Chair designed to "prevent manspreading", your thoughts?

Yes it is. When men do it, it's to exert power over others.

Now come on, you just said in the post previous to yours that I've quoted here that bullying isn't the same!

Bullies can be violent, they can also impinge on others spaces which is more likely if they are in fact larger. That doesn't mean all three things always happen at the same time, or they are all equally concerning. Nor does it mean that male bullying is somehow more morally compromised than female bullying. Notwithstanding what a man you once met said.

When you are saying opposite things in concurrent posts it's difficult to avoid concluding you are making whatever argument makes women seem morally superior to men.

If the worst thing you can come up with that women do is "bullying in the workplace", you're really stretching it. Also what does bullying in the workplace have to do with men physically encroaching on to women's space just because they can? Try again.

I wasn't attempting to 'come up with the worst thing' I could find. I'll leave the victim Olympics to you.

I mentioned the workplace bullying because you categorically stated that women don't bully which is rubbish. Even on this very forum the AIBU threads are notorious for nasty comments - like when that woman dropped her baby on it's head causing a dent and came on here frantically asking for help (a fair few female posters took it as an opportunity to make horrible comments and take potshots).

I'd imagine many men probably don't bother altering their leg position because.....well, fuck it. They're probably not too concerned about the random stranger next to them. People are often selfish and don't check their privilege if they don't need to - like how you don't see many women kicking up fuss about the expectation that men pay for dates (quite the opposite!).

Yes. Being comfortable is fine, up to the point it impinges on someone else's space.

Most people can manage it eg the other day I got on a crowded train, someone moved their bag off the seat, beckoned to me and moved their legs diagonally to be out of the way of the seat. This is normal considerate behaviour.

surely as long as nobody is trying to sit next to you it's fine?

Exactly That's the whole point - manspreaders do not engage when someone tries to sit next to them, particularly when a woman sits next to them. They retain their claim on the space.

Men who sit legs apart without getting into anyone s space are not manspreaders.

You're not much of a public transport type of person tho, maybe it doesn't happen much on your flights to Panama or wherever lol

I use London Underground a lot. I've never flown anything other than cattle truck class.

Your "lol" makes you sound about 14 btw

I can't say I've come across manspreading but bags on seats- all the time.

You're not much of a public transport type of person tho, maybe it doesn't happen much on your flights to Panama or wherever lol.

Anyway men put their bags on seats as often as women do, it's still far less awkward to ask a bloke to move his bag then to close his crotch.

I'm female and I sit like that surely as long as nobody is trying to sit next to you it's fine?

I didn't comment on your scold's bridle. The chairs don't remind me of a scold's bridle. They remind me of those awful Charles Rennie Macintosh chairs which look equally uncomfortable.

I haven't said anything about being upset at men being called bullies.

I found 'ladylike' sitting with my knees together unnatural and uncomfortable

I’m a total manspreader as I just don’t feel comfortable with my knees close together. It’s something I’m keenly aware of tho, especially when I wear skirts. We can’t be the only ones here like that!

I see no-one came back to talk about the scold's bridle, because a man being physically restricted is exactly the same as a woman being tortured.

Would the people here getting upset at men being called bullies, like to comment on the type of man who invented and used a contraption like that on women?

I can't say I've come across manspreading but bags on seats- all the time.

I don't understand the mentality of blithely ignoring a train carriage filling up and only moving your bag when asked.

"They are more likely to be violent, sure, but that isn't the same as being a bully."

Yes it is. When men do it, it's to exert power over others.

"IME women are equally as bad if not worse in most professional environments I've worked in. This is likely why almost every study conducted on the subject of preferred leadership concludes that women would rather work for men than other women (although I'm sure it'll be dismissed as internalized misogyny).

In the current thread about expectations of women's attire, majority of posters are saying that women have criticised them the most. Same with the thread on here about bullying in the workplace.

I'm not disagreeing to be a contrarian but the bulk of the evidence I've seen doesn't support your claim."

If the worst thing you can come up with that women do is "bullying in the workplace", you're really stretching it. Also what does bullying in the workplace have to do with men physically encroaching on to women's space just because they can? Try again.

Anyway the worst bullies in the workplace are men. I once came across a man who was proud to say he'd sacked 20,000 people at BT. Find me a woman who could boast that. People just have different standards for female behaviour.

Bags on seats irritates me far more than manspreading

I'm the opposite. I am very comfortable asking someone to move their bag please, or simply gesturing, and people are generally fine moving a bag off a seat.

I am not comfortable asking a bloke "can you close your legs please" or gesturing to his thigh area or whatever else you might have to do/say to draw attention to it.

And I'm fairly sure Lewis Hamilton's seat is much more ergonomic, customised, and high tech than the average bus seat, agreed...and still he doesn't require 18 inches of knee-spreading bollock space.

My knees also press against the back of the bus seat in front, but I seem to be able to sit normally the rest of the time.

And I'm fairly sure Lewis Hamilton's seat is much more ergonomic, customised, and high tech than the average bus seat.

My knees always press against the seat in front on buses (even when sat bolt upright) unless I can spread them, which obv isn't really an option with someone sat next to you.

I do wonder if this method of spreading then becomes the default in other seats (internalised manspreading).

I do wonder if it's to do with the lower back.

Men are generally much taller than women and when slouching a bit in a seat, or sitting uncomfortably, it's much more comfortable to brace yourself with legs out.

Bagspreading.

Why do men only manspread sometimes? Why, on public transport for example, are they physically unable to sit with their legs together but are they fine to sit on their office chair or a dining chair, or drive a car without sitting legs akimbo?
How on earth to people like Lewis Hamilton manage to bear driving in the confined space of a race car for hours, when Jim from accounts can't manage a 10 minute bus journey?
The answer can only be that they choose when to manspread and don't care about the people forced to share their space.

Well, yes, but how much wider could the seats be without making the aisle too narrow, especially for people with bags or walking sticks etc?

The buses we have here now are really roomy. Much more so that the UK buses I've been on, usually the front part of the bus has a wide enough aisle that wheelchairs and carts can move around and attach themselves to the safety restraints.

They do carry fewer people than the UK buses. But I am pretty sure in any case that coats on teh body take up less room than coats on them.

I'm sure it must be terrible for "fat people" who can't fit in aeroplane seats, but it's not great to have to balance on part of your seat for hours because someone else is on part of it

I spent at the first 10 minutes of a recent peformance of Romeo and Juliet at Covent Garden torn between seething/ disliking myself for seething/ feeling sorry for the extremely obese person sitting next to the person sitting next to me. We were in the "cheap seats" (still around £80) which were padded benches rather than individual seats, so no physical barrier between each seat. Basically she was occupying 2 seats and I and the person sitting next to me were sharing one with me perched on the end of the row.

Bags on seats irritates me far more than manspreading.

The more I think about it, the more I think slightly larger seats might solve a lot of problems.

Well, yes, but how much wider could the seats be without making the aisle too narrow, especially for people with bags or walking sticks etc?

On tube trains where they're along the sides with a large standing space then yes, maybe have fewer but larger seats.

I don't think men are more likely to be bullies either.

They are more likely to be violent, sure, but that isn't the same as being a bully. Lots of women are bullies, and I think they are more likely to do things like spread nasty gossip and cut people out socially - the kind of stuff girls do to each other on social media.

On your lap. Rainy days are the worst. Train carriages stink and the windows steam up. It’s like sharing a sauna with Wookiee’s.

I can't see this working easily. Maybe on fairly quiet bus, but on a crowded one people taking their coats on and off would take up room when the got on and were preparing to get off. Plus they will possibly already have purses or backpacks on their laps.

Coats can be quite bulky in the winter as well, and they won't fit on a lap necessarily.

The more I think about it, the more I think slightly larger seats might solve a lot of problems.

And socialized to think of others' comfort. And socialized to be afraid of men's reaction.

It seems many haven't got the memo on this either.

In the 'who should pay for first date' thread there were women who actually believed men should be 'paying for their company' by footing the bill for everything. Educated, professional women who are statistically likely to outearn said men.