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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Travel
Julia Banim

'A train passenger swore at me when I asked him to stop manspreading - I felt unsafe'

A woman travelling home by train after "a long day of classes" was left feeling frustrated when the man next to her proceeded to "manspread", with apparently no thought for her comfort.

According to this fed-up student, the rude man, who was relatively slim in build, spread his legs so widely that their thighs were actually touching, encroaching on her space and leaving her feeling pretty uncomfortable.

Despite not usually being a particularly confrontational person, the unnamed woman decided to politely ask the man to respect her personal space. Unfortunately, he didn't respond well at all, shooting her a "filthy look" and swearing at her.

She had to shrink back in her seat to stop their thighs from touching (Stock Photo) (Getty Images)

Taking to Reddit, the woman recalled how she was made to feel so very uncomfortable that she ended up shrinking down in her own seat, just so his thigh wouldn't keep touching hers.

She wrote: "He just kept getting in my personal space, and when I just asked him politely to have his legs sit within the space of his own seat, he gave me a dirty look, called me a b****, and just continued sitting there in the same position he originally was in.

"And his whole situation just left a bad taste in my mouth. In the end, I managed to get away but he was so unnecessarily rude about it.

"I don't like being touched in any way, especially by strangers. I don't think it was unreasonable of me to ask him to sit like a normal human being but he was unnecessarily rude about the whole ordeal and this kinda reinforced the idea that as a woman, I can't feel safe, not even in a crowded train."

The man responded in an 'unnecessarily rude' manner (Stock Photo) (Getty Images)

Reaching out to fellow Reddit users for their thoughts on the matter, she asked whether anyone else had ever had to deal with this sort of "entitled" behaviour.

One person commented: "You did nothing wrong. He wasn't just rude, he deliberately intimidated you so you would fear for your safety so he could go on being a selfish prick and perv. Don't second guess yourself or let this complete waster take up any more of your headspace."

Another advised: "Say loudly, 'please stop touching me!'. Don't apologise, don't back down, don't make yourself small. Other people will probably step in, or at least start watching him.

"It will make him uncomfortable. These guys are counting on you being too intimidated to speak up."

Do you have a story to share? Email us at julia.banim@reachplc.com

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