A major world capital is now taking steps to end ‘manspreading’ on its public transit

The city of Madrid is launching a new public campaign aimed at ending one of the scourges of public transit: people who spread their legs out wide, invading others’ personal space.

The phenomenon, commonly known as “manspreading” and officially defined by the Oxford English Dictionary in 2015, has been around for a long time but has garnered particular attention in the past several years.

Specifically, Smithsonian Magazine says their archives show that advertisements imploring people to be courteous about leg room extend all the way back to 1915.

But still the issue persists. A study in late 2015 found that 26 percent of men are likely to extend their legs into other’s space, while under five percent of women do the same, according to the New York Post.

And so Madrid has launched a campaign to crack down on the manspreaders, according to BBC News. Buses around the city will soon carry signs that feature a seated male figure with his legs spread wide, along with a red X.

According to the Washington Post, the campaign is the result of an online petition launched by a women’s group that garnered more than 600 signatures. The city also said it plans to place the signs on the subway as well.

Major cities in the U.S. such as New York, Philadelphia and Seattle have all previously run ad campaigns specifically targeting manspreaders in the past, according to CNN. This is also not the first time a large city has run a high-profile campaign aimed at improving subway etiquette among men.

In late March, Mexico City’s subway installed a seat with a man’s torso and penis attached to it to highlight the prevalence of sexual harassment on the subway, an experience nine in 10 Mexican woman say they’ve had.

This story was originally published June 10, 2017 at 9:44 PM with the headline "A major world capital is now taking steps to end ‘manspreading’ on its public transit."