Russian woman squirts liquid on manspreaders on public transportation
The video has been viewed more than 1.5m times
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A woman decided to tackle manspreading on public transport by squirting liquid on the crotches of perpetrators, who she accused of committing acts of "gender aggression".
In a video, created by Anna Dovgalyuk from Russia, and viewed more than 1.5 million times, a woman brazenly walks up to seated passengers on the St Petersburg subway system and douses them with a clear liquid from a bottle.
Dovgalyuk claimed the substance was a strong bleach solution, used because it “eats colours in the fabric in a matter of minutes”, leaving “indelible stains” on the clothes of manspreaders.
However many internet viewers expressed doubt, suggesting that it was more likely to have been water.
“Men demonstrating their alpha-manhood in the subway with women and children around deserve contempt,” she said. In the video, it shows a woman, who does not appear to be Dovgalyuk, targeting dozens of men of various ages with the liquid, as facts about manspreading appear on the bottom of the screen. The video was "created in assistance with friends who share my position," according to Dovgalyuk.
Many of the men in the video, clearly sitting with their legs spread moments before she targets them, are young and dressed casually in jeans, however, multiple older men wearing suits were also targeted.
The reactions to the attacks are mixed - but the majority of men appear momentarily frozen with surprise until they fully realise what the woman is doing.
A significant portion of the men in the video appear to be asleep - awoken only by the attack.
Some of the men jump up as if to grab the woman in response, or appear angry. One man even gives chase as she runs off the train carriage.
Russian news outlet Rosbalt has claimed that the video is fake and the men are actors - something Dovgalyuk denies.
The video is “absolutely real,” she said. The majority of onlookers looked baffled by the stunt, with no apparent interventions.
“Manspreading” is defined by Oxford dictionary as: “the practice whereby a man adopts a sitting position with his legs wide apart, in such a way as to encroach on an adjacent seat.”
The behaviour is often criticised and has even led to arrests in New York City, while countries such as Spain and Iran have implemented tactics to dissuade men from adopting the position.
The activist reportedly previously drew attention to the issue of “upskirting” laws in Russia by showing her underwear to commuters.
The Independent has contacted Dovgalyuk for comment.
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