Chair designed to "prevent manspreading", your thoughts?

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www.independent.co.uk/life-style/women/manspreading-chair-design-laila-laurel-award-brighton-university-a9008746.html

So a student designed a chair for men, it goes inward at the edges and has raised edges to force anyone sitting on it to sit with their legs closed otherwise it would be uncomfortable to sit on. She got an award for it and it's been posted all over the media as some groundbreaking idea.

I do however, wonder just how practical this is. If it's installed in public areas or public transport how can you ensure only men sit on it? What if for example the only seat left on a train is one of them and the last passenger to get on is a woman who then has to choose between standing or sitting on an uncomfortable chair? And of course any seats reserved for "men only" mean less seats for women.

btw if you were to flip the chair around and sit on it back-to-front, then you can sit any way you want.

You really can't use class analysis to blame anyone for anything, or even the whole class. That isn't how it works.

And you have to be accurate about your claims for the analysis to work in the first place. Even true statistics don't always reveal a lot without further contextualisation.

I sat next to a large manspreader at an event yesterday... I even 'nudged' his legs to try get him to close them then realised he might think i was cosying up to him. At one point I even looked at his 'spread'smiled st him and said 'oooh you're doing that thing that men do when they take up too much room' - he said 'ooooh i know, it's terrible isn't it'

I’m not sure why you think this would effect women who typically sit likevtgat anyway. Might be difficult for very overweight people. I do think that making sears in public transport narrower (to fit more people in) and putting up barriers between them (to stop spreaders) is a brilliant idea though.

@BjornAgain81 but you do realise that form many women being around men is scary or uncomfortable right? You do realise that the vast majority of women have been on the reciprocating end of unpleasant behaviour from men don’t you? It’s not a simple as statistics. Psychological studies have shown the primary experiences are far more powerful that secondary experiences in terms of forming opinions. When all the statistics back up unpleasant primary experiences it can be very difficult for people to act objectively. Rationally yes, it is ridiculous to tar the entire sex with one brush, subjectively, for many women-not all but many, in order to not do so requires the suppression of fairly ingrained Pavlovian associations. How would you feel if you constantly felt discomfort when faced with a strange woman and regularly that feeling if discomfort was followed by intimidating, aggressive, violent, lewd, dismissive (hint), patronising, or disparaging behaviour. Form women who encounter these kinds of men on a regular basis the associations and distressing feelings become more and more ingrained. Is it irrational? Yes. Is it unreasonable? Of course. Is it difficult to understand, be sympathetic (instead of getting defensive), to care? No, not if you have a modicum or empathy.

Lots of whataboutery from the male posters. Quelle surprise.

Boggles.

I do appreciate that, but a lot of people don't consider that we're frequently intimidated by other men too (and much more likely to get battered by them). I used to hate getting the train on match days when I lived near a football ground well known for its hooliganism.

Lots of whataboutery from the male posters. Quelle surprise.

If you don't want men to object then don't make spurious statements about them. The feminist lobby have been pretty quick to speak up about the things TRAs say about women.

Seems to me that there are two types of manspreading: oblivious and aggressive.

The oblivious manspreader doesn't notice that he's behaving antisocially. If he does notice that his manspreading is causing problems but doesn't care, then he becomes an aggressive manspreader.

The aggressive manspreader deliberately invades the space around him, deliberately makes his neighbours uncomfortable, and silently challenges anyone to object.

I have certainly seen men use manspreading to challenge other men. Not when they're sitting side-by-side, but when they are opposite each other. It's a very obvious 'status' game.

I think it looks really silly. I’m going to ask a question here and for what’s it’s worth, regardless of the answer people in general should be more aware of the space they take up and should notice this themselves and adjust if need be. My question is, do men spread their legs because it can be uncomfortable not to given their junk just kind of hangs in the way? I sit with my legs slightly apart because I find it more comfortable.

Yes, legs apart is defo more comfy for me but it sure if anything to do with my junk (unless pressed really tightly together). But not like the guy in the photo.

'Not sure' that is.

Ahh okay, thanks for replying.

Women are worse than men for putting their feet up on the sofa next to you. Fine if just sharing a sofa with your partner and they're in to that but otherwise is unpleasant for the person next to them. I think women just have different space dominating habits.

The one that gets me is women who try their best to poke your eyes out with their umbrella spokes. It's less an issue with blokes due to their height and less seem to use umbrellas.