‘Manspreaders’ told to keep it together on Madrid subway
Men who spread their legs wide while riding the subway in Madrid have been officially told to keep their knees together. To stop the practice of “manspreading,” the Spanish city’s left-wing council has instructed the EMT transport authority to place stickers on buses and subway cars that advise male riders to “Respect others’ space.” Bowing to pressure from the Women at War activist group, the council said the new rules are aimed specifically at “male transport users who open their legs and occupy two places.” Alejandra de la Fuente, leader of the anti-manspreading campaign, said it was a question of fairness. “We women have always been told to occupy the least amount of space possible, and men haven’t.” But some men saw it as hounding by feminists. “The MAN part of the word is out of order,” Jesús Herraiz wrote on Twitter. “I have seen women with handbags on other seats, lying back and spreading their legs like men ...”