To tell you how I foiled one of those spready out men on the bus earlier?

[DaygloYellowLady]

I'm really quite pleased with myself and it was dead easy. I just sat slightly diagonally but still within the boundaries of my seat so when he started attempting to spread out his legs to air his bollocks he ended up with my bony knee stuck in his thigh with very little discomfort or contact to me. Then, when he moved his leg away I quite subtly stretched my legs ever so slightly into his space, I know this made me
just as bad as him but after years of being squashed into the window, thigh to thigh with a strange man it felt so sooo good. The best part was the slightly bewildered looks he kept throwing me as we trundled along, like that just wasn't the way things should have turned out.

Even a man with elepantitis of the nuts could nowhere approach the size of my bahoukie and the seat is made for the bahoukie, after all.

Expat - that was brilliant, I'm a little bit in love with you

Brilliant thread.

expat

PP is right - that should be a sign. Class.

Well done you (and expat) - this drives me mad.

I normally wedge my bag or laptop case between me and the spready men - and then push back from the safety of my side of the bag.

That's once manspacer taught a lesson

hurrah for dayglo and expat! (I'm not going to tackle - fnarr fnarr - anyone on the way home though, already had a row on the way into work with some disgusting bloke picking up a pastry from the bread aisle with his fingers, ignoring the tongs. Yuckety yuck germ spreader.

Well done OP.

And well done expat I'm totally stealing that.

I notice this more and more. Not just the leg-spreading but a general male assumption that they can take up whatever space they want, without heed to anyone else.

Pained looks if I say excuse me because I need to get past a bloke to sit on the train, for example, or them barrelling towards me on a narrow pavement and only budging to one side at the last second when they finally realise I'm sure as hell not going to.

Was he reading a broadsheet unfolded to its fullest extent?

picking up a pastry from the bread aisle with his fingers, ignoring the tongs.

I do this frequently, because there are often no tongs to be seen. I only touch the things I'm buying though, so I don't see it as a problem. Unless this man picked up and discarded pastries before choosing one to buy, I wouldn't see that as a problem either.

36.media.tumblr.com/fb0b9ce212cda7d260cc03615d5d8eaa/tumblr_n86stam7T41sqv9too1_500.jpg

This photo is more about them being physically bigger than her rather than them spreading their legs out.

the thing is there WERE tongs available, he chose to use his fingers.

40.media.tumblr.com/7f0461e19d2e8da2249373c2b60d4191/tumblr_nfok5eFkXV1sqv9too1_1280.jpg

Why would anyone sit like this?

Those photos in your link Scots are great.

I'm surprised they only take up 1.5 spaces to be honest. Here they sit on the back seat in the middle with legs sprawled apart and leaving empty seats either side as people can't get past them Women giving birth don't need as much space between their legs as some of these men.

And every other picture on the tumblr?

It's indefensible behaviour!

"he thing is there WERE tongs available, he chose to use his fingers"

If he only touched the item he bought there isn't a problem.

It's Van Damme's fault; he started it.

This is very sexist. What about spready out women with water melon balls?

[Tuts, grunts and spreads 'um]

edam, well, I have to say I also sometimes pick them up with my fingers when there ARE tongs there.

Do you think it's a problem, assuming he only touched the pastry he bought?

I bloody hate it.

I get on the train, I find a seat, usually aisle and the bloke by the window thinks his pea watermelon size bollocks need extra space so half of my arse ends up hanging out over the aisle and people squeezing through end up hitting me with their backpacks.

I try to manoeuvre my handbag to the side to squeeze then back to the window, but that doesn't always work.

I hate backpacks on trains too but that's a different thread.

Was that Robb Stark spreading his legs in one of those pics?

I had an interesting one recently. Man spread his legs way into my space. Then lady opposite him who had a dodgy knee by the look of it stretched her leg into the space he'd left between his legs. So he closed his legs up. Turns out his balls weren't that big after all.
Because neither of them budged despite his glares across at her, I was left with enough space. So thank you to dodgy knee lady.

I once saw a young woman deal with a water melon baller brilliantly. She was wearing very high, lethally heeled shoes, and sh manouvered Her legs in between his. (He had such a smirk) then crossed her legs so the very pointy heel was millimetres from his ball sack. He flew off at next stop mopping his brow.

The spready out man on a plane once had his arm WAY into my space. I foiled him by subtly scratching his arm with the corner of my hardback book. Everytime he retreated a bit I moved a bit until we were even.
I dont get it at all- its not ok to hog the the whole armrest.

Ahem.......

While we are on the subject of 'spreadage' may I draw your attention to the following facts:

ON THE 5.15 OUT OF PADDINGTON THE TRAIN IS ALWAYS PACKED, YOUR HANDBAG DOES NOT HAVE A VALID TICKET FOR TRAVEL, I DO HOWEVER HAVE A VALID TICKET FOR TRAVEL AND I AM REALLY KNACKERED. I WILL NOT THEREFORE BE STANDING ALL THE WAY TO COUNTRYSHIRE SO YOU AND YOUR BAG CAN SIT TOGETHER!

Gives me the rage when women block the seat beside themselves like a defensive wall when on public transport. It just a red rag to a bull as far as I am concerned.

Don't even think about giving me the look when I ask you to move it either or do that one buttock on the seat shoulder leaning against the window with your pointy heels aimed at my shins and other buttock towards me with the bag jammed under the arm rest protruding into my space. You will find me a pert and tidy sitter, sipping quietly on a soya latte and nibbling my gluten free brownie, no noxious smells or phone calls or laptop as big as a house to annoy you. If you annoy me though then you will find that my thighs tend to adopt a dihedral angle that increases proportionately to my opprobrium.

Thank you. Have a pleasant journey.