Feminism: just when you thought you'd seen it all......

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Taking up multiple seats is obnoxious yes.

Sometimes this is done by a bags.

Some people are just large they can't help spill over.

Personally I behave different based on how empty the carriage is. I like to extend my legs is possible, I bring them so people can get past.

I think some men will attest than manspreading isn't always for showing off. It is not that graceful either.

I had a feeling those guys getting arrested for "manspreading" was an urban legend. The thing is that I've seen WOMEN take up more than one seat on buses and light rail. But this campaign is aimed exclusively at MEN....And that's the kicker here.

It's obnoxious whether it's a man or a woman doing this.

If the carriage is empty or has few people, I don't see anything wrong with reclining on trains. Just move when a person wants to sit down BEFORE he/she says excuse me.

Given the extremes that extremists feminists go to I wouldn't necessarily rule it out as satire.
It's what the world is coming to.

Like many social movements, Second Wave ended up eventually being taken over by the members with the most privilege. By the time it was all over, the only people they also considered 'true' Feminists were typically other white, upper middle class, suburban, married, cis-het women of the correct outspoken values and the correct upbringing. They'd lost consideration for single women, poor women, women of color, women who grew up in other cultures...eventually they'd alienated themselves against all of them, even the lesbians that were at the original forefront of the movement. This is *why* the inclusive Third Wave was needed, and why it couldn't happen until the old guard got bored and moved on to other things.

Also, the crux of Second Wave (originally) was that the body didn't matter. They bought into the 1960's-70's Blank Slate theory that there were no differences in what men and women could do. That later turned out to be false; just like our bodies are different, so are our minds to some degree. But even then it's far more complex to be simplified to "men are good at A,B & C, women at X,Y & Z". Anyway, once Blank Slate was proven wrong (it never had any scientific proof behind it other than observational sociology), Second Wave too became obsolete (& that's another reason Third Wave was so important).

this happened just over 2 years ago, here's a shot of the tweet with the datestamp intact.


curious how the OP's image is cropped off just above the datestamp.
not satire, but then who cares about what these idiots say.

It's a funny as hell.

Poe's Law strikes again.

I see. Feminism is something that kind of tears me apart as a cisgender male, because on the one hand I support the ideas of gender equality and fairness, but on the other hand, I often see "feminism" being used as an excuse for outright discrimination, even though feminism is supposed to be all about fighting AGAINST discrimination. The way I see things, men and women are equal and should be considered as such, even though they aren't at all the same. Equality, to me, is ultimately about the total sum of something, not the individual things that add up to that sum. Men and women have their own differences that should be accounted for and respected, but neither gender should be considered greater or weaker than the other.

Now, the whole thing you brought up about Second Wave feminists seeing humans as blank slates without any differences, that's something I had never really thought about. It's good you brought it up though.

On the whole topic of "manspreading", why is it such a big problem? Do people not have a right to be comfortable? And the etymology of the word itself, it implies it's something only men do. Newsflash: MtF transgender individuals are female too, and many of them still have "male" reproductive organs, which of course can make it uncomfortable to sit with your legs pressed firmly together.

Of course, there's also the flipside of the coin, where "manspreading" tends to take up multiple seats, making it harder for people to find a place to sit in the first place. This is a valid point too, as sitting is ultimately more comfortable for most people than standing, and if someone is willing to sacrifice a small amount of comfort so that another person can be somewhat more comfortable, then I say good for them.

I still think "manspreading" is a really stupid thing to fine someone for, especially in situations where there aren't a lot of people on the subway, and more seat space is free for each person. It's a bit of an inconsiderate thing to do when there are lots of people on the train, yes, but it should be an easy enough problem to solve simply by politely asking someone who's doing it to move over a little bit.

I honestly think that if you start enacting laws against annoying, yet ultimately harmless and inconsequential behaviors, then you've gone way too far.

Last edited by mr_bigmouth_502 on 06 Mar 2016, 5:55 am, edited 2 times in total.

When they start to be influential I do.

It is not a uncommon the desire to have special measures afforded, and feelings protected.

A key piece of education is the principles of rights.

I've never seen a person get ticketed for manspreading.

No I don't think so.....

Greater detail: https://thewaterpipe.wordpress.com/2013/12/22/can-a-fart-be-misogynist/. BTW Oakville is a major suburb of Toronto, a relative of mine lives there.

OTOH I don't know what to make of this blog, as everything on it could be intended as parody.

"Fart rape" is a misnomer, unless the flatus actually inhibits a woman's ability to resist being sexually attacked.

“[By farting louder the man is using passive aggressive violence to position himself as dominant, this intimidates the woman to subconsciously not release as much flatulence and thus the woman fearing for her safety doesn’t fart as loud as a sign of submissiveness, this in turn contributes to rape culture and women being oppressed.] The discussion boiled down to women’s bodies once again being controlled by society and women being told what to do.”

Well, they are correct...back in the 1800's, the Victorian era, women really were expected to be submissive, weak, etc.. We weren't allowed to own wealth, land, real estate, etc.. If a woman did not have a husband or father, a court would appoint a man to be the executor of her wealth. This was due to the cultural assumption that women were weak, frail and literally could not handle the responsibility of ownership - clearly the solution then was to remove ownership and give it to a man. Along with all of this social attitude of women being soft, frail and weak went the expectation that she shall not have bodily functions. That is, she should never, ever publicly (meaning when a man was present) emit gas from either end of her digestive system, nor urinate, nor give any indication of "other" bodily functions.

Where the blog went off the rails I feel is when they compare an un-asked-for flatulence with rape. It *is* an intrusion of personal space, and is often done (or not withheld) for that purpose. As such it does impinge on the sovereignty of the people nearby. And, that is a form of domination that is often done in a sexist way, even to other men. However, in using the term 'rape' it belittles the severity and domination of an actual rape by implying the two are equal.

Just to point out, rape is about power - not sex. The fact that the attack is achieved through forced sex is important only because that is perhaps the deepest level of autonomy & bodily sovereignty. And for some percent of women victims, it can result in an unwanted loss of life autonomy should she become pregnant and believe abortion is wrong.