SINGAPORE: It’s 7:45 a.m., on the Downtown Line. The train hums its way toward the city, and so begins another game of MRT musical chairs—except for some commuters, the seats are already “reserved” by invisible forces of ego and entitlement.
One frustrated passenger just had enough and took to Reddit’s r/SMRTRabak community to vent: “What’s with men spreading their legs out across two seats on MRT, where it gives barely any space for me to sit on what’s supposed to be a proper seat? I’ve been experiencing this almost every morning on the Downtown Line.”
And that was not all, “Today, just now in the carriage, three people were doing it, and those were the only seats left, but hell, it’s early, so I squeezed into the small seat and gave the man a look, like, ‘What the hell?!’”
Welcome to the not-so-glorious world of manspreading, that mysterious display of morning dominance where knees roam free and respect for personal space is thrown out the (train) window.
“The more they spread out their legs, the more ‘manly’ it is [they think], but to me, that’s just rubbish!”
According to one commenter, “I asked my friend why some men like to manspread… he said it is apparently to ‘assert dominance’ and the more they spread out their legs, the more ‘manly’ it is, but to me, that’s just rubbish!”
Another train commuter had a creative counter-attack: “I will lift my leg into the ‘number 4’ shape with my foot facing/pushing the man’s manspread leg… they will immediately stop to avoid a foot high-five. Works equally well with some people who do the leg up sitting.”
While some are finding clever ways to push back, confronting it head-on often risks turning discomfort into conflict, making an already cramped ride even more uncomfortable.
“Why are public transport seats in SG so damn small, even though people are getting bigger and taller?”
A few commenters shifted the blame from the leggy lords to the design flaws of the MRT itself.
One wrote, “Why is everyone ignoring the main problem, which is that seats in public transport in SG are so damn small even though people are getting bigger and taller?”
Another added an inclusive twist: “We also have many people from different countries who use our public transport, such as Europeans who need a lot more space than we Asians. Public transport should be inclusive. We talk about being a global hub of everything, let our seats reflect that, please.”
Is it really alpha males claiming their train throne, or is it just poor train ergonomics?
The verdict is that whether it’s an alpha male claiming his train throne or it’s just poor train ergonomics clashing with expanding waistlines, squeezing into a half-seat while someone else dominates a territory as if they’ve paid first-class fare is never okay.
