‘Manspreading’ On A Plane Starts Viral Debate Online
A viral video showing someone ‘manspreading’ on a plane is going viral online. It’s creating quite the debate over the “rude” behavior.
There are many ways that someone can be bothersome on a plane, and many of these people are aware of ahead of time. You don’t want to be the smelly one on the plane, so try to shower or be clean before boarding. Additionally, you don’t want to bring stinky food on the plane. What you wear is another thing to consider before you take off. Some people will have a problem if you’re dressed inappropriately–and that can be subjective. Some people don’t want you to wear shorts (Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm) and some don’t want to see people even in sweatpants at the airport. Is manspreading becoming one of the most annoying things people (mostly men) do?
What Is ‘Manspreading?’
Before we get to the viral video, we should first go over what manspreading actually is. It might not sound familiar–but you’ve probably experienced it at some point in your life. Basically, it’s the way men sit with their legs out wide taking up the space of people around them with little regard. Now, it’s rarely a thing men do on purpose, but I understand how it can be bothersome to those around.
It sounds like the people next to Erin Rempel on her flight from Alberta, Canada to Edmonton were encroaching on her personal space–and she did not appreciate it. She shared the video on TikTok with a caption reading, “Female rage” and that was all that was needed to describe what was happening in the video. Clearly, many people could relate. Now, the video has more than 17 million views and continues to climb.
In the viral video, you can see the uncomfortable position she found herself in as the man’s legs next to her are nearly pushing hers together. She has no gap between her legs at all and it looks like he has plenty of room between his. This left her with a choice. She could sit there and let it happen or she could fight back. She chose to take action. In the video, you can see her start to nudge her legs back at him clearly indicating that there’s a problem. However, he doesn’t seem to notice nor care. It seems pretty obvious from the way she’s moving that she’s not comfortable and he definitely should have noticed that, in my opinion.
Rempel tells Newsweek, “I didn’t say anything because I didn’t think it was worth causing a scene on such a short flight. I was more so trying to record the video, not expecting sympathy but to shed light on a very common situation, especially for women.” Many people have came to her defense in the comments saying they’ve been there and she handled it like a champ. Some are saying it’s good that she’s highlighting this behavior. However, not everyone agrees with her method. Some commenters have pointed out that she should have simply said something or asked him to move. Maybe he wasn’t aware of what he was doing? See the viral TikTok shared by @erinrempel for yourself below. Warning: there is some swearing it sounds like in the sound effects in the video. What do you think? Did she handle it correctly or should she have approached the situation differently? Let us know!
7 'Eh-List' Celebrity Canadians
Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen is Canadian! (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for Hulu)
Seth Rogen is one of my favorite people on the planet. He’s hilarious and he seems like a good dude. In other words, the ultimate Canadian! He talks about growing up in Canada a lot. He has a lot of pride for his homeland.
Honestly, if I could pick one celebrity to hangout with, I’d pick Seth. I have no doubt we’d be good friends.
Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber is Canadian (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)
Justin Bieber might not have all the traits that Canadians are known for having, like being pleasant and generally nice, but he still is Canadian! The superstar was born in London, Canada. They might not want to claim him, but it remains true.
Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey is as Canadian as he is funny (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for AFI)
Jim Carrey is another funny person from Canada. He was born in Newmarket, Canada. One of the funniest people of all-time, in my opinion. You can always count on Jim for a laugh.
Drake
Drake is a rapper. Drake is Canadian. Drake is a Canadian rapper. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
You probably were aware that Drake is Canadian. He talks about it a lot in his music…like a lot! He’s also frequently spotted at Toronto Raptor games. Yeah, he’s Canadian.
Ryan Gosling
Ryan Gosling is both Ken and Canadian (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
Ryan Gosling isn’t just Ken–he’s Canadian! It rhymed better in my head. Ryan proves Canadians aren’t just kind or funny…they can be sexy, too!
Pamela Anderson
Pamela Anderson is also Canadian! (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Netflix)
Speaking of sexy Canadians, that brings us to Pamela Anderson! Yes, indeed, she is Canadian. She was born in Ladysmith, Canada. She was originally discovered at a BC Lions football game in Vancouver wearing a Labatt’s Beer t-shirt. How Canadian is that??
Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Reynolds is a lot of things…Canadian being one of them. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
Ryan Reynolds is many things: an actor, a soccer team owner, an entrepreneur, a father, a husband, and most importantly–a Canadian. He was born in Vancouver. His father was even a Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman! Very Canada.
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