About

Shebagging is a slang term referring to the practice of taking up a seat in on public transit with bags or other personal items. The term is often used as a female equivalent to manspreading.

Origin

On January 29th, 2015, Twitter user @joshuetree tweeted a photograph of several people on a train with the message "Wait – so 'manspreading' is the issue? Not 'shebagging'? #manspreading more like #shebagging" (shown below).

Spread

On June 3rd, 2015, the news site The Daily Mail[4] published an article titled "Are you a man-spreader or a she-bagger?"

On November 19th, 2017, Urban Dictionary^[1] user Arcxjo submitted an entry for the term, defining it as "the female equivalent of manspreading" (shown below).

On May 30th, 2019, Redditor Flyerr submitted a picture of several women seated with bags next to them on a train with the title "I've heard of man spreading, not quite sure what to call this though (all other seats taken)" to /r/funny^[2] (shown below). In the comments section, many noted that the practice was called "shebagging."

Fake New York Post Article

On July 23rd, 2019, Twitter user @Emjoot^[3] tweeted a photoshopped image of a New York Post article with the fake headline "German company invents subway seats against 'shebagging'," showing subway seats that had been replaced with toilet seats (shown below).

That day, Redditor apache1195 submitted an image combining a headline about the Manspreading Chair with the fake New York Post article followed by A Soul for a Soul Thanos (shown below, left). Within 48 hours, the post gained more than 19,500 points (97% upvoted) and 270 comments on /r/memes.^[5] The following day, Redditor TheBritishBandit submitted a similar edit featuring a screenshot of the character Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist along with the subtitle "the law of equivalent exchange" (shown below, right). Over the next 24 hours, the post garnered over 17,700 points (98% upvoted) and 200 comments on /r/dankmemes.^[6]

Search Interest

External References