I tried man-spreading in public to see how people would react

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I tried man-spreading in public to see how people would react

And ran into a shocking number of Pokemon Go users while doing it

iPhone in hand and shamelessly playing some Pokemon Go, I sauntered across the lands of expensive price tags and Louis Vuitton bags. With two separate outfits locked and loaded, I hand-selected each of my victims from the following vicinities: Victoria’s Secret, Earls Kitchen + Bar, and a small public seating area.

Note the two females off to my left who are equally as immersed in their Pokémon Go adventures

People weren’t fans

Shortly after my photographer snapped some sly photos, I leaned over and offered my hand in exchange of formality: Hi, my name’s Nina and I’m writing an article for The Tab on man-spreading. Well-informed and well disturbed, most of these people provided me with a flowering bouquet of reactions. Out of the 10 strangers who willingly sat next to me, six of them weren’t entirely scared off by my “manlike” tendencies. That is, six people didn’t put out a warrant for my arrest even though I obnoxiously staked my claim on the couch/chair beside them.

As I anxiously await the reboot of Pokémon Go servers because they are literally always down

Some pretended not to notice

The first person I managed to snag was Burrito Bowl Babe. Fortunately, my photographer snuck in a few snaps while Burrito Bowl Babe munched and I Poké-hunted. Pictured below, we have the flatly disinterested specimen feasting on a bowl of Mexican-styled cuisine. Nothing too exciting. Yet.

Not gonna lie, but I wanted some Chipotle after meeting her

Some just didn’t care

Do not be fooled by his “feminine” pose: Tea iPhone Dude poses a serious threat on the video-game field in general. So when I realized that he too was playing Pokémon Go, I had a hearty conversation regarding the Bulbasaur I’d just caught perched on the grill.

Note his crossed legs.

There was the calm and collected person

While she declined to comment, Super Chill Sunglasses Girl provided me with her Instagram handle. She wasn’t much of a chatterbox, so her presence was ephemeral. Take note of the fellow wearing all black: he was quite fascinated with how awkward I looked and so he turned away and literally side-shuffled until he was out of the viewfinder.

She’s very intimidating

I HATE FEMINISTS LIKE YOU! 

Perhaps the most colorful character whom I shall cherish for the remainder of my week is Puppy Picture Book Girl. The repulsive expression on her face can only be a precise result of the harrowing remarks from those words she did not have to say: why are you sexually objectifying yourself for certain rights you already have?

“Daphne Moves to Hawaii!” What a fascinating read!! Just look at the unwavering conviction in her wild eyes.

The switch-up

After an hour or so of human-hunting, I walked back inside and swapped photographers with another friend of mine. Fittingly, I swapped my outfit because we really wanted to extract as many interesting finds as possible.


Other Nintendo-crazed fans

Once back indoors, my other photographer and I stumbled upon these two video-gaming fiends and easily struck up conversation afterwards, as they were more than willing to let us keep the photos and talk about their Capcom game.


Some people were downright uncomfortable

And of course, my personal favorite: Victoria’s Secret. Knowing my luck, there simply had to be a VS employee standing several feet off to my left. Naturally, I popped a squat right in front of the main entrance and man-spreaded for the win. After she clearly took notice of my “manly” gesture, she perked up and asked what I was doing.

VS employee: I couldn’t help but notice you sitting on the floor. Whatcha up to?

Me: You know, that cramped and stereotypically masculine thing that guys do? That thing they do when they take up so much unnecessary space? That’s called “man-spreading”. I’m man-spreading right now.

VS employee: Oh. ~uncontrollable giggling~

The scantily clad blonde VS employee burst into a laughing fit as soon as I pulled my Pokémon radar out. It was lit

Why it’s called “man-spreading”

While this was a fun experiment, we haven’t really touched on the topic of gender neutrality and gender norms. Have you ever stopped to ask yourself: Why are certain clothes considered “manly”? Why do I have to be so “feminine”? Why is pink a girlish color? Believe it or not, pink was once known as a boy’s color and blue a girl’s. In fact, men wore heels before women because of the height advantage they provided when horse-riding in the Middle East.

So why this debacle between gender norms and associations? The reasoning behind man-spreading and its name is just that: it’s what we as a society ultimately curate and determine to be acceptable for a particular gender.

@TheTab