Buckle in everyone, we’re going for a rocky ride on the social justice roller coaster.
A few months ago, Buzzfeed released a video called: “Women Try Manspreading for a Week.” I’ve never been a huge fan of Buzzfeed, but this video has scraped the bottom of the barrel of petty complaints.
In the video, several women explain what manspreading is—basically men spreading their legs into a large V-shape when they’re sitting—and then try doing it for a week themselves. Apparently, these women think that men should sit more like women tend to, with their legs closed. They think that men take up too much space when they sit down in crowded places like city busses.
Some of them do. I’m 100 percent aware that there are some jerks out there that sit in an obnoxious position and take up more room than necessary when there are other people looking for a seat. There are even people that will lay down across two to three bus seats. Most of the time, however, men just sit with their legs apart because it’s the most comfortable way for them to sit. In the words of my brother, “It’s uncomfortable to sit that way [with your legs closed].” It’s not rocket science to figure out why.
The women in this video don’t really care about that, but they certainly care about the amount of space that they think they are allowed to have on busses and the like. No one ever told these women that they aren’t allowed to take up more than one seat on a bus, so the fact that this is an assumed rule is ridiculous.
Furthermore, public transportation is crowded to begin with. It’s not uncommon to see three women crammed into bus seats next to each other. We all have to share the bus and that means sometimes, we’re going to be uncomfortably close to other people. If you need more personal space, I suggest you call an Uber or drive yourself.
Now, I’m sure that there are some women who are upset when they are told to “sit like a lady.” I don’t like being told, either. Newsflash: no one is going to make you sit like a lady if you’re a grown woman on a bus. Sit with your legs open. Sit with your legs closed. That’s up to you, no matter what your mother said when you were a kid.
Buzzfeed wasn’t addressing an issue that is exclusive to males, either. It’s an issue that pertains to people who are rude and have no respect for others. For example, I specifically remember looking around the University Center atrium for a seat about a year ago when I saw another female student who was sprawled out over an entire couch. I’ve also seen women taking up entire bus seats and putting up their feet. Kind of hard to call it manspreading now, huh?
This manspreading idea is taking the brilliant movement of feminism too far. Bringing justice to victims of sexual harassment and assault is an important feminist issue. Equal career opportunities for both men and women are an important feminist issue. Manspreading is just whining that is being labeled as a feminist issue.