"Manspreading" problem leads to public transit campaign

NEW YORK, New York (WKRC) -- If a person's morning commute involves public transit, they probably see at least one person taking up two seats.

So what is "manspreading"?

Actress Kelley Rae O'Donnell explained, "Manspreading is men take up too much room on the subway by spreading their legs in a wide 'V', like geese traveling."

O'Donnell has become an anti-manspreading activist making stopping the spread a personal mission. Three years ago, she started taking pictures of people, mostly men, spreading out and posting them on twitter.

Now entire blogs are dedicated to calling out people who take up too much room. And for the first time, the metropolitan transportation authority is asking men to mind the gap. In a new courtesy campaign launching January 2015, they're putting up posters reminding riders to be more considerate of others.

Kevin Ortiz with the Metropolitan Transit Authority said, "If there's an opportunity for someone to sit down, especially on a crowded train, where all it takes is a guy to squeeze in a little bit more and let that other person sit down, that's something that we'd like to see happen."

While some call the campaign anti-male, Kelley applauds the MTA for encouraging better etiquette.

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