It’s not uncommon for women to feel small and apologetic for taking up space, be it physically or hypothetically. And it’s not very surprising that women don’t feel safe in the world because no matter what time of the day or night it is, men are always everywhere taking up space while women can’t even move around feeling safe. What’s worse is that most men don’t even realise the kind of privilege they have and women don’t. In a Twitter thread, an internet user spoke about the same and took the opportunity to call out the fact that public spaces aren’t public but rather taken up by men who not only feel entitled but also police women for taking up space!
In a long Twitter thread, a woman pointed out that public spaces are not public but rather male i.e., made by men, for men and the fact that they’re the ones occupying these spaces and doing as they please. She also pointed out that even though access to public spaces depends on class, caste, body ability as well as gender, only one gender has the privilege of using these spaces freely for any purpose they deem fit.
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I mean, we’ve seen men doing as they please in public spaces be it scratching their balls or sitting with their legs wide open or picking their nose or even eve-teasing women. Speaking of the same sense of entitlement, the Twitter user pointed out behaviours displayed by men that highlight how they take over public spaces by doing things like talking loudly on phones, standing or sitting too close for comfort and not making space for others among other things. Calling it a male entitlement and display of micro-aggressions, the woman spoke of how women are taught to be small and not take up space and be invisible and not attract any kind of attention.
Further, the Twitter thread highlighted how challenging the norms threaten men as it weakens their spot in society and their privilege as well as “assumed ownership of public spaces”. Sharing that even though not all men display micro-aggression intentionally or mindfully, the women said that that behaviour comes as easily and naturally to men as breathing. I mean, they did grow up in a patriarchal society that raises them with a sense of entitlement for the simple reason that their bodies are different from that of a woman’s body.
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Telling men who care to bring a change by asking themselves if they’re taking up more space than needed and making others uncomfortable, the Twitter user also asked them to be mindful of the men around them are doing the same. Addressing the other men who take up space in the world intentionally and display micro-aggression, the user called them out for not catching a break from policing women and telling them how to live their lives. She also declared that while she’s aware that women asserting themselves in public spaces threatens men and their sense of entitlement, we’re here to claim our rights and it’s time men learn how to cope.
NGL but we totally, absolutely agree. It’s time men stop taking up space in public places like they own the world because it’s not a man’s world anymore!