A law student from Russia has been pouring water mixed with bleach onto men’s groins in order to stop ‘manspreading’.
20-year-old Anna Dovgalyuk has been pouring the substances onto men while on the metro in St Petersburg, Russia, as she believes they’re guilty of ‘gender aggression’ on public transport.
Anna accuses Russia of being slow to deal with the problem, saying manspreading – men sitting with their legs spread – is being ‘fought around the world – but hushed up here’.
Take a look at her dramatic actions here:
Instead, she decided to take matters into her own hands and has been targeting men who sit with their legs spread wide while on the train.
The social activist mixed 30 litres of water with six litres of bleach and poured it into the laps of the men who were performing the ‘disgusting act’ of sitting with their legs spread, which Anna deemed offensive.
The feminist explained the solution leaves permanent stains when she pours it on the men, saying:
This solution is 30 times more concentrated than the mixture used by housewives when doing the laundry.
It eats colours in the fabric in a matter of minutes – leaving indelible stains.
We not only cooled the manspreading down but also marked them with identification spots!
Anna shared the video of her targeting men on the train and explained it was directed at all men who manspread often. She said it was ‘so everyone can immediately understand which body part controls the behaviour of these men’.
Anna added the video was ‘on behalf of everyone who has to endure the manifestations of you declaring your macho qualities on public transportation’.
Anna has previously brought attention to her activism by flashing her underwear to commuters to raise awareness for upskirting laws in Russia.
She explained:
I am a social activist who advocates for women’s rights and against discrimination in any form.
Rumours circulated how Anna’s video of her pouring bleach on men was staged, and she’d used actors, but the feminist denied the claims.
The 20-year-old said:
My action is absolutely real.
The student added none of the men she targeted have taken legal action, saying:
I don’t think people are going to go to the police to file a report about jeans.
UPDATE: Since publication it has been reported by news outlets, including News.com.au, that the video was staged.
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.