anoceanofstarlight:

zenkitty714:

mentakingup2muchspaceonthetrain:

Chicago, Red Line

This is what it is, in one photo. Those two guys aren’t doing anything wrong, they’re just sitting, relaxed, maybe a little tired. The problem isn’t what they’re doing, it’s what they are not doing: noticing the woman being crushed between them. Neither of those guys seems to be trying to make her uncomfortable or take away her space. They just don’t notice that she’s had to make herself very small to accommodate their (unconscious) assumption that they do not have to make themselves smaller. Do you think she minds? Look at her face. Ask yourself why she isn’t speaking up. Those guys don’t look scary. Why doesn’t she ask them to give her more space? The answer is the flip side of why it doesn’t occur to them to do so without being asked. This is the patriarchy, this is how it affects even men who might say they don’t oppress women. Patriarchy creates the environment in which the men don’t notice the oppression and the women don’t feel they can speak up. 

Literally PERFECT explanation.