The act of ‘manspreading’ has gotten probably more attention than it really deserves over the years. Sure, it’s a social faux pas as selfish and obnoxious as any other, but the gender aspect always seems to bring out division and over-reaction, to the point where manspreading has been described as an exhibition of male social dominance.
Image credits: lailapoppylaurel
Enter 23-year-old Laila Laurel, a 3D Design & Craft graduate from the University of Brighton.
For her final-year furniture design project called “A Solution for Manspreading,” she created two wooden chairs. One for men – shaped in such a way as to force him to sit with his legs closed – and another for women, with a small piece of wood in the middle to encourage her to sit with her legs parted.
Image credits: lailapoppylaurel
Laura told The Independent that the chair designs are not to be taken too seriously, but give “physicality to a social norms issue women face in quite a fun yet literal way.”
Image credits: lailapoppylaurel
“My wooden furniture design practice is contextualized within fourth-wave feminism and another huge inspiration for these pieces was Laura Bates’ Everyday Sexism Project, a platform in which women can testify about the sexism they have experienced,” she said.
Image credits: lailapoppylaurel
“I designed and created these pieces of home furniture in order to identify and challenge problems surrounding the act of sitting that might potentially be more gender-specific, such as manspreading.”
Image credits: lailapoppylaurel
Laurel’s work has impressed many people, going on to win a Belmond Award for emerging talent. The award, presented by the luxury hotel and leisure company, said that the chairs were “a bold, purpose-driven design that explores the important role of design in informing space, a person’s behavior and societal issues of today.”
Image credits: lailapoppylaurel
Laurel added that she was shocked and thrilled by the positive reaction to her design, which also proved a big hit at her Graduate show.
“The reaction of the people who engaged and interacted with my pieces at my Graduate show was really encouraging and exciting as it seemed to spark interesting conversations and also made them laugh, which is something I really value in my work,” she said.
Image credits: lailapoppylaurel
What do you think? Clever statement about a serious issue, or lighthearted look at a minor annoying habit? Either way, a dose of humor is always a good thing when setting out to tackle social issues, and Laurel’s tongue-in-cheek designs have definitely gotten people talking about manspreading again!
Image credits: lailapoppylaurel
Here’s what people had to say about the designs
How ridiculously offensive. My husband literally cannot sit like that without intense pain. Idiot.
This whole post made me quite upset. "Manspreading" is not a thing ... Gosh!
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This is terrible man spreading isn't about asserting dominance or whatever. Mens testicles over heat very quickly and spreading legs helps cool them off. If the balls become too hot it can lead to becoming sterile.
It has mostly do with the anatomy of angle at which the legs meet the hip.
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Manspreading is a thing you wanna know why? Our BALLS. Yep I said it. We have junk that is uncomfortable when we squish it together. Dont get offended femenists that we are anatomically different Also, what about pursespreading. Women put their purses in seats too. Iive I. NYC and I see it all the time
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In Saudi Arabia feminists are fighting the country’s strict male guardianship laws to allow women to leave the country without needing permission from a male relative and this woman over in Brighton has put together a chair that keeps mens legs closed. Even if you have zero problems in your life why not just lead your voice to others in the world that need, I'm embarrassed for you.
Well-said. Absolutely well-said. This trivial b******t us blocking our view from what’s truly pressing.
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Does these "feminists" really do not have anything better to do with their lives than to find weird and unusual causes to be offended about and fight? How about the women that spread shopping bags on the seats on public transport? Or the middle age women that expect you to give up the seat just because you are male and can stand just fine. If this woman should would have her vagina pinched every time she would sit down..i bet she would manspread...but there is an idea for this wonderful example of modern day feminism...invent a device that crushes the vagina like legs crush the testicles when not mandspreading...just to be equal in pain...
nice now design a chair that makes a woman hold onto her purse rather than taking up the seat next to her.
As a woman, I can say that already exist... It's called put it on your lap 😁
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As a girl, try squeezing your boobs between your folded arms. This comfortable feeling is equal to squeezing one's testes with your legs. Some people are jerks by taking up too much space, but this is a people's problem, not only of men.
I find doing so quite comfortable, that may just be me though.
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Feminism should be about choice and equality, not trying to blame, point and laugh at men at every instance.
Yeah, force men to sit so awkwardly that they're squishing their balls. Seems like a legit response from a feminist.
But wait, there’s more! Now the feminists get to “womanspread” to spit shame into men’s faces with the two chairs. Cause they HAVE to be superior
Load More Replies... When I saw this article all I could think was,"Do we really need special chairs to stop men from sitting in a specific way?" Couldn't a women just sit the same way as the guy to balance the scales? Maybe I missed something in the article because about half way in I gave up and came to read comments.
Basically it all comes down according to this designer that manspreading is something that only men do and they should be punished for it by torture. Womanspreading: "to occupy multiple seats in public transport by carefully spreading bags, coat, umbrella and other items over as much seats as possible." isn't an issue, because that rarely happens. /S
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This is not feminism! This is woman over men thinking claiming feminism. Feminism would be eliminating one of those chairs. It's about equality not forcing men to crush their tender bits and pieces in between their thighs because it inconveniences women. It would be better designing a chair that allows everyone to relax their legs and hips comfortably without intruding on each others space. I hate when these things claim feminism when it's just trying to get revenge. The only way things in the world will be better is if instead of all this getting back at each other claiming equality we actually work on making everyone comfortable and happy instead of this petty b******t
Why don't you all ask your 50+ old family members if they sat like this (legs spread out in public) back in their youth. I bet they did not. So, tell me, how did you come to be if it affects your... quality?
People should stop with social media and begin to work. In a real work.
all i can see is someone frustrated. why on earth investing time to do something that is wrong anatomically and not trying to do something "gender neutral" and let people sitting as they feel like ?
What the hell??? Men NEED to sit this way. They have stuff between their legs, its biological. So they think its okay for women to spread their legs and men to sit like ladies. This is stupid and twisted.
The male parts need a push-up underwear. Idk how it'd work with trousers tho :/
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How F*****G disrespectful. Men cannot sit in a confined manner because of our bodies. Our midsections are already confined by our clothing and seat sizes, so when we “manspread” we are trying to relieve ourselves of the pain. If I had to sit in that seat, in the hot sun, I wouldn’t care about those tiny pointy barriers — I would spread my legs out to relieve the pain. That section of a male’s body can get hot and agitated from weather conditions and sitting for too long, so wanting to spread out when able to is NOT A BAD THING. Plus, if it’s hot or sticky out, it makes men feel even more uncomfortable. So making a flat chair—a man’s place to sit down and temporarily relieve himself of the pain—no longer able to serve its proper function (sitting comfortably) you just made yourself look, and seem, like a fricken idiot and jerk because your “Superior feminist views” have now made men have to live even more uncomfortably. But I guess that’s the GOAL of all feminists this day and age...
What an idiot feminist, how can a person with thick thighs sit in this , most men spread their legs because their testicles hurt. What kind of non sense people put on this website
having things hanged between legs is uncomfortable to sit with legs fully closed of course in your sitting disturb other people you HAVE TO close your legs closed enough not to disturb but opened enough to be comfy
I love this project. I don't get the negativity. Conceptual art... Does it ring a bell, people? Congrats from Central-Europe, where people are still familiar with some interesting thoughts
This is the most ridiculous and idiotic thing I've seen this week. "Manspreading" isn't some kind of show of male dominance. All you dumb a*s feminists out there who think that, grow a c**k and balls, and try to sit with your legs closed like that for any amount of time and see how uncomfortable it can be. A guy would have to readjust his junk to even be mildly comfortable, but then y'all would just b***h about that.
It's what I'd expect from a final art school project in a typical art school these days- more conceptual than practical, with little depth to the concept. A one trick pony. She will be known as the man chair woman for a while, then (if she doesn't follow up with a body of work that supports other concepts) it will probably fade away. Good for her, getting some attention as a student artist (now it's time to figure out how to make a living ...)
No one should sit with their legs completely closed, male or female. It's not good for the cash and prizes. Things get funky down there when it gets too warm and not enough airflow. Maybe we should make all seats wider to accommodate everyone "manspreading". I hate that I used that term......
That's totally stupid... But now I understand some arguments I've been reading in the growing alt-right community of my country. Thanks for that....
This is the most asinine thing I have ever seen. It looks terribly uncomfortable for men. If you are afraid to speak up to a man when he may spread into your space then that is something you should work on. For me personally I can think of many times I have had the opportunity to sit next to a very nice or very handsome man and enjoy the innocent and yet pleasant contact of a thigh or knee. So my request from one woman to another is 'GET OFF MY SIDE" your feminist issues are infringing upon life's little pleasures.
This is the b******t that makes any rational person hate feminist c***s.
Devushka (Russian, I suppose), my point is that feminists are the ones who made it possible for women almost everywhere to be able to vote, hold office, run a business, be guardians of their children, go to university, etc. But I suppose that to those of you who work in a troll factory, the result of all those years of brainwashing makes the word "feminist" trigger the same negative connotations that you get with the word "freedom". Thank you for the bellylaugh you gave me with "us GOOD women". ROFL!
Load More Replies... This is insane I can not and will not sit like that, I'm offended that you're offended by the way I have to sit
If you don't want a guy to spread his legs so far apart that he's taking up too much space or encroaching on the personal space of others, you're being reasonable. If you don't want guys to open their legs at all and decide to force them to sit in one position only, you're just being an a*****e. I've had back surgery. I have neuropathy and problems with my hips and knees. I'm constantly adjusting my sitting position to relieve pain and discomfort. One of those positions includes having both feet on the floor with my legs slightly apart. If I was forced to sit in a chair like this, I would break off the wood bars on the side and sit how I want.
When you sit down and relax your muscles, your legs will naturally part, therefore, it's the most comfortable way to sit and that is why men do it (as most of us don't wear skirts).
Absolutely. That goes for both men and women. However, that does not include taking up half the seats next to you, on both sides, making the people who sit there very uncomfortable since it hinders them to do just that, with legs SLIGHTLY apart.
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The designer said that the chairs are not meant to be taken seriously. I can understand a number of the commenters being upset, but I doubt these chairs are going to be mass produced and sold to the general public.
Exactly. She is just making a point. And with humour at that, since it is totally, completely obvious that these chairs are not meant to be going into production. She is amazingly effective at making that statement, at least if one is to judge by all the outrage here.
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Funny how feminists think they're fighting sexism with more sexism. As if two wrongs somehow make a right... Where's the seat that stops women putting their handbag on the seat next to them? Oh right feminists are massive hypocrites and conveniently ignore all the offensive, disrespectful and inconsiderate s**t women do.
Hey, is manspreading really so annoying to people who sits next to someone who does that? I can sit next to my friend in a bus, we both manspread, and we are both comfortable. Where is the problem?
Maybe the two of you, who are friends, are comfortable, but a stranger sitting next to you would probably not feel so good about it, especially if it happens to be a woman.
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All of you have to remember that it's "trendy" to hate on men these days, especially White Men. So this article gets a pass on it's Misandrist content.
Sorry, but when i see those "news", i feel like reading this : HEY I'M THE MOST STUPID PART OF FEMINISM, BUT I WANT TO SHOW IT TO EVERYONE ! Manspreading is a naturel behavior to regulate the testicle temperature. When it gets too hot, men feel very incomfortable. Moreover, when the "balls" are too often at high temperature, the sperm concentration is decreasing, which is one of the nowadays problem. Indeed, some dumb guys are spreading legs like crabs (or dr zoiberg) in crowded places..
Okay, but I was born with weird a*s knees and narrow hips?? I physically cannot sit with my knees touching. How about instead of being pissed for someone trying to sit comfortably, we blame companies that use small a*s seats. Because they want as many people crammed in places as they can to, make more money in a day??
It's all about having consideration to others, there are some idiots who man spreads so wide that almost no one can sit besides him, while there are some gentlemen who can tuck their legs in a right position.
Thank god that instead of wars, famine, diseases, poverty, tyrannical regimes and other insignificant problem somebody has the courage to address such crucial issues as men spreading their legs! Glory to the heroes!
Why can't the focus be on courtesy to those around you? If seating is provided somewhere, use one seat.
Someone should've mansplained her that manspreading is not a thing. Besides what award did she win? "Torture the men" award?
Maybe next we can make the guys drink out separate water fountains too!
Can someone also invent a chair that will prevent women from taking up the chair next to them with their bag?
This is one of the stupidest inventions that I have ever heard. Men have a penis and testicles that prevent them from comfortably crossing their legs. Even us women can feel uncomfortable crossing our legs too, for various reasons. Why single out people for something that they cannot help. For a so called feminist, she is putting progress backwards by attacking another sex.
How pathetic. None of the people complaining about manspreading actually know why men do it
Fortunately, the article was far funnier and light-hearted than the title suggested (and than the comments)
Sorry but this is awful, i will be in constant pain if i sit with my legs that close together, we have junk down there that doesn't like to be squashed. I agree some blokes do "manspread" and that is b******t but we physically cannot sit with our legs closed.
Call me old fashioned, but I still prefer men with external genitalia, so you'll hear no complaints from me, gentlemen.
She won a design award for this garbage? I'd love to see how terrible the other entrants must have been.
I HATE THAT F*****G THING AND IT CAN BURN IN HELL AND MANSPREDING IS NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL
This is just making a man squash his -parts- just because us women are offended by their need for comfort.
And feminists like this wonder why people hate them. There are men that are sexists out of ignorance due to how they were brought up, society, and generations of the same stuff. These type of feminists deliberately go out their way to be offensive. They purposely chose to be and act ignorantly. This is more shameful and harmful. Yes men need to be more considerate of women. Yes we need better equality amongst all ( it just the sexes)...but stuff like this isn't the way and it just makes us go ten steps back.
This is completely wrong! My husband cannot sit like that because he experiences extreme pain because of an accident 15 years ago. Some men have to sit like that.
It's a piece of art to bring attention to an issue, you bunch of day old muffins
I get that this is a creative art project, but why would they give this an award.
The manspreading problem is thus solved, but clearly the designer hasn't heard of the ballcrushing problem!
This is the most ridiculous b******t I've seen in a while. Male and female humans have different anatomy and different needs. It's a scientific fact. Deal with it.
Can we possibly invent a pair of sole inserts that doesn't allow perfume to extend beyond one foot of a person and put them in ALL women's shoes please? My lungs will thank you.
Equality shouldn't be achieved by stomping on the other gender. If you reverse the genders and it would cause a scene, that means it is not equality. As a female, I'm ashamed by this type of feminism! This not only does not help, but brings bad names and make people view feminism in a more negative way.
seriously? what woman is looking at a man's crotch while they're sitting? all the photos of models sitting and their crotch was not the thing that my eyes focused on.
I agree that manspreading can be seen as an unsolicited display of a man's manhood. I consider it unpolite, to say the least. Just as unpolite as much as some women are used to unsolicitedly show off their femininity by drenching themselves in parfume. Yet, if anybody would design a chair that helps obliterate the extra parfume stench, that would be considered as an unbearable sexist act. Manspreading is unpolite, period. It is not necessarily harassing. Again, try to label wearing parfume an harassing habit, and you are up to be judged in a public trial as a sexist. Equality means discouraging offending habits. Both sides, though.
Congrats on an award, I guess. Now maybe work on human trafficking or another actual problem?
wait... why don't you just...let people sit...how they want to sit...? honestly confused on what the problem is. ofc if its taking up too much room and forcing someone else to stand when there should be room for two then yea, deal with that situation, but I don't get why you're forcing people to sit a certain way. maybe i read it wrong, can anyone explain??
Let's design a chair in which women can't place their purses on and take two seats. Also, sometimes men have to sit a little open so they don't squeeze their balls. (I'm not saying some men don't exagerate).
As a woman it's so much more comfortable sitting with legs open therefore, anatomically, it would feel even better as a guy. I've never looked at a guy sitting like that and felt so small of a woman that I thought they were "showing dominance " idiots 😒
'Laura told The Independent that the chairs are not to be taken too seriously', and yet quite a few amateur psychiatrists down below seem to think she's furious? Maybe she's just really angry and doesn't know it? "...it seemed to spark interesting conversations and also make them laugh, which is something I really value in my work." Maybe she's just reeeeallly good at hiding being angry, or most folks haven't seen how outright bizarre art projects can get :D
Great! Can we take that design "award" and hit her on the head with it? Modern feminists are a disgrace to women! Grow some balls & a penis and try sitting that way! Moron!
this is the kind of feminism which leads everyone to think feminism is stupid. no matter what, gender equality is very important, but this is just ridiculous
Well, here I thought the "recasting Game of Thrones' article was the most disliked articled on Bored Panda. This stupidity might just overtake it.
What's she's saying is that it's wrong when a man does it, but when a woman does it it's OK.
Ludicrous. I'm a woman and am completely offended by the total idiocy of this project.
This is a little ridiculous. Why in God's name would you design a chair for the sole purpose of being uncomfortable? Why do you want to force men to sit uncomfortably? I just don't understand this at all. It's not like other people are sitting on the same chair as you, you can take up as much room as you'd like if your not in anyone's way. Stupid and a waste of of money.
What's next? A chair for people who have to sit at the back of the bus? The promotion and tolerance of hateful misandry on any site is inexcusable.... SHAME ON YOU BORED PANDA!
Dear dudes: I totally understand that its more about not squishing your junk than it is about subtle male social dominance. -A considerate feminist
inconsiderate people are inconsiderate no matter what the sex. this is a made up problem that does not take our anatomy into consideration. for every "manspreader" i have seen on public transportation, I have also seen a woman sitting sideways taking up multiple needed seats or giving her purse or bag a seat instead of the person standing in front of them....
So, one chair prevents men from spreading their legs and the other allows women to spread theirs? And that is what is called 'feminism'? What the f*** is going on here?
Feminism has gone waaaaay to far and has just become ridiculous and annoying! I’m a girl so don’t tell me I don’t understand. Men have these things between their legs called testicles and it hurts like hell if they get squished. What kind of an idiot would do that?? It’s literally just a sitting position but now anything a man does is considered offensive to feminists. Feminism is annoying enough for me to dread my own gender, i’m Literally a woman hater even though I’m a woman.
Let's hope the award she got can cover some anatomy courses.
Okay, but what's the use of designing a single-seat chair to discourage manspreading? Is it supposed to condition men into sitting with our legs together so often that we do it all the time after a while? And then reversing it, so women sit with their legs spread apart, not by choice, I might add, is what? Equality? Revenge? Even if she's not being serious, she's making something out of nothing. Manspreading isn't about being rude, and hogging seat space, it's about not crushing our nards, and stopping them from getting hot and sweaty. No one wants to sit next to/opposite a guy who's scratching his sweaty bollocks because he had to keep his legs tightly closed so someone could have a seat, as well.
A "feminist" downvoted ur comment, so I'm going around and fixing stuff. Join me Brother
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I'm a man. I have man's hips and testicles. Nor am I small, I'm 182 cm tall. It is more comfortable to sit with my legs apart but I am perfectly capable of sitting with my legs together not taking other people's space if someone is sitting next to me. It's not that hard! And it pisses me off when a man sits next to me and takes half my seat.
A man spreading his legs is fine by me, but they can not, in any situation spread their legs to take up 3 or more seat if there are no other seats available. If that happens, you bet your a*s that if going to move his leg inward, sit on the seat, and then sprawl my legs over his.
Omg i have nothing against feminism but some of them are friggin idiotic morons. Like seriously. Nobody needs them they are a shame and disgrace for the human race.
This intended as an art project, not as real seats that anyone is gonna force you to use.
This is an art piece. Not meant as an actual piece of furniture. Any man, or woman, who spreads their legs out to take up extra space in a crowded conveyance, or person who plops down their purse or shopping bag on an empty seat, is being rude and obnoxious to their fellow travelers.
She also built a chair to force women to sit with their legs apart. So she wants to control both men and women. She doesn't care about anyone's freedom.
This is alarming to me. “Manspreading” is far from a “serious issue.” A kind nod that people IN GENERAL, not just men, need to be mindful of those around them in public would have sufficed, but this became a pointless commentary on something perceived as male oppression. This isn’t the issue plaguing us. It really isn’t. And I’m afraid that people are trying to fight the very real abusive patriarchies in our world by honing in on the wrong thing, labeling it as such, and subsequently, just stirring up chaos to no end while being oppressive themselves. When we start designing the world around us with specific body restriction in mind...restriction that potentially causes physical harm. The s*****m is a delicate piece of anatomy. It’s not funny, it’s not a joke. And not only people who identify as cis-male are in possession of one. I don’t want to be in a place where those around me are being punished needlessly because of their body. I don’t think this is clever. I think it’s frighten
Those two chairs were never intended for mass production or practical use. She designed them not to serve as chairs but to make politcal statements. She shouldn't win a design award, she should win a political award.
Looks uncomfortable. You should be rewarded by only feminazis buying this ridiculous item. Men when they come across this item at a yard sale will ask "how much do you want for that kindling?"
Are you absolutely f*****g kidding me? I'm quite confident that I have NEVER in my 29 years on this planet seen a better example of FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS. Wow. Just f*****g wow I am speechless. Please oh please for the love of humanity, someone tell me this is a joke PLEASE
The "artist" went full SJW r****d!! Simply because the females chair does exactly what the Male chair is supposed to stop.. then they fail to realize real men have d***s since they apparently like beta cucks.. this artist is just a man hating dyke NPC..
Absolutely fabulous. These need to be on all buses and subways. Unless your balls are as big as pumpkins, close your legs like the rest of us when sitting in cramped quarters, dudes.
How ridiculously offensive. My husband literally cannot sit like that without intense pain. Idiot.
This whole post made me quite upset. "Manspreading" is not a thing ... Gosh!
Load More Replies... This is terrible man spreading isn't about asserting dominance or whatever. Mens testicles over heat very quickly and spreading legs helps cool them off. If the balls become too hot it can lead to becoming sterile.
It has mostly do with the anatomy of angle at which the legs meet the hip.
Load More Replies... Manspreading is a thing you wanna know why? Our BALLS. Yep I said it. We have junk that is uncomfortable when we squish it together. Dont get offended femenists that we are anatomically different Also, what about pursespreading. Women put their purses in seats too. Iive I. NYC and I see it all the time
Load More Replies... In Saudi Arabia feminists are fighting the country’s strict male guardianship laws to allow women to leave the country without needing permission from a male relative and this woman over in Brighton has put together a chair that keeps mens legs closed. Even if you have zero problems in your life why not just lead your voice to others in the world that need, I'm embarrassed for you.
Well-said. Absolutely well-said. This trivial b******t us blocking our view from what’s truly pressing.
Load More Replies... Does these "feminists" really do not have anything better to do with their lives than to find weird and unusual causes to be offended about and fight? How about the women that spread shopping bags on the seats on public transport? Or the middle age women that expect you to give up the seat just because you are male and can stand just fine. If this woman should would have her vagina pinched every time she would sit down..i bet she would manspread...but there is an idea for this wonderful example of modern day feminism...invent a device that crushes the vagina like legs crush the testicles when not mandspreading...just to be equal in pain...
nice now design a chair that makes a woman hold onto her purse rather than taking up the seat next to her.
As a woman, I can say that already exist... It's called put it on your lap 😁
Load More Replies... As a girl, try squeezing your boobs between your folded arms. This comfortable feeling is equal to squeezing one's testes with your legs. Some people are jerks by taking up too much space, but this is a people's problem, not only of men.
I find doing so quite comfortable, that may just be me though.
Load More Replies... Feminism should be about choice and equality, not trying to blame, point and laugh at men at every instance.
Yeah, force men to sit so awkwardly that they're squishing their balls. Seems like a legit response from a feminist.
But wait, there’s more! Now the feminists get to “womanspread” to spit shame into men’s faces with the two chairs. Cause they HAVE to be superior
Load More Replies... When I saw this article all I could think was,"Do we really need special chairs to stop men from sitting in a specific way?" Couldn't a women just sit the same way as the guy to balance the scales? Maybe I missed something in the article because about half way in I gave up and came to read comments.
Basically it all comes down according to this designer that manspreading is something that only men do and they should be punished for it by torture. Womanspreading: "to occupy multiple seats in public transport by carefully spreading bags, coat, umbrella and other items over as much seats as possible." isn't an issue, because that rarely happens. /S
Load More Replies... This is not feminism! This is woman over men thinking claiming feminism. Feminism would be eliminating one of those chairs. It's about equality not forcing men to crush their tender bits and pieces in between their thighs because it inconveniences women. It would be better designing a chair that allows everyone to relax their legs and hips comfortably without intruding on each others space. I hate when these things claim feminism when it's just trying to get revenge. The only way things in the world will be better is if instead of all this getting back at each other claiming equality we actually work on making everyone comfortable and happy instead of this petty b******t
Why don't you all ask your 50+ old family members if they sat like this (legs spread out in public) back in their youth. I bet they did not. So, tell me, how did you come to be if it affects your... quality?
People should stop with social media and begin to work. In a real work.
all i can see is someone frustrated. why on earth investing time to do something that is wrong anatomically and not trying to do something "gender neutral" and let people sitting as they feel like ?
What the hell??? Men NEED to sit this way. They have stuff between their legs, its biological. So they think its okay for women to spread their legs and men to sit like ladies. This is stupid and twisted.
The male parts need a push-up underwear. Idk how it'd work with trousers tho :/
Load More Replies... How F*****G disrespectful. Men cannot sit in a confined manner because of our bodies. Our midsections are already confined by our clothing and seat sizes, so when we “manspread” we are trying to relieve ourselves of the pain. If I had to sit in that seat, in the hot sun, I wouldn’t care about those tiny pointy barriers — I would spread my legs out to relieve the pain. That section of a male’s body can get hot and agitated from weather conditions and sitting for too long, so wanting to spread out when able to is NOT A BAD THING. Plus, if it’s hot or sticky out, it makes men feel even more uncomfortable. So making a flat chair—a man’s place to sit down and temporarily relieve himself of the pain—no longer able to serve its proper function (sitting comfortably) you just made yourself look, and seem, like a fricken idiot and jerk because your “Superior feminist views” have now made men have to live even more uncomfortably. But I guess that’s the GOAL of all feminists this day and age...
What an idiot feminist, how can a person with thick thighs sit in this , most men spread their legs because their testicles hurt. What kind of non sense people put on this website
having things hanged between legs is uncomfortable to sit with legs fully closed of course in your sitting disturb other people you HAVE TO close your legs closed enough not to disturb but opened enough to be comfy
I love this project. I don't get the negativity. Conceptual art... Does it ring a bell, people? Congrats from Central-Europe, where people are still familiar with some interesting thoughts
This is the most ridiculous and idiotic thing I've seen this week. "Manspreading" isn't some kind of show of male dominance. All you dumb a*s feminists out there who think that, grow a c**k and balls, and try to sit with your legs closed like that for any amount of time and see how uncomfortable it can be. A guy would have to readjust his junk to even be mildly comfortable, but then y'all would just b***h about that.
It's what I'd expect from a final art school project in a typical art school these days- more conceptual than practical, with little depth to the concept. A one trick pony. She will be known as the man chair woman for a while, then (if she doesn't follow up with a body of work that supports other concepts) it will probably fade away. Good for her, getting some attention as a student artist (now it's time to figure out how to make a living ...)
No one should sit with their legs completely closed, male or female. It's not good for the cash and prizes. Things get funky down there when it gets too warm and not enough airflow. Maybe we should make all seats wider to accommodate everyone "manspreading". I hate that I used that term......
That's totally stupid... But now I understand some arguments I've been reading in the growing alt-right community of my country. Thanks for that....
This is the most asinine thing I have ever seen. It looks terribly uncomfortable for men. If you are afraid to speak up to a man when he may spread into your space then that is something you should work on. For me personally I can think of many times I have had the opportunity to sit next to a very nice or very handsome man and enjoy the innocent and yet pleasant contact of a thigh or knee. So my request from one woman to another is 'GET OFF MY SIDE" your feminist issues are infringing upon life's little pleasures.
This is the b******t that makes any rational person hate feminist c***s.
Devushka (Russian, I suppose), my point is that feminists are the ones who made it possible for women almost everywhere to be able to vote, hold office, run a business, be guardians of their children, go to university, etc. But I suppose that to those of you who work in a troll factory, the result of all those years of brainwashing makes the word "feminist" trigger the same negative connotations that you get with the word "freedom". Thank you for the bellylaugh you gave me with "us GOOD women". ROFL!
Load More Replies... This is insane I can not and will not sit like that, I'm offended that you're offended by the way I have to sit
If you don't want a guy to spread his legs so far apart that he's taking up too much space or encroaching on the personal space of others, you're being reasonable. If you don't want guys to open their legs at all and decide to force them to sit in one position only, you're just being an a*****e. I've had back surgery. I have neuropathy and problems with my hips and knees. I'm constantly adjusting my sitting position to relieve pain and discomfort. One of those positions includes having both feet on the floor with my legs slightly apart. If I was forced to sit in a chair like this, I would break off the wood bars on the side and sit how I want.
When you sit down and relax your muscles, your legs will naturally part, therefore, it's the most comfortable way to sit and that is why men do it (as most of us don't wear skirts).
Absolutely. That goes for both men and women. However, that does not include taking up half the seats next to you, on both sides, making the people who sit there very uncomfortable since it hinders them to do just that, with legs SLIGHTLY apart.
Load More Replies... The designer said that the chairs are not meant to be taken seriously. I can understand a number of the commenters being upset, but I doubt these chairs are going to be mass produced and sold to the general public.
Exactly. She is just making a point. And with humour at that, since it is totally, completely obvious that these chairs are not meant to be going into production. She is amazingly effective at making that statement, at least if one is to judge by all the outrage here.
Load More Replies... Funny how feminists think they're fighting sexism with more sexism. As if two wrongs somehow make a right... Where's the seat that stops women putting their handbag on the seat next to them? Oh right feminists are massive hypocrites and conveniently ignore all the offensive, disrespectful and inconsiderate s**t women do.
Hey, is manspreading really so annoying to people who sits next to someone who does that? I can sit next to my friend in a bus, we both manspread, and we are both comfortable. Where is the problem?
Maybe the two of you, who are friends, are comfortable, but a stranger sitting next to you would probably not feel so good about it, especially if it happens to be a woman.
Load More Replies... All of you have to remember that it's "trendy" to hate on men these days, especially White Men. So this article gets a pass on it's Misandrist content.
Sorry, but when i see those "news", i feel like reading this : HEY I'M THE MOST STUPID PART OF FEMINISM, BUT I WANT TO SHOW IT TO EVERYONE ! Manspreading is a naturel behavior to regulate the testicle temperature. When it gets too hot, men feel very incomfortable. Moreover, when the "balls" are too often at high temperature, the sperm concentration is decreasing, which is one of the nowadays problem. Indeed, some dumb guys are spreading legs like crabs (or dr zoiberg) in crowded places..
Okay, but I was born with weird a*s knees and narrow hips?? I physically cannot sit with my knees touching. How about instead of being pissed for someone trying to sit comfortably, we blame companies that use small a*s seats. Because they want as many people crammed in places as they can to, make more money in a day??
It's all about having consideration to others, there are some idiots who man spreads so wide that almost no one can sit besides him, while there are some gentlemen who can tuck their legs in a right position.
Thank god that instead of wars, famine, diseases, poverty, tyrannical regimes and other insignificant problem somebody has the courage to address such crucial issues as men spreading their legs! Glory to the heroes!
Why can't the focus be on courtesy to those around you? If seating is provided somewhere, use one seat.
Someone should've mansplained her that manspreading is not a thing. Besides what award did she win? "Torture the men" award?
Maybe next we can make the guys drink out separate water fountains too!
Can someone also invent a chair that will prevent women from taking up the chair next to them with their bag?
This is one of the stupidest inventions that I have ever heard. Men have a penis and testicles that prevent them from comfortably crossing their legs. Even us women can feel uncomfortable crossing our legs too, for various reasons. Why single out people for something that they cannot help. For a so called feminist, she is putting progress backwards by attacking another sex.
How pathetic. None of the people complaining about manspreading actually know why men do it
Fortunately, the article was far funnier and light-hearted than the title suggested (and than the comments)
Sorry but this is awful, i will be in constant pain if i sit with my legs that close together, we have junk down there that doesn't like to be squashed. I agree some blokes do "manspread" and that is b******t but we physically cannot sit with our legs closed.
Call me old fashioned, but I still prefer men with external genitalia, so you'll hear no complaints from me, gentlemen.
She won a design award for this garbage? I'd love to see how terrible the other entrants must have been.
I HATE THAT F*****G THING AND IT CAN BURN IN HELL AND MANSPREDING IS NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL
This is just making a man squash his -parts- just because us women are offended by their need for comfort.
And feminists like this wonder why people hate them. There are men that are sexists out of ignorance due to how they were brought up, society, and generations of the same stuff. These type of feminists deliberately go out their way to be offensive. They purposely chose to be and act ignorantly. This is more shameful and harmful. Yes men need to be more considerate of women. Yes we need better equality amongst all ( it just the sexes)...but stuff like this isn't the way and it just makes us go ten steps back.
This is completely wrong! My husband cannot sit like that because he experiences extreme pain because of an accident 15 years ago. Some men have to sit like that.
It's a piece of art to bring attention to an issue, you bunch of day old muffins
I get that this is a creative art project, but why would they give this an award.
The manspreading problem is thus solved, but clearly the designer hasn't heard of the ballcrushing problem!
This is the most ridiculous b******t I've seen in a while. Male and female humans have different anatomy and different needs. It's a scientific fact. Deal with it.
Can we possibly invent a pair of sole inserts that doesn't allow perfume to extend beyond one foot of a person and put them in ALL women's shoes please? My lungs will thank you.
Equality shouldn't be achieved by stomping on the other gender. If you reverse the genders and it would cause a scene, that means it is not equality. As a female, I'm ashamed by this type of feminism! This not only does not help, but brings bad names and make people view feminism in a more negative way.
seriously? what woman is looking at a man's crotch while they're sitting? all the photos of models sitting and their crotch was not the thing that my eyes focused on.
I agree that manspreading can be seen as an unsolicited display of a man's manhood. I consider it unpolite, to say the least. Just as unpolite as much as some women are used to unsolicitedly show off their femininity by drenching themselves in parfume. Yet, if anybody would design a chair that helps obliterate the extra parfume stench, that would be considered as an unbearable sexist act. Manspreading is unpolite, period. It is not necessarily harassing. Again, try to label wearing parfume an harassing habit, and you are up to be judged in a public trial as a sexist. Equality means discouraging offending habits. Both sides, though.
Congrats on an award, I guess. Now maybe work on human trafficking or another actual problem?
wait... why don't you just...let people sit...how they want to sit...? honestly confused on what the problem is. ofc if its taking up too much room and forcing someone else to stand when there should be room for two then yea, deal with that situation, but I don't get why you're forcing people to sit a certain way. maybe i read it wrong, can anyone explain??
Let's design a chair in which women can't place their purses on and take two seats. Also, sometimes men have to sit a little open so they don't squeeze their balls. (I'm not saying some men don't exagerate).
As a woman it's so much more comfortable sitting with legs open therefore, anatomically, it would feel even better as a guy. I've never looked at a guy sitting like that and felt so small of a woman that I thought they were "showing dominance " idiots 😒
'Laura told The Independent that the chairs are not to be taken too seriously', and yet quite a few amateur psychiatrists down below seem to think she's furious? Maybe she's just really angry and doesn't know it? "...it seemed to spark interesting conversations and also make them laugh, which is something I really value in my work." Maybe she's just reeeeallly good at hiding being angry, or most folks haven't seen how outright bizarre art projects can get :D
Great! Can we take that design "award" and hit her on the head with it? Modern feminists are a disgrace to women! Grow some balls & a penis and try sitting that way! Moron!
this is the kind of feminism which leads everyone to think feminism is stupid. no matter what, gender equality is very important, but this is just ridiculous
Well, here I thought the "recasting Game of Thrones' article was the most disliked articled on Bored Panda. This stupidity might just overtake it.
What's she's saying is that it's wrong when a man does it, but when a woman does it it's OK.
Ludicrous. I'm a woman and am completely offended by the total idiocy of this project.
This is a little ridiculous. Why in God's name would you design a chair for the sole purpose of being uncomfortable? Why do you want to force men to sit uncomfortably? I just don't understand this at all. It's not like other people are sitting on the same chair as you, you can take up as much room as you'd like if your not in anyone's way. Stupid and a waste of of money.
What's next? A chair for people who have to sit at the back of the bus? The promotion and tolerance of hateful misandry on any site is inexcusable.... SHAME ON YOU BORED PANDA!
Dear dudes: I totally understand that its more about not squishing your junk than it is about subtle male social dominance. -A considerate feminist
inconsiderate people are inconsiderate no matter what the sex. this is a made up problem that does not take our anatomy into consideration. for every "manspreader" i have seen on public transportation, I have also seen a woman sitting sideways taking up multiple needed seats or giving her purse or bag a seat instead of the person standing in front of them....
So, one chair prevents men from spreading their legs and the other allows women to spread theirs? And that is what is called 'feminism'? What the f*** is going on here?
Feminism has gone waaaaay to far and has just become ridiculous and annoying! I’m a girl so don’t tell me I don’t understand. Men have these things between their legs called testicles and it hurts like hell if they get squished. What kind of an idiot would do that?? It’s literally just a sitting position but now anything a man does is considered offensive to feminists. Feminism is annoying enough for me to dread my own gender, i’m Literally a woman hater even though I’m a woman.
Let's hope the award she got can cover some anatomy courses.
Okay, but what's the use of designing a single-seat chair to discourage manspreading? Is it supposed to condition men into sitting with our legs together so often that we do it all the time after a while? And then reversing it, so women sit with their legs spread apart, not by choice, I might add, is what? Equality? Revenge? Even if she's not being serious, she's making something out of nothing. Manspreading isn't about being rude, and hogging seat space, it's about not crushing our nards, and stopping them from getting hot and sweaty. No one wants to sit next to/opposite a guy who's scratching his sweaty bollocks because he had to keep his legs tightly closed so someone could have a seat, as well.
A "feminist" downvoted ur comment, so I'm going around and fixing stuff. Join me Brother
Load More Replies... I'm a man. I have man's hips and testicles. Nor am I small, I'm 182 cm tall. It is more comfortable to sit with my legs apart but I am perfectly capable of sitting with my legs together not taking other people's space if someone is sitting next to me. It's not that hard! And it pisses me off when a man sits next to me and takes half my seat.
A man spreading his legs is fine by me, but they can not, in any situation spread their legs to take up 3 or more seat if there are no other seats available. If that happens, you bet your a*s that if going to move his leg inward, sit on the seat, and then sprawl my legs over his.
Omg i have nothing against feminism but some of them are friggin idiotic morons. Like seriously. Nobody needs them they are a shame and disgrace for the human race.
This intended as an art project, not as real seats that anyone is gonna force you to use.
This is an art piece. Not meant as an actual piece of furniture. Any man, or woman, who spreads their legs out to take up extra space in a crowded conveyance, or person who plops down their purse or shopping bag on an empty seat, is being rude and obnoxious to their fellow travelers.
She also built a chair to force women to sit with their legs apart. So she wants to control both men and women. She doesn't care about anyone's freedom.
This is alarming to me. “Manspreading” is far from a “serious issue.” A kind nod that people IN GENERAL, not just men, need to be mindful of those around them in public would have sufficed, but this became a pointless commentary on something perceived as male oppression. This isn’t the issue plaguing us. It really isn’t. And I’m afraid that people are trying to fight the very real abusive patriarchies in our world by honing in on the wrong thing, labeling it as such, and subsequently, just stirring up chaos to no end while being oppressive themselves. When we start designing the world around us with specific body restriction in mind...restriction that potentially causes physical harm. The s*****m is a delicate piece of anatomy. It’s not funny, it’s not a joke. And not only people who identify as cis-male are in possession of one. I don’t want to be in a place where those around me are being punished needlessly because of their body. I don’t think this is clever. I think it’s frighten
Those two chairs were never intended for mass production or practical use. She designed them not to serve as chairs but to make politcal statements. She shouldn't win a design award, she should win a political award.
Looks uncomfortable. You should be rewarded by only feminazis buying this ridiculous item. Men when they come across this item at a yard sale will ask "how much do you want for that kindling?"
Are you absolutely f*****g kidding me? I'm quite confident that I have NEVER in my 29 years on this planet seen a better example of FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS. Wow. Just f*****g wow I am speechless. Please oh please for the love of humanity, someone tell me this is a joke PLEASE
The "artist" went full SJW r****d!! Simply because the females chair does exactly what the Male chair is supposed to stop.. then they fail to realize real men have d***s since they apparently like beta cucks.. this artist is just a man hating dyke NPC..
Absolutely fabulous. These need to be on all buses and subways. Unless your balls are as big as pumpkins, close your legs like the rest of us when sitting in cramped quarters, dudes.
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