An excerpt from this article by Cathy Young, a regular contributor to Reason magazine and Real Clear Politics: http://www.newsday.com/opinion/columnists/cathy-young/manspreading-but-women-hog-subway-space-too-cathy-young-1.9776186
As we enter 2015, the latest feminist crusade seems to come straight from the life-imitates-satire department. It has everything one could want in a caricature of feminism: petty grievances, gleeful male-bashing, egregious double standards. And it also seems to have the official blessing of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. It’s the war on “manspreading,” the male habit of sitting with legs apart and (supposedly) taking up too much space on the subway.
Gripes about this alleged offense have been cropping up on feminist blogs for a couple of years. Now it is the target of a new public service ad campaign. MTA posters will show a figure seated with wide-open legs next to two standing passengers, with the tagline, “Dude . . . Stop the spread, please. It’s a space issue.”
Of course, hogging space in a crowded subway car is rude and inconsiderate. But are men really the worst offenders? After years of subway riding, I can say I’ve never noticed this to be the case. Neither have some of my female friends in New York City; others have said that while they’ve noticed male leg-spread, women can be just as bad with purses and shopping bags.
See the above photo^^^
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The anti-spread campaign has little to do with etiquette. It’s part of a recent surge in a noxious form of feminism — or pseudo feminism — preoccupied with male misbehavior, no matter how trivial. The activists believe that “man-sitting,” as it has also been dubbed, is a matter of male entitlement, display of power or even sexual harassment. That says far more about feminist paranoia than it does about male conduct.
This brand of feminism is not about equality; it’s about shaming directed at males, as the subway seating issue makes abundantly clear. Even the word “manspreading,” with its nasty and somewhat obscene overtones, is a gender-based slur. Imagine the reaction if men took photos of inconsiderate women with large purses or shopping bags and posted them with exhortations to “stop the womanspread.” You can bet such activism would not get positive media coverage or a sympathetic response from the MTA.
A public service campaign against space-hogging — and other forms of incivility on the subway — would be welcome. Selective male-shaming is not. Stop the bashing, please; it’s a human issue.
Read the entire article HERE
