Elena Buscaino and Mina Bonakdar want to fight against manspreading in the Berlin metro.
-
STEFANIE LOOS / AFP
A new kind of activism has emerged across the Rhine, in the Berlin metro, in 2020. Feminist activists, Elena Buscaino and Mina Bonakdar want to fight against
manspreading
, this posture, theorized by feminists, which for some men consists of to sit in a public place by spreading the thighs and taking up more space than a seat.
On January 28, the German newspaper Berliner Zeitung described their modus operandi, to say the least, surprising.
The two twenties raise awareness among metro users by practicing
manspreading
themselves
, while unveiling slogans inscribed in the crotch of their pants.
They named their collective "Riot Pant project", for "insurrection pants project".
Weapon of clothing
More broadly, the performances of these two Berliners combining humor and provocation question the issues of domination and the sharing of urban space between the sexes.
"It is perfectly possible to sit comfortably in transport without taking two seats by spreading your legs", explains Mina Bonakdar, 25 years old.
With her friend Elena, like her design student, she created "Riot Pant Project" which transforms second-hand pants into a support for claims.
This sartorial weapon only reveals its hidden political message - “
Stop mansreading
!
","
Give us space
"or"
Toxic masculinity
"- by imitating the attitude of his vis-à-vis: open thighs showing off the slogan pasted in capital letters in the 'crotch.
#giveusspace #stopspreading #toxicmasculinity #riotpantproject pic.twitter.com/FYoizVBsVR
- Marie (@mari_v_z) January 30, 2021
Imitate to make people understand?
"It is only through imitation that the interlocutor understands the effect produced by his behavior," says Elena Buscaino.
However, recognizes the young woman, "very few change their posture on the moment", as noted by AFP during an intervention in the Berlin metro.
"They are often astonished that women can stand in front of them like this," continues the activist, who especially hopes to give food for thought.
For Mina Bonakdar, the simple fact of wearing these pants allows women to “feel stronger and gain confidence”.
Questioned by AFP, the Berlin transport company BVG assures that the complaints are nevertheless too few to justify a separate campaign, "for the moment".
An old problem
If for some it may seem anecdotal, the problem of "
manspreading
" has existed almost since the appearance of public transport.
"Sit with your limbs close to the body and do not describe an angle of 45 degrees with your legs, which would be equivalent to occupying the place of two people", warned the
Times of London
in
1836
in an article devoted to decorum in the bus, explains in “History of the Bakerloo Line” Clive DW Feather, specialist of the London Underground.
The term became popular in 2013 when female subway users in New York City posted photos of travelers getting comfortable and their neighbors curled up on social media.
Campaigns in New York, Seoul, Istanbul… and a fine in Madrid
New York was one of the first in the world to try to curb this behavior.
In 2014, his transport manager (MTA) had stuck stickers in the wagons with the message: "man, please stop sprawling."
Since then, similar campaigns have appeared in South Korea, Japan or Istanbul.
In Madrid since 2017, bus users are even exposed to a fine if they are caught in the act of "male sprawl".
Flammable subject
On the internet, the subject is quickly flammable, some men justifying their posture by their anatomical specificity.
An argument that no scientific study has so far been able to confirm.
It is rather "a question of distribution of the sexes" within the company, affirms to AFP Bettina Hannover, psychologist and professor at the Free University of Berlin.
“Men […] show their dominance through their sitting position,” she analyzes.
Women are supposed to take up less space and above all to behave in a decent manner ”.
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