deeming the chairs and the student misandristic.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-49037135|title=Anti-manspreading chair designer receives 'backlash'|publisher=BBC News|date=July 18, 2019|access-date=December 6, 2020|archive-date=6 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201206150756/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-49037135|url-status=live}} Her chairs won the Belmond Award, an award at a showcase of work from various universities.{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/women/manspreading-chair-design-laila-laurel-award-brighton-university-a9008746.html|title=Feminist Wins Award For Chair Designed To Stop 'Manspreading'|work=The Independent|last=Young|first=Sarah|date=July 19, 2020|access-date=December 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112021344/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/women/manspreading-chair-design-laila-laurel-award-brighton-university-a9008746.html|archive-date=November 12, 2020}} According to Laurel, the chairs' designs were not meant to be taken too seriously.

The practice of manspreading itself has also been criticized, generally for taking up too much space. It has also been viewed as a result of gender bias. Certain measures against manspreading have been praised, with some wanting other cities to adopt similar measures. It has been described by journalist Barbara Ellen in 2013 as "essentially anger at the space these men feel entitled to take up."{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/22/men-legs-splayed-on-train|last=Ellen|first=Barbara|title=The real reason men should keep their legs together|work=The Guardian|date=22 September 2013}} She also argued against the argument that men need to spread their legs by arguing that "Judging by the number of men who manage to sit perfectly normally, there seems to be a modicum of delusional bragging going on here." Finally, she expressed concern that manspreading could lead to more serious behavior towards women.

{{portal|Transport}}

• Manterrupting
• Mansplaining
• Misogyny

{{reflist|30em}}

{{Commons category|Manspreading}}

{{wiktionary|manspreading}}

• [http://www.cbc.ca/radio/q/q-schedule-for-monday-april-13-2015-1.3030240/why-nyc-s-campaign-against-manspreading-hit-a-nerve-1.3030491 Why NYC's campaign against "manspreading" hit a nerve] Q on CBC
• [http://www.salon.com/2015/04/15/comedy_troupe_takes_on_the_scourge_of_manspreading_%E2%80%94_by_throwing_a_pizza_party Comedy troupe takes on the scourge of "manspreading" – by throwing a pizza party]
• Gabrielle Moss, [http://www.bustle.com/articles/34279-why-do-guys-spread-their-legs-when-sitting-on-the-subway-my-weekend-of-sitting-like "Why Do Guys Spread Their Legs When Sitting on The Subway? My Weekend of Sitting Like a Man]," Bustle
• Related term: [https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/01/manslamming-verb-gerund/384343/ Manslamming]

Category:Feminist terminology

Category:Men and feminism

Category:Public transport

Category:Sitting

Category:Sociolinguistics

Category:2010s neologisms

Category:Sexism

Category:Stereotypes of men