Madrid has just taken a major stand against the phenomenon commonly known as 'manspreading,' and we can't help but applaud...
New signs placed on public transport around the Spanish capital by the EMT (or Municipal Transport Company) will warn men to respect the spacial boundaries imposed by bus and train seats, discouraging them from invading the personal space of others by positioning their legs in a wide stance.
This comes as a result of a long campaign by the group Mujeres en Lucha, who launched a petition titled #MadridSinManspreading ('Madrid Without Manspreading') earlier this year, which was later presented to the Mayor of the city.
'Manspreading is the practice of certain men sitting with their legs wide open on public transport, taking up other people’s space. It’s not difficult to see women with their legs shut and very uncomfortable because there is a man next to them who is invading their space with his legs,' the petition read. Hear, hear.
After taking the campaign into consideration, the EMT unveiled a new 'information icon,' soon to be seen on public transport around the city, that shows a red man encroaching upon the seat next to him with his 'manspreading,' marked with a large red cross and the message 'Respect the space of others.'
'The new information icon indicates the prohibition of taking a seating position that bothers other people,' the EMT announced. 'It’s to remind transport users to maintain civic responsibility and respect the personal space of everyone on board.'
Back in 2014, a campaign against manspreading on the New York subway was the first to tackle this uncomfortable global phenomenon. Titled 'Dude. Stop the spread,' the crackdown proved popular with public transport users.
Paging Sadiq Khan: Any chance that London will soon follow suit?