Womanspreading begins to stretch its legs after centuries of male splaying

Move over men and make room for #womanspreading

Move over men - literally - and make room for womanspreading.

Most women, at one point or another, have dealt with manspreading, or the habit of men to spread their legs unnecessarily far apart - either in a display of dominance or because they really do find that position more comfortable.

The manspreading practice is so universal, in fact, that the New Oxford Dictionary of English added the word “manspreading” to its pages.

The term was coined to refer to men who seem to think it is their right to take as much room as they please on public transportation, while women have long felt coerced into using as minimal space as possible, even crossing our legs in an effort to minimize our presence. But no longer.

The new trend - womanspreading - is a female variation of manspreading that is taking over Instagram.

Often posted with the hashtag #womanspreading, hundreds of posts have been uploaded to Instagram displaying women in various poses that all have one commonality - their legs are spread wide open.

While some posts poke fun at the traditional manspreading pose often seen on public transportation, others show women adopting the power pose in a variety of settings.

The trend has also seen popularity among celebrities, with Bella Hadid, Emily Ratajkowski, Chrissy Teigen, and Elsa Hosk joining in on the fun.