Woman sparks debate after slamming male passenger for ‘manspreading’ on flight

Woman calls out airline passenger for ‘manspreading’.

 

A woman has sparked debate online after slamming a male passenger for “manspreading” into her seat’s on a 4-hour flight.

 

Emily Kauai shared a photo on Reddit’s “Wellthatsucks” subreddit, showing her legs and the legs of the man next to her while seated on a plane.

 

“This was how my entire four hour flight went today. I am a 5’8” female,” she captioned the picture.

 

The image shows the man’s legs spread wide, clearly encroaching on her space as his knee is in line with the seatback pocket on the chair in front of her, while her legs are squashed close together.

 

Kauai didn’t include too much context with the photo, but she has since responded to many comments asking if she perhaps knew the man (she did not) and if she asked him to move (she did).

 

“A couple of times I mentioned it, and he would move over, but his legs would casually return,” she said in one of her comments.

 

The Reddit post attracted more than 9,000 comments, with people weighing in from all sides.

 

Many of the commenters agreed with the woman and said the man’s behaviour was unacceptable.

 

One user wrote: “To me, he looks like he’s actually shorter than her and is sitting slumped in his seat, splayed out.”

 

Another passenger added: “Not only was he manspreading but he also took the entire armrest. For the entire plane ride too.”

 

A third said: “The dude in that photo is a jerk. Unless you’re less than 48 hours out of a vasectomy, there’s no reason to be manspreading like that.”

 

However, not everyone was against the man, with some saying there didn’t seem to be much he could do.

 

“I’m a 6’4″ broad-shouldered dude, I am this person. I spend every flight agonizing over how I can sit that’s most fair to those around me,” one person said.

 

“I’m 6’1” 260 pounds. And I am always so paranoid about getting into people’s spaces on flights,” another user wrote.

 

“It’s horrible what the airlines have done to the seats. No room, no recline, and no comfort,” agreed another.

 

The term “manspreading” refers to male passengers who sit with their legs wide apart on public transportation, infringing on the personal space of others and making traveling an unpleasant experience.

 

The term gained popularity after a 2013 social media debate on the platform Tumblr where Internet users called out men for sitting with their legs apart.