There’s been some items on the news regarding manspreading, that is men spreading their legs wide whilst in a public space such as on public transport. Some women, apparently, find this offensive. Now personally I find it provocative but then people often do things that I don’t find comfortable. It’s called tolerance and is part of living with other people. There is the practical objection that on public transport it may obstruct the seat on either side. This then simply becomes an issue of awareness and being mindful of other people.
The objections to manspreading are more ideological. Some women object to men asserting their manliness because many women associate manliness with aggression. Women should be proud to be women and gays proud to be gay but men, apparently, should be ashamed to be men.
When women wear short skirts or expose their breasts in public we are told that this is their ‘right’. They should not be ashamed to be women or ashamed of their female body. So why should men be ashamed to be men and hide their male bodies?
There’s sometimes on the media allusions to men who drive fast cars that that they are compensating for the size of their penis. This passes without any criticisms on the media. It’s simply a joke. However, statistics show that around 15000 men had a penis enlargement operation in the US, compared to the over 5 million women who had breast enhancement. It seems that women have more hang ups about their breasts then men have about their penis size, but if I were to comment on the size of a women’s breasts, even by allusion, I would be condemned on the media.
By Philip Braham on .