Madrid’s public transit agency has declared war — on “manspreading.”
Spain’s capital will now feature signs on trains and buses that warn customers not to sit with an unwanted “body posture” often taken by men. The notifications feature a cartoon man with his legs bowed into the seats next to him.
“This new icon’s mission is to remind people of the need to keep a civil behavior and respect the space of everyone on the bus,” the Madrid Municipal Transport Company said, CNN reported Thursday.
The policy decision comes in the wake of feminist social media activism like #MadridWithoutManspreading.
“This new icon is similar to those already existing in other transport systems around the world to indicate the barring of body posture that bothers other people,” the transit agency added.
Officials with the city’s equality department crafted the new initiative in conjunction with a feminist collective known as Microrrelatos Feministas, the Guardian reported Thursday.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.