Article content continued

Campaign in Madrid on public transport to deter 'manspreading'. Good image - needs no translation!👏🏼 pic.twitter.com/sDU04ipIlO — Rachel (@rachelsriding) June 8, 2017

Madrid council, led by a coalition backed by the left-wing Podemos party, said the new rule was aimed specifically at “male transport users [who] open their legs and occupy two places.”

The council also pointed out that other anti-social behaviour was being targeted in the new notices, including putting feet on seats and listening to loud music on headphones.

But some men took to social networks to denounce what they feel is sexist persecution of the male gender. “The MAN part of the word is out of order. I have seen women with handbags on other seats, lying back and spreading their legs like men…” Jesus Herraiz from Madrid said on Twitter.

Madrid council said that other cities around the world had also mounted campaigns against manspreading, and Podemos announced that it had tabled a motion in the Madrid regional parliament to extend the ban to the capital’s Metro underground network.

“We believe that putting a name to and making visible these kinds of daily sexist behaviour that go unnoticed is the way ahead to become more aware, seeing what we used not to see and leaving inequality and machismo behind,” said Clara Serra of Podemos in presenting the motion.

But Madrid’s regional transport chief, Angel Garrido of the conservative Popular Party, said there was no need for the new ban as “current rules state that it is one seat per passenger.”