Good News, Manspreaders: Women Find You More Attractive Than Men Who Keep Their Legs To Themselves

By Jonathan Wells: Spread the word: the much-maligned act of 'manspreading' could be key to dating success.
When looking to impress prospective partners, new research has suggested that appearing larger and stretching out can place you in a position of dominance and make you seem like an alpha male.
Tanya Vacharkulksemsuk, a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, conducted a study by using speed dating videos and a smartphone app similar to Tinder. She found that those who presented themselves with arms spread wide, knees pushed apart and puffed-out chests tended to see more 'matches' than those who appeared reserved.
• Ten dating mistakes that men always make

Researchers have discovered that spreading your arms and puffing your chest out makes you appear more attractive

The report, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, documents Vacharkulksemsuk's efforts to determine the influence of body language on dating success. The researcher and her team initially used video footage from a speed-dating event to identify which type of postures were most likely to result in a request for a follow up date.
Then, after identifying that "expansive" body language seemed to garner the most positive results, Vacharkulksemsuk enlisted three men and three women and created two profiles for each of them on a Tinder-style dating app. One of these profiles showed the participants hunched over, or with their arms or legs crossed. The other presented them in 'open' poses, such as standing with arms outstretched, or leaning back.
• Check out the 20 most useful dating websites
Vacharkulksemsuk monitored these pairs of profiles over the course of two weekends and recorded how much interest each attracted. As predicted, the profiles presenting the participants in more laid back and open poses got more 'matches' than those in "contractive" positions.

Last year, New York City began a campaign to stop manspreading on their subway system

 "Based on our results garnered from thousands of single persons at an actual speed dating event, and using a dating application, it is evident that postural expansion can dramatically increase a person’s chances of making a successful initial romantic connection," says Vacharkulksemsuk.
"On such platforms [as dating apps], where getting a date with another person commonly begins with a photograph or brief interaction, it is advantageous to know how to maximise one’s chances within such a minimised time frame,” continues the researcher.

Tom Hanks opens up on The Late Late Show

Manspreading – the act of opening one's legs wide when on public transport – has proven a contentious issue over the past 12 months, dividing public opinion. Whilst many men reason that anatomy necessitates the spread, women have pulled no punches in their criticism of the practice. Blogs and Twitter accounts dedicated to publicly shaming the practice have sprung up all over social media, with some suggesting that men's motives are sexual.
However, Vacharkulksemsuk's study posits that women may not hate 'the spread' as much as they may think. The researcher believes that these postures may appear more attractive to females due to dominance correlating with success and openness meaning a more 'easy-to-read' character.
Whatever the reason, bigger, it would appear, is better.

Source