James Tozer, Daily Mail
In the years since "manspreading" became a hot topic, it has become increasingly clear that women will not stand for it.
Not least designer Laila Laurel, who has created a chair that puts men firmly in their place.
It uses tapering wooden sides to force men to sit with their knees closed to stop them from spreading their legs and encroaching on others’ space. By contrast, a second chair for women encourages them to keep their knees slightly apart thanks to a small piece of wood in the middle.
The 23-year-old student’s work has now won the national Belmond Award for new designers.
Laurel, who will graduate from the University of Brighton later this month, said. "My idea came from my own experiences of men infringing on my space in public. With my chair set I hoped to draw awareness to the act of sitting for men and women and inspire discussion around this."
Manspreading was officially recognised as a new flashpoint in the battle of the sexes when it was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2015.
The dictionary definition is the "practice of a man sitting on public transport with his legs wide apart, taking up more space than he needs and preventing other people from sitting down".
Images: Instagram/LailaLaurel
