Elena Buscaino and Mina Bonakdar fight against manspreading in public transport. The two Berlin activists then sent a strong message against this practice in the best possible way!
Berlin feminist activists Elena Buscaino and Mina Bonakdar, aged 26 and 25 respectively, have come forward mission to eradicate manspreading, or the habit that some men have of spreading their legs and thus encroaching on other seats without taking their neighbors into account. "It is perfectly possible to sit comfortably in public transport without taking two seats by spreading your legs", assured Mina Bonakdar.
As part of the "Riot Pant Project ", the two activists decided to go to the metro with very special jeans. Indeed, when they sat down and spread their legs to imitate the men who are used to manspreading, one could read the slogan "stop manspreading" printed on their pants at the inside of the thighs.
Design students Elena Buscaino and Mina Bonakdar came up with the idea of helping women and the LGBTQ community reclaim public space, often dominated by men. The other slogans of their project are by the way "Give us some space" and "Toxic masculinity " which are only revealed after they, too, part their legs.
"It is only by imitation that the interlocutor understands the effect of his behavior"said Elena Buscaino, who admits, however, that very few men change their posture when confronted with the slogans. They would actually be rather surprised if women behave in this way in front of them. The two activists still hope that their project will at least give food for thought men who have the unfortunate tendency to spread their legs and encroach on neighboring seats.
This manspreading problem has existed since the introduction of public transport. Already in 1836, the London Times advised users not to spread their legs so as not to take up more space than they should. However, the term "manspreading" was invented only in 2013 when New York subway riders started posting photos of lazy male passengers and their contorted neighbors next door to social media. Since 2017, men even have the ban "to spread your legs" in Madrid buses.
According to a 2016 study by Hunter College in New York, 26% of male city metro users are guilty of this practice, compared to less than 5% of women.