What Is 'Manslamming' And Why Do People Do It?

Is 'Manslamming' Sexist Or Plain Inconsiderate?

Has anyone ever slammed into you as they barge their way through the crowds during rush hour?

Have they acted like getting to the tube is a matter of life and death? Like they are more important than you? Like you're NOT EVEN THERE?

If yes, you may have been the victim of 'manslamming'.

'Manslamming' is the term coined by New Yorker Beth Breslaw to describe the collision that occurs when a dickhead person refuses to alter their pavement trajectory in a crowded place.

And she claims the worst offenders are men.

Breslaw, a trade union activist, devised an experiment to study the practice of manslamming. For two months she refused to get out of other people's way when walking down the street.

While most women swerved and purposefully avoided collision, Breslaw found herself receiving a lot of bruises from colliding with men.

“I can remember every single man who moved out of the way, because there were so few,” she said.

Breslaw's experiment follows an anti-'manspreading' movement against men who sit with their legs wide open, spreading across two (or more) seats on the tube.

Some on Twitter say the idea of 'manslamming' is ridiculous...

Others have questioned the reliability of Breslaw's experiment...

But others agreed that manslamming really does happen...

It's unclear whether men really are less likely to avoid collision on the pavement than women, but as far as we're concerned 'slamming' in any form is just plain rude.

What happened to "excuse me"?

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