Chair designed to "prevent manspreading", your thoughts?

Women wouldn't do it because we're not bullies.

Wha...?

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.

My dad likes to manspread on the sofa. It's a 3-seater, so there's lots of space. As soon as a 3rd person approaches to sit down, dad adjusts his position to accommodate them. He doesn't make a big deal of it, either.

I'm sure they don't. It's women who have been complaining about this. I've been googling "what happens when two manspreaders meet" but haven't come up with anything so far.

lots of men don't manspread

Of course. But I'm curious as to whether they get manspreaded into as much as women.

I wouldn't never normally NAMALT but lots of men don't manspread. It's only the pricks that do it.

Women wouldn't do it because we're not bullies. I'm bigger than some people but I still don't think that gives me the right to put my body into their space because it would make me more comfortable. It doesn't compute. it's fucking rude as well as everything else.

Women would probably do it too if they weren't used to crossing their legs to protect their modesty.

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

And so on to the patriarchy.

I think the difficulty is, where would you put them?

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.

Men encroaching into women's space is bullying. It happens a lot.

I think it's more just a matter of comfort, sometimes taken to the extreme. Women would probably do it too if they weren't used to crossing their legs to protect their modesty.

There's no excuse for it. The last time I experienced it on the Tube with a man sitting with his legs far apart, coming into my space, so I had to move out of the way so as not to have our legs touching, I gave the man the benefit of the doubt because of my female socialisation. I thought maybe he was tall, which is why he had to sit with his legs so far apart. When he stood up he was the same height as me. It's male entitlement and bullying and it's not on. I'm glad women are drawing attention to this. It's our space men are stealing.

Don't forget that pressure on a man's scrotum can cause impotence over a long period as keen cyclists have found.

So stand up. Mechanically men's bodies are more suited to standing for long periods anyway.

And it's a wider issue of taking up space. I'm always struck at my DD's primary schools how much of the available space is boy's space. And woe betide the girls who get in the way.

The guy in that picture is a clueless dick. The same as people who put their bags on the seat next to them.

It might help us people took their damn coats off. Apart from everything else, they stink.

I think the difficulty is, where would you put them?

That looks like a staged photo, but no doubt there are many prats who sit like that. However, there are many women who put their bags on seats and roll their eyes when asked to move them, and (the worst) women who spritz themselves with perfume whilst sat next to you.

I think a bit of all round consideration would go a long way, but mainly I was responding to the chair which looks like a real nut crushed. Don't forget that pressure on a man's scrotum can cause impotence over a long period as keen cyclists have found.

Fair enough, BjornAgain81. As I said, I can see why you do it. But, that doesn't explain this:

I found 'ladylike' sitting with my knees together unnatural and uncomfortable. There was stuff in the way. Now it is impossible - there is too much stuff in the way.

And this is the issue us men face too. It's not comfortable having your package squished upwards so it rests atop your thighs.

Great project! Funny, well done that woman.

I wonder if her next project will be how to design pavements to stop men expecting women to step aside for them,
Maybe a man's lane and a woman's lane...

Maybe seatbelts designed for women or something...

Neither of them look very comfortable.

Probably upholstery was beyond the student's skill set. It's a concept using fairly simple woodwork techniques, isn't it.

I could not sit in the anti-man-spreading chair.

I'm a fat woman (a couple of stone too much for a 5'8" frame), but, even when I was not fat, I found 'ladylike' sitting with my knees together unnatural and uncomfortable. There was stuff in the way. Now it is impossible - there is too much stuff in the way. The only way to sit with knees together would be either to perch on the edge of the chair (so that thigh flesh can hang down, rather than spread out) or in high heels (so that thighs are lifted from the chair, again so that thigh flesh can hang down, rather than spread out). Deeply uncomfortable.

So I can understand why men sit with their legs apart. But sitting with legs comfortably apart is not the same as spreading them wide. And is not the same as deliberately invading someone else's personal space and refusing to adjust your posture.

These chairs are certainly not a solution, but they make an excellent statement.

Neither of them look very comfortable.

Fascinating project. Well done to the designer. Intellectually i find it interesting how design can influence behaviour.

I remember the US airforce running a project to create the perfect pilot seat.

By using the average dimensions of the human frame they created a seat that was equally uncomfortable for everyone.

Every day we write here about the difference between male and female bodies.

There isn’t a solution that can accommodate men and women, fat and thin, short and tall.

It might help us people took their damn coats off. Apart from everything else, they stink.

It seems to me a missed opportunity to design a chair that would be both comfortable for men and ensure they stay in their own space.

Seats on public transport are not well designed for numerous reasons. They don't accommodate the male frame either in terms of their tendency to man spread when relaxed or their broader shoulders. Nor do they accommodate longer legs. Nor do they work for women, with shapes that often dig into your back if you are of shorter stature/torso length.

It cannot be beyond the wit of man to design something that works, but this isn't it.

Looks to me like it's making things unnecessarily comfortable. Solid straight sides would do the job just fine.

We're all gossips and scolds here. Back in the day, men would have been torturing us. Now we're just TERFs to get punched or die in a fire.