‘Selfish’ train passenger criticised for ‘manspreading’ across neighbour’s personal space
Viral social media post sparks travel etiquette debate
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Your support makes all the difference.A train passenger branded the man sitting beside her “selfish” after he stretched his legs into her personal space – with some commenters online accusing him of “manspreading”.
Neena Jha shared a picture on Twitter showing her neighbour’s leg planted in the space in front of her seat.
She tweeted that she was “sat next to a really selfish guy who refuses to move his leg from my space” and asked her followers if she would be considered rude “to casually kick his leg away”.
Ms Jha, who in her Twitter profile says she is an NHS GP and urgent care doctor, described her fellow train passenger as having “such an awful attitude” and said he “claimed my space as if he was simply entitled to it.”
One user replied that the man “was trying to make you uncomfortable enough to move to another seat” – a comment that Ms Jha agreed with.
However, she said she had managed to reclaim her space by mirroring the man’s behaviour and spreading out herself.
She posted a picture of an empty seat beside her with the caption: “I just stretched my legs out and he’s left in a huff!! What a win.”
Admitting she was “awful at standing up for herself”, Ms Jha said her favourite suggestion for resolving the matter was “casually pulling out one leg hair of his at a time with a pair of tweezers”.
Since it was originally posted on Sunday, the tweet has been viewed more than 3.5 million times.
One user suggested Ms Jha “spare a thought for us taller men”, to which she replied: “I would have happily let him have my leg space if he had been polite about it.”
Debate around the correct etiquette on trains has been something of a trend this year.
Earlier this month, a passenger sparked discussions after filming himself placing his feet up on an empty seat, which drew irritated looks from others in the carriage.
And in April, a man was praised online after insisting that a train passenger move from the seat he had purchased. The footage that captured his confrontation has since gone viral, with many applauding the man for refusing to give up his seat.
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