Chairs and Feminism

'Watch the way you seat.'
'Keep your legs tucked together.' 
'Stop spreading your legs so wide, you're in a public area.' 

At some point, most women growing up in our country have experienced this form of lecturing from our friends or Asian parents. 

We are taught to be polite, conservative, and, most notably, practice a good seating behavior that avoids the invitation of any unwanted behavior. 

Whether you're a feminist advocating for women's rights or just an old' Joe looking on from the sidelines: there lies inequality in the way both genders sit and command space.

Last year, there was a chair that was generating impressions and attention worldwide. It was termed as the 'Manspreading Chair.' 

This seat was inspired by a UK student who got infuriated with men who luxuriate in their seating. This seat, simple and brilliantly designed, is crafted to encourage women to spread eagle while forcing men to knock their knees together. The 23-year-old female from the United Kingdom designed this chair, drawing inspiration from medieval torture devices. 

Why It Caught Our Eye

Our team at Alterseat decided to write about this for various reasons. It's a new way of challenging the way 'men' and 'women' command space. To achieve gender equality, it is imperative to consider many different aspects of sexism. Sometimes, we have to put ourselves in each others' shoes to better understand the situation and circumstances. 

The creator of this 'manspreading chair' couldn't have phrased it better than us when she said: "I think encouraging women to consider the way in which they move through the world, or the space they take up in relation to men, is powerful because it is such an intrinsic and huge issue, and yet one that perhaps is not always considered," 

With relation to empathizing with the situation and circumstances we find each other in, Alterseat is Malaysia's leading chair manufacturer that sympathizes with the customers' seating experience and demands. Alterseat has been featured by Vulcan post and has been given extraordinary praise for the same reason. Their seats are customizable, available in an assortment of colors, and extremely affordable, between the RM199~RM799 price range. 

There lies a vast disparity within the luxury of seating between men and women in today's day and age. At the same time, we're unsure if these forms of seats will be implemented in our nation's public transport. Still, we know that seating should always be made comfortable, with the customers in mind. What are your thoughts about this manspreading seat after reading about it? Share it with us on Facebook here!