People do this kind of thing because they've been allowed to get away with it.
When it's done in my presence, I'll wave my hand at it, look them dead in the eye,
and say, "that's rude AF, stop it." It usually gets the desired response and the offending party stops doing it.

As soon as I decided I was going to stop taking shit from people, a lot of things
changed.

What you call manspreading I call impudent arrogance.

Take your foot and push that leg away.

If someones testicles are that enlarged they need to see a doctor.

Rest a set of calipers on your lap and label them "testicle clippers."

I always sit with with my legs crossed. I’ll make a point of sticking them with a stiletto or kicking them.

Did hip hop and rap music increase male posturing, showing off their manhood?

^^^This question has got to be one of THE MOST IGNORANT questions EVER asked.

I'm trying to understand what Hip Hop and Rap have to do with the story. I'm scratching my head here. Maybe I missed something. probably did.

Do men manspread because of their testicles? I've wondered about that. Maybe they're suffocating. I'm looking for real responses on this.

Man spreading is a new one for me, but I get it. Having a slight frame, I’d really have to put effort into what seems to come naturally to others.

I think it’s a symptom of a much larger issue where some people simply live in their own little bubble without a consideration for others. I try not to let it get to me because it’s not malicious, just thoughtless.

Speak up and don't put up with that BS. You have a right to your space. Tell that guy to get off my foot. Be loud if you have to. Let the minister know who's the ass hole at the Unitarian Fellowship.
You probably saw my post about the obese guy who's fat rolled onto me. I spoke up to him. Still didn't make a difference.

fortunately, i don't travel often by air. the last time was around 13 yrs ago & i don't remember any overcrowding in any of the seats.
i do think us canucks are considerably smaller than our friends to the south.
if someone did encroach on my space i wouldn't hesitate to tell him/her to move the fuck over.

It's not as if this is specifically a male problem.

There are loutish, rude women who spill over the armrest in airplanes and my wife will be the first to tell you that women can leave epic stink bombs in public restrooms with the best of them.

Once, on a flight to Seoul, a woman in the seat next to me used me as a backrest to take a nap without asking. My wife and stepchildren still laugh about this years later. She was Asian and I think it was partly a very different cultural idea about what constitutes personal space, but still. If she hadn't been elderly I'd have just let her fall asleep and then got up abruptly to use the restroom or something.

Bring a tape measure with you and make a show of measuring the distance between the arm rests. Then place the tape measure across the guy's knees and see if he gets the message.

I don't like to make up motives since I can't truly know. But anytime I have done anything I later feel bad about, I was in my own head unconscious of my surroundings. I make an effort to be present to those around me so I respond when someone says hello, or move out if someone's way.
I know what you mean about th he discomfort of people spreading jnto your space. It happens to me with woman and men, but ironically I noticed when children by me, they have not intruded by having their arms resting on both armrests for example. May because smaller, but seemed to me just more present to their surroundings. I think your reaction was clever.

This vintage photo shows the dude in the middle getting a manspread bookend.

Not trying to say look at the birdie, or being insensitive,
but larger women do the exact same thing as well.
In the case of a larger person doing it because of the girth of their body I say let it go.

Once at a silent meditation retreat, the fellow sitting next to me spread his legs wide and uncomfortably touched my knee and thigh. I moved my chair away from him, making as much noise as possible in the process. Problem solved.

I think you need to start running with a different crowd.

Politely say......please refrain from touching me. I unfortunately have a fungal condition that while being treated I'm told may still be a little contagious....

It is bullying and on airline flights it is usually tolerated by the flight staff. Everbody for themself is the rule these days on flights.

I am tall and have long legs, but I try to be considerate of those who sit near me. A couple nights ago I went to see a stage play and I deliberately sat in the back row so nobody would have their view blocked by sitting behind me. I always try to do that. There was a group of guys sitting right in front of me that were clearly all friends ( all seemed to be gay men as well, not that it matters) and, tho I didn't say anything to them after the show, a few of them were regularly whispering or talking softly to each other throughout the show. One of them right in front of me was even making comments frequently out loud in response to the action so loud that everyone in the next several seats could clearly hear him. I'm talking normal volume for conversation. What an ass! I used to act in community theater when I was young and I remember how distracting that kind of thing was when I was on stage.

Of course, nobody said anything to these guys after the no-intermission show was over, probably because they had some clout in the theater program and were sitting in marked reserved seats because they had probably donated big bucks to the program. But having money and donating it doesn't give you by itself any class as a person (esp. when you act that way), same as some people who fly first class. I'm thinking, with what I've heard about the hell of airline seating for the common folks, that I will spend the $ to fly first class the next time I travel. I can afford it if I only take a couple trips a year.

In the rare instances when it affected me, I simply nudged against a leg, till they tucked in - or I asked for some space - and got it !

And the really fat person who wants to lift up the armrests because they are constricting so their fat spills all over me.

So disgusting.

If you can't fit in one seat you should buy two.

I don't want your sweaty gut pudge on me.

Never really sat that way myself. I usually sit with one foot up on my knee. I don’t think it’s just a guy thing. It’s a person thing. Just a person not being thoughtful or considerate. Could have been how they grew up. My sister has social issues because of her past.