Transit etiquette
A brief history of manspreading
Alex Q. Arbuckle
1939-2015
“Manspreading" is a recent and colorful neologism, defined as the act of sitting with one's legs unnecessarily wide, therefore crowding others nearby. It's hardly a new phenomenon. As long as urbanites have been crammed together in public spaces, inconsiderate and selfish behavior has been a problem.A new exhibit in New York looks back at the various campaigns cities have undertaken to stem these problems. “Transit Etiquette or: How I Learned to Stop Spitting and Step Aside in 25 Languages,” on view at the New York Transit Museum’s gallery annex in Grand Central Terminal, features colorful and playful admonishments from around the world and through time.Postwar New York City subway illustrations by Amelia Opdyke Jones present a rogues’ gallery of subterranean menaces — the Space Hog, the Door Blocker, the Leg Pest — and exhort riders to "love thy neighbor, even in the subway!”Others from Toronto and Japan attempt to appeal to riders’ sense of civic duty, encouraging them to think of the brave sailors off at war whenever they get frustrated. Some even compare manspreaders to Hitler. The collection reflects a wide range of art styles and approaches, as well as changing priorities — “expectoration,” or spitting, was much more of a hazard in the days when tuberculosis was still an urban concern.The exhibit is on view through July 10.
Visit Premier Exhibitions at 417 5th Avenue to see the past become present again at "Retronaut's New York." This pop-up exhibition of extraordinary, digitally restored photographs captures New York City at the turn of the 20th century. It's only open until May 15, so be sure to get down there before it’s gone.