What is manspreading, why do men do it, is there a science behind it and who is campaigner Anna Dovgalyuk?
Here's what you need to know about the controversial sitting position
AN anti-manspreading campaigner has sparked debate after sharing a video of herself splashing male commuters with a mixture of bleach and water on a Russian metro train.
While some have argued the seated position is a physical necessity, others have said it displays sexual attractiveness. Here's what you need to know about manspreading, why men do it and who Anna Dovgalyuk is.
What is manspreading?
Manspreading, sometimes referred to ballrooming or mansitting, is a term to describe the way in which some men sit on public transport with their legs spread wide apart.
Both the position and the term have sparked widespread criticism and debate online, and it has been compared with examples of women taking up excessive space on public transport with handbags.
OxfordDictionaries.com added the word "manspreading" in August 2015, describing it as: "The practice whereby a man, especially one travelling on public transport, adopts a sitting position with his legs wide apart, in such a way as to encroach on an adjacent seat or seats."
Oxford Dictionaries said it noticed the at the same time as New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority launched a campaign to "encourage courteous behaviour on the subway" around December 2014, which called for ending the practice of taking up more than one seat.
Using photographs, Tanya Vacharkulksemsuk found that images of men spreading out got 87 per cent of interest among female viewers.
"Based on our results garnered from thousands of single persons at an actual speed dating event, and using a dating application, it is evident that postural expansion can dramatically increase a person’s chances of making a successful initial romantic connection," she said.
Who is campaigner Anna Dovgalyuk?
Anna Dovgalyuk, 20, has started splashing a mixture of water and bleach on the groins of men with their legs spread too far on the St Petersberg metro.
The law student embarked on the one-woman crusade to stop manspreading and has accused men in her native Russia of "gender aggression" but says the country is not doing enough the tackle the problem.
Anna warned her targets in a video: “This solution is 30 times more concentrated than the mixture used by housewives when doing the laundry.
“It eats colours in the fabric in a matter of minutes - leaving indelible stains.”
She has also accused manspreaders of a "disgusting act that is being fought around the world - but hushed up here".
Anna, who calls herself a "social activist", claims the bleach stains are "identification spots" to "immediately understand which body part controls the behaviour of these men.”
The student claimed to be acting “on behalf of everyone who has to endure the manifestations of you declaring your macho qualities on public transportation”.
Russian news outlet Rosbalt has claimed the video is fake - but Anna has insisted it is "absolutely real".
She also revealed no one has sued her so far, adding: "I don't think people are going to go to the police to file a report about jeans."
People have previously campaigned against manspreading on Madrid trains.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 . You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.