When men on buses are too afraid to offer seats – “is she actually pregnant, or will she think I’m calling her fat? Is she a pensioner, or am I making a big deal out of her advancing age?” – then all of us are losers. The outcome, in extreme cases, as reported this week, is that people like Victoria Poskitt, who is five-months pregnant, end up sitting on the train floor when fellow passengers do not offer their seats.