You're taking up too much space

I take the tram to and from work. It's a lovely, quintessentially Melbourne experience. I get on out in the 'burbs, so more times than often score a seat. One thing I've noticed though, and its been getting on my nerves: men just don't move over. The double seats on the standard and W-class (not the 'new' bullet looking trams) trams are not divided, just a double bench. People generally take up a bit more than half the seat if they have it to themselves, but when somebody sits down next to them I've noticed a marked gender difference. Women tend to pull their bag in closer and scooch across the seat and cross their legs, so the other person has ample room. Men, on the other hand, remain sitting wide legged, taking up 3/4 of the seat. And when you sit down, they stay that way! Like do I have to sit on your lap so you get the message? Well that's what I've been resorting to - when they don't move over, I just sidle up real close, bump them a few times and half dump my bag on their laps. I'm being rude, I know it, I'm essentially shoving them, but seriously, get a fucking clue.

(Of course this is a generalisation, I should take a poll or something).

This whole tram seating thing got me thinking about space in general and I've started noticing a myriad of different ways in which men feel entitled to space, and women feel like they shouldn't take up any...

-Men sit wide legged, women cross their legs (this is of course also because we couldn't have our legs open because you know we have vaginas).

-I feel unfeminine when I sit with my legs wide and sturdy...so I try to do it as much as possible!

-Gee I dunno, the whole women-should-diet-themselves-to-nothing-to-be-attractive, but men get to have muscles.

-A woman wants a dressing table - gah she takes up so much space! A man wants a shed - well that's reasonable isn't it?

-The way women with big breasts tend to slouch.

-The way blokes hardly ever move out of the way when you're on a collision course on the street. If I don't move, we bump shoulders. (Yes I know, another generalisation)

-I'm ashamed to tell shoe sales girls that my feet are a size 9. Big feet = man. Doesn't matter that I'm nearly 6 ft of course.

-Trams again - the way men, and only men (ie not tall women) seem to expect you to duck under their outstretched arm to get out of the tram. Seriously could you let go for one sec so I don't have to stick my face in your sweaty armpit?

And I could go on, but I'm off to purchase World War Z :-)