space raider
Student who claims blokes ‘infringe on her public space’ invents chair to prevent manspreading
A UNIVERSITY student who was fed up with men "infringing on her public space" has won a national award for designing a chair that stops them from manspreading.
Laila Laurel, 23, created the piece of furniture which she claims stops men from widening their legs and encroaching on other people's personal space.
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Two bits of wood are positioned on the seat to physically stop whoever is sitting down from moving their legs apart.
The word 'manspreading' was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2015 following an online campaign against the practice since 2013.
The dictionary definition is the 'practice of a man sitting on public transport with his legs wide apart, taking up more space than he needs and preventing other people from sitting down'.
Laila, who graduates in 3D Design and Craft from the University of Brighton later this month, has been commended for her creation.
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She won an award for emerging talent in the design industry called the Belmond Award, which calls for imaginative and cleverly presented ideas.
Speaking about her inspiration, Laila said: "It came from my own experiences of men infringing on my space in public.
"With my chair set I hoped to draw awareness to the act of sitting for men and women and inspire discussion around this."
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WHAT IS MANSPREADING?
Manspreading, sometimes referred to ballrooming or mansitting, is a term to describe the way in which some men sit on public transport with their legs spread wide apart.
Both the position and the term have sparked widespread criticism and debate online, and it has been compared with examples of women taking up excessive space on public transport with handbags.
OxfordDictionaries.com added the word "manspreading" in August 2015, describing it as: "The practice whereby a man, especially one travelling on public transport, adopts a sitting position with his legs wide apart, in such a way as to encroach on an adjacent seat or seats."
But while Laila's design has won much praise others were left less than impressed with the chair claiming that manspreading isn't a choice but "biology."
Taking to Twitter one said: "I completely agree that spreading out on more than one seat on crowded public transport is utterly selfish.
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"But why would anyone want to buy a chair that crushed their testicles together in an uncomfortable and unnatural position in their own home?"
A second agreed adding: "I don't sit with my legs apart to annoy women, I do it because I have stuff hanging between my legs that gets crushed if I close them. It's biology."
Laila, originally from Norwich, Norfolk, has also made a second seat intended for women which, via a small piece of wood in the middle, encourages sitters to extend their legs wider apart.
Senior lecturer in architecture and design at the University of Brighton Dr Eddy Elton said he was "proud" of his student's achievement.
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