First to answer the topic: No I don't manspread, I don't spread my legs at all generally, then again I only wear pants that are pajamas, or lounge wear, neither are what one wears out and about. Meaning when I do go out, thus have to use the bus, I wear skirts, clothing not conducive to spreading one's legs anyways. Even in a skirt that falls below my knees when sitting, spreading my legs still feels improper. Having said that, when I go to do household shopping I take two large fabric square shopping bags, both of which can fit in my lap, but I generally set one on a neighboring seat if the bus isn't packed.
johnnyboy2537 said:
Probably. No one complains about women taking up too much space with their bags. The fact that this is an issue at all just shows how desperately feminists are clinging to relevancy.
I'm calling bullshit on this for several reasons: The first is that no one also complains when a guy takes up two seats by setting a backpack, or laptop bag, in the next seat over. Women often do this too, but generally if you need the seat a woman will put the backpack/laptop bag in her lap and give you the seat. On the other hand a lot of guys who refuse to free up a seat, because they're making a statement against feminism. The second is I've never seen a woman's handbag so huge that blocks a neighboring seat, especially because I've never seen a handbag so large it doesn't fit in a person's lap. Third is shopping bags, men carry them too, sometimes a freaking ton of them, but hey if you're getting groceries home, then I'm not going to begrudge you, regardless of gender. Fourth is most people will put their baggage in their lap, or on the floor between their ankles, or pick a section of the bus where they can rest their baggage, including suit cases and duffel bags. Most people are courteous with their baggage, at least attempting to keep it out of the way, which is why no one complains about them, this is not the case with manspreading though.
What manspreading is not; it is not spreading one's legs far enough apart to prevent ball crushing. I'm a trans woman, I had testicles before orchi, I know that cramming one's legs together can be uncomfortable. I also have had enough male friends, who I happen to know have sizable packaging, they don't take up three seats to be passably comfortable. To put the point further, I know a lot of trans women who are totally pre-op, or non-op, who tuck, and tuck comfortably, from experience I know that tucking is a lot less comfortable than closing one's legs...
What manspreading actually is? Sitting in a middle seat and spreading one's legs so far apart that you impinge upon both neighboring seats. Seriously the only way one could spread their legs any farther apart is to do the splits. I grew up doing ballet and I can do the splits, and sitting like that is uncomfortable to me. Not only that every single guy I know says that sitting with your legs spread as far a part as you can manage, is uncomfortable to them too. Manspreading is not about being comfortable, it's about being inconvinent to other people, which is being a jerk for the sake of pissing other people off.
Further more, I know plenty of large frame guys, who on some of the buses that are used in my area, take up more than a regular seat, generally because the seats are too small for them. Nobody complains about that, because those are the physical realities of these guys. On the other hand if they're taking the space of a seat and part of another, but there are two smaller people who could sit, the big guys offer their seats to the others. This is common courtesy, if the space is free on public transport, then you're totally free to take it up, but if things are getting cramped, you make allowances for other people. Not making allowances for other people is self centered bullshit, because you are not the center of the goddamn universe and that applies no matter your gender.
I've been on buses that are packed to the gills, where you don't even have personal space from other people standing up, everyone makes accommodations for other people to fit on the bus. Do you know what happens to people who intentionally take up extra space, while refusing to give any space up? They get kicked off the bus, for good reason too, because they're being assholes.
To hammer the point home, I'm physically disabled, I have arthritis in all of my joints, but my knees are especially bad, they often won't hold my weight, so I have to walk with a cane. Every bus in my town has signs, back to the half way point on the bus, that say those seats should given up for elderly and disabled people. It's policy with the bus company in my area that, that if you hold a disabled, or senior citizen transit card, which lets you use appropriate reduced rate passes, you can ask for those seats. If the person currently occupying said seat isn't elderly, or disabled, but refuses you the seat... They can be kicked off the bus by the by the bus driver. Why? Simple, because they're actually violating both the rules of common courtesy that the bus company has, along with the ADA reasonable accommodations requirements.
That's the thing people who manspread are like selfish teens who refuse to give up seats for elderly and disabled people. They're not doing what they do to be comfortable, they're doing what they do for selfish reasons that inconvenience people. Manspreading started as a plot to piss off "feminist harpies", by having men sacrifice their comfort to take up more space than they need. This doesn't prove that feminism is irrelevant, it proves that there are men around who are so put out by attempts at equality, that they'll misbehave like petulant children.