BERLIN | In a crowded Berlin subway, a man sprawls out over two places, without embarrassment. In front of him, two women sharply spread their legs, revealing an indignant inscription on their pants: “Stop manspreading!”
Feminist activists, Elena Buscaino and Mina Bonakdar intend to sensitize public transport users to “male sprawl”, this way – for a man – to sit down and be comfortable, without consideration for his neighbors, often neighbors.
More broadly, the performances of these two Berliners, mixing humor and provocation, challenge the domination and the sharing of urban space between the sexes.
“It is perfectly possible to sit comfortably in transport without taking two seats by spreading your legs”, explains Mina Bonakdar, 25 years old.
With her friend Elena, like her design student, she created the collective “Riot Pant Project”, which transforms second-hand pants into support for claims, to encourage women and LGBTQ people to reclaim public space.
This sartorial weapon only reveals its hidden political message – “Stop manspreading!” “Give us space” or “Toxic masculinity” -, stuck in capital letters in the crotch, if the person wearing it imitates the attitude of his vis-à-vis , thighs open.
“It is only through imitation that [l’on peut faire comprendre à] the interlocutor […] the effect his behavior produces, ”says Elena Buscaino.
Ancient phenomenon
However, recognizes the young woman, “very few change their posture on the moment”, as noted by AFP during an intervention in the Berlin metro.
“They are often astonished that women can stand in front of them like this,” continues the activist, who especially hopes to give food for thought.
For Mina Bonakdar, the simple fact of wearing these pants allows women to “feel stronger and gain confidence”.
If it may seem anecdotal to some, the problem of “manspreading” has existed almost since the appearance of public transport.
“Sit with your limbs close to your body and do not describe an angle of 45 degrees with your legs, which would amount to occupying the place of two people”, warned as early as 1836 the Times of London in an article devoted to decorum in the bus, explains in History of the Bakerloo Line Clive DW Feather, London Underground specialist.
The term became popular in 2013 when female subway users in New York City posted photos of travelers getting comfortable and their neighbors curled up on social media.
According to a 2016 study by Hunter College in New York, 26% of male city subway riders abuse the practice, compared with less than 5% of women.
The American metropolis was one of the first in the world to try to curb this behavior. In 2014, his transport manager (MTA) had stuck stickers in the wagons with the message: “Dude, stop spreading yourself, please”.
Show domination
Since then, similar campaigns have appeared in South Korea, Japan or Istanbul. In Madrid, since 2017, bus users have even been exposed to a fine if they are caught in the act of “male sprawl”.
The subject quickly ignites Internet users, some men justifying their posture by their anatomical specificity. An argument that no scientific study has so far been able to confirm.
It is rather “a question of the distribution of the sexes” within the society, affirms to AFP Bettina Hannover, psychologist and professor at the Free University of Berlin.
“Men […] show their dominance through their sitting position, she analyzes. Women are supposed to take up less space and above all behave in a decent manner. “
Questioned by AFP, the Berlin transport company BVG assures that the complaints are nevertheless too few to justify a separate campaign, “for the moment”.