“Tell me how is it affecting you?
If you’re unhappy, there are so many empty seats in front of you. Go and sit there. I am not stopping you.
But I am stopping you from telling me what to do with my body.”
TikToker Idaka_ was seated in a MRT cabin that was relatively empty when a man clad in a white polo tee sat next to her and asked her to stop crossing her legs. When she called out the man for his “audacity”, the man smiled to himself and said “it was funny”, and told Idaka to go ahead and post the video on TikTok.
What Happened
Idaka’s 3-minute video has garnered 44,000 views in just over 1 day. According to her, the man first who chose to sit next to her in a cabin that was nearly empty, first asked her not to cross her legs in English.
When Idaka did not respond to the man’s request, he then asked her the same thing in Mandarin. When Idaka refused, he continued to “laugh, laugh, laugh” and smile to himself. 
In the video, the man could be seen smiling to himself and he told Idaka that the situation was “funny“.
Does making somebody feel like this bring out so much enjoyment to you that you’re putting such a big smile on your face? – An exasperated Idaka asked the man
Idaka made it clear in the video that her legs were not touching the man. Further, the man also confirmed that Idaka was not “hitting him“. While he did not deny the fact that he asked Idaka not to cross her legs, he refused to elaborate further.
Since there was no issue with intrusion on his personal space, Idaka asked the man to provide a reasonable explanation for his request. However, the man continued to remain mum, smiled, and shook his head.
“If you’re unhappy, go and sit there”
Idaka pointed out the fact that there were so many empty seats in the cabin and the man could have elected to sit somewhere else if he was, for reasons best known to himself, unhappy with Idaka’s crossed legs.
She then invited the man to switch to one of the many empty seats right opposite. She also asked whether the man intended to do anything about the fact that another woman in the cabin also had her legs crossed.
The Man walks away
As Idaka continued to press the man for the basis of his seemingly inexplicable request, he left his seat and headed for the train doors.
As he left the train, Idaka reminded him that he has no right to tell strangers on the train what to do with their body. She asserted that she should not have been treated like that.
You can watch the full video, which was uploaded by Idaka with the caption “The audacity of man”, below.
https://www.tiktok.com/@idaka_/video/7278951658510454023?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7092076109218727426
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