Please Explain: The Attack Against Subway Seat Hogging

Reader Jim sent us this sign he saw at one of the 14th Street L stations that was "taped to a column in the same haphazard fashion as legitimate MTA service change notices." But it turned out not to be an MTA service notice but a warning from the Lesbian Avengers!

Now, just so we're clear, I have one simple rule: I never sit on the train when there is a woman standing. Ever. Period; the end; no exceptions. There are those who would say that in this day of equality and women's lib, I have every right to sit where and when I please. And they may be right. But it seems to me that no matter how liberated we make our womens, or how absolute our equality becomes, women will still always wear heels and occasionally carry our children to term for 9 months. Those two things alone earn them a seat in my book -- case closed.

Good to know, even though there are many men AND women who refuse to give up their seats to pregnant women - the Today show proved that with their segment about rudeness!

But the sign was confusing; Jim continues:

It claims to be a warning, but how? According to the sign, the threat has already been carried out. So it's an ultimatum, then: stop, or we keep your train. But stop what? If the train has already been disrupted until such time as men stop hogging the seats, then how will we know when they've stopped hogging the seats?

Perhaps logic is not the lesbians' forte; or the avengers' forte. Or maybe it's just the Lesbian Avengers who have cognitive difficulty. Before I had time to decide, my train had arrived.

Yeah, it's a little confusing, unless the Avengers are trying to purposefully confuse perpetrators. Or maybe it's from a splinter group unhappy with the Avengers - the possibilities are limitless when you've got the Make Your Own MTA Sign Hack!

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in Miscellaneous, News on November 25, 2006 1:38 PM

Comments [rss]

jsn

Well, I'm all for getting up, but when the arthritis in my knee is acting up too much, I don't get up for anyone under 50, unless they are inded pregnant or hobbled worse than me. And I also loved how when my arm was in a sling for 3 weeks, people were content to let me hang onto the pole for dear life, and even bumped into to the bad arm! Consideration HAS to go both ways.

avenge

yeah, the L train wasn't a coincidence. glad, you caught that, if not the point!

GRL

i'm glad we got your attention.

-GRL

(lesbian avenger)

fatty

a fat person is definitely disabled, he lacks the ability to put down the twinkies

Tim

What about fat people? Man or woman, they usually take up at least 1 and a half seats on the trains and buses. Some airlines charge them extra because their fat encroaches on the seat next to them. Maybe the MTA should consider this policy also.

On that note, let’s take a quick survey. Do you consider a fat person disabled? If you see a fat person struggling to stand, do you give up your seat?

PJ Smarmy

Of course this sign was on the L train.

Not Amused

Pregnant, Elderly, Or Handicapped, That's it ! You Femme Nutcases can bitch all you want ! I don't care, I pay the same $2 you all pay and I'm going to sit where I want with my legs open if I want ! I don't do this to cause a problem, It's because it's comfortable for me . If you can't handle it then too bad !

Not Amused

I have no problem giving my seat up to the following : A pregnant woman, Elderly Woman, Or Handicapped Woman ! All others are at my convenience ! I've stated this before, I pay the same $2 that all you femme nutcases pay and I will sit where the hell I feel like sitting ! I will do this for as long as my trip takes ! I will sit with my legs open to forefill my personal comfort level ! If any of you don't like it please do me a favor and lick my nuts, Followed by a blow job !

BoBo

I (white male) gave up my seat on the 6 to a frail elderly black woman. Nobody else in the car would move a finger. The smile she gave me was more than I needed. It's all about respect.

Patrick

A vagina is not a disability

BooYa

Why can't 'these' women just ask a man if they can have a seat?

People aren't mind readers. If you don't like that attitude, then move back to the Midwest!

junior

You can't have it BOTH ways. You got equal rights SO DON'T ASK FOR preferential treatment. I give up my seats only to elderly or pregnant women. No one else.

Soldier

The freedom of this country was won by the blood of men. Now with that said woman should stay in the kitchen and bedroom and men in the boardroom, case closed.

Hal2814

Humorless posters? My "tickle fight" bit from Seinfeld up there at #9 was a laugh riot, people! Don't make me go all "Kramer" on you..

vanessa

Wow, folks. I think these posters are intended as funny and provocative. Something a little more thoughtful and fuzzy than "we hate men." A complicated but not too heady comment on "gender roles," a comment on how men tend to take up/over (physical, social) space (in general..in meetings, in social groups), and a little goof on the mta. Sounds like more of a "hey folks, pay attention to how you act towards other people" than something flatly directive.

It's clearly not a "special rights" statement...not actually about a group of women who want men to stand up and give them their seat. Jeez, people. Calm down.

The Avengers seem like a cool group... a sense of humor, willingness to disrupt a bit, give people something that's not super clear cut. And based on these comments, seems like they did get people talking, even if we're all too accustomed to super explicit, directive advertising to get it.

Bess Parkinson

That's the best the Lesbian Avegengers can do after 10+ years of silence? What a frivilous problem among the many more pressing problems facing the ladies today. Please, boys, no need to stand up--I'm not such a shrinking violet that I need that seat more than you do, no matter what the special-rights demanding Lesbian Avengers tell you.

a woman

I like to stand on the train. I sit on my ass for eight hours a day at work - what is the big deal about standing?

EverybodyKnows

The best thing to do when you encounter one of these knee-splayers is sit down right next to him and bump your leg into his until he puts it into an appropriate position.

Maybe it's because I'm a woman, but that has worked for me scores of times.

so there

Of course only a woman could say that. A man who tried the same would get himself a beating for his troubles.

So Peter, what's your explanation for why men do this? Women aren't the offenders...I swear I see some guys DELIBERATELY stretching their legs as wide as possible.

I personally love slipping into the space that isn't between two guys with their legs open so they are forced to sit next to each other and negotiate the openness without touching their legs. :)