Madrid’s transport authorities are taking a stand against seated male selfishness with a campaign to tackle the social scourge that is manspreading. Fed up with men whose thighs fail to respect the boundaries of bus seats, the Spanish capital’s Municipal Transport Company (EMT) is to put up signs discouraging the practice.
The EMT – which explains that “el manspreading” is “an English term that describes the posture of men who open their legs too wide and take up neighbouring seats” – said the new signs are intended to remind people of the need to respect the space of all bus passengers. Would-be manspreaders will hopefully be deterred by small pictures of a thoughtless, faceless red man invading the seat to his right. “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 said.