A bitter debate has ensued online after a clip filmed by a woman on the London Underground went viral.
A clip shared on TikTok by @annibaxter has sparked a debate about gender dynamics on public transport. More and more women are advocating for men to give up their seats so they can sit instead.
The video, with over 1.4 million likes, was shot on TfL’s Central line. It depicts a group of men comfortably seated on the tube while women stand in the aisle, holding onto poles for balance.
The creator’s expression in the video reflects disdain towards this apparent seating hierarchy on the Tube. The background track of Lorde’s ‘Man of the Year’ adds a touch of sarcasm to the situation.
Although the original TikTok user has switched off comments on the video, it has generated fierce debate online.
Elsewhere on TikTok and other social media platforms, women have been sharing their experiences on public transport when it comes to getting a seat.
User @catlouisemx posted a clip that also showed a whole row of seats taken up by men on a Jubilee line train, while she and her other female friends stood on the side.
She wrote in text over the video: ‘Men used to go to war for us and now we can’t even get a man to let us sit down on the train.’
Another TikTok video posted last year by Rayana Alyssa, who goes by the handle @rayanaalyssa, showed another row of seats taken up by nearly all men, with a woman stood to one side.
TikTok user annibaxter’s clip went viral after she showed seats on the Tube being taken up by men while women around them had to stand
The content creator’s video was set to Lorde’s new single ‘Man Of The Year’, a trend in which women are sharing negative experiences with the opposite sex
Another TikTok content creator, who goes by the handle catlouise mx, shared a video of her and her friends standing on the Tube because most of the seats were filled with men
The caption read: ‘2024 is the end of chivalry. And the era of men running for seats on the tube…’
The complaints continue on X, formerly Twitter, as more women noted that men are ‘racing’ them to get seats on the Tube instead of allowing women to sit down first.
‘I understand that men don’t offer their seats on the Tube to women anywhere but we’ve now reached where they will all but push you out of the way to sit first?? What is going on,’ wrote X user @xhakaed.
‘Getting really annoyed at GROWN MEN racing me for seats on the Tube, do you not have any shame??’ user tezzuh added.
A third X user, who goes by the handle @hayyasector1, said: ‘Seeing these men scramming to get seats on the Tube is hilarious to me, one pushed me out of the way to grab a seat.
Social media users say they have noticed an increase in the number of men who will ‘race’ to get a seat on the Tube
‘Relax, it won’t run away from you, I swear, I wasn’t planning on sitting, I just have two stops.’
A recent Reddit post has also sparked some debate over the issue. A Reddit user wrote about her experience of being in crutches for the last 10 weeks after a cycling accident, and said she noticed the people offering her a seat on the Tube were mainly women.
‘Every single time without fail, it has been a woman [who has] offered her seat,’ she wrote.
‘Women holding kids have offered, women who are elderly have offered, women have ushered me down the carriage to a seat they’re in while men look on and ignore me even when they’ve seen my condition.’
She claimed that the men she encountered on her journeys ‘looked me up and down’ and, despite seeing her struggle to stand, have ‘ignored me when asked politely or hide their heads as if in shame’.
‘If this is any of you, your fathers, brothers, sons, whatever, shame on the lot of you. To be clear, this has been men of all ages.’
Responses to such posts have been mixed, with both men and women agreeing it is a growing problem and lamenting the decline in chivalry.
‘[To be honest it’s not the sitting part that makes me mad, but them pushing and rushing to have a sit,’ one commenter said on TikTok.
Some people argued that, as women, they do not expect men to get up for them on public transport, while some men said they would only do so for those who are pregnant, elderly or disables
Another shared their experience and said: ‘When I was nine months pregnant I had to stand on the train for 20 minutes until a young girl got up and gave me her seat. The men were all avoiding eye contact with me.’
On X, a commenter replied: ‘I got SHOVED – physically shoved – by a man when there were multiple seats available. Literally why are you running and pushing?’
A fourth person said the issue ‘has been happening for a while’, adding: ‘Had to shout at two guys a couple of years ago who said something about equal rights.
‘He had his arm out holding the seat for his mate. Shouted chivalry is dead and people clapped.’
‘Tube etiquette is just fully in the bin, it’s so bleak,’ another lamented.
Others pushed back, however, arguing that equality between men and women means that men shouldn’t be expected to give up their seat on the train.
One TikToker said he would only offer his seat to pregnant women or elderly people. ‘You equal woman can stand up just like I would if there were no seats,’ he added.
Another wrote: ‘Full grown adults expecting other full grown adults to give them a seat for no reason.’
Some women also commented to say they did not expect men to get up for them on public transport if they aren’t pregnant, elderly or disabled.
‘Girl, I’m a woman and I don’t expect a man to get up for me,’ one person wrote.
Another said: ‘Also a woman here and who cares? They got there first, I’m not pregnant or have a disability, and I’m not elderly.’
