What Is Manspreading? Signs On Public Transport In Madrid Ask Men To Keep Legs Together

Madrid’s Municipal Transportation Company (EMT) has banned ‘manspreading’ on public transportation, reports said Friday. The EMT put up signs informing the public that they discourage the behavior. Oxford dictionary recognized the word ‘manspreading’ and added it to their online dictionary in 2015. It typically refers to the way male commuters sometimes spread their legs and sit in public or encroaching into the personal space of someone else.

New York City had initiated a similar program back in 2014. Japan too has signs that encourage male commuters to close their legs in public places since the 1970’s.

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"The mission of this new [signage] is to remember the need to maintain civic behavior and to respect the space of everyone on board," a statement released by the EMT said Tuesday. The signs have two blue bus seats with a red male stick figure with his legs wide, thus taking up a portion of the seat next to him. A red X mark is seen on the top left corner.

The issue surfaced after feminist group "Microcorrelatos Feministas" and the city’s equality council started a signature campaign that got the support of more than 11,000 people. The petition spoke about how women often have to sit in an uncomfortable position with their legs pinned just because the man beside her is invading her space and sitting with his legs spread.

The petition reads: "All public transport has stickers explaining that room needs to be made for pregnant women, people with buggies, older people and those with disabilities, but there’s something that affects all of us practically every time we use public transport: manspreading." The hashtag "#MadridSinManspreading" (#MadridWithoutManspreading) was trending earlier this year and drew attention towards the issue.

The EMT launched the initiative in collaboration with the "Microrrelatos Feministas" and the city council’s equality department.

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The EMT explained that "el manspreading" is "an English term that describes the posture of men who open their legs too wide and take up neighboring seats." They added that the new signs have been put up with the intention to remind people that they need to respect the need of space of their co-passengers.

The EMT hope that people will think twice once they see the signs with faceless and thoughtless red man who invades the space of his neighbors.

"This new information sign is similar to those that already exist in other transport systems around the world to stop people adopting a posture that makes others uncomfortable," the company explained.

The New York City initiative, launched by New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority, came up with a poster that showed a man spreading his legs and was accompanied by a slogan "Dude…Stop The Spread, Please. It’s a space issue."

A news site, Mic, had conducted an experiment in 2015 on New York City’s subway with a man and a woman spreading out and taking too much space. People were recorded taking pictures and staring at the woman while no one paid any heed to the man who too had spread his legs.