Women-only bus (Zhengzhou, China)

Not a "lost" space per se, but certainly endangered--just as all womyn's space is these days.

Once again, you have men complaining that women-only space is "sexist"--while simultaneously having no interest is stopping sexual harassment and rape. Very typical.

The coopted feminist lingo used to shut down female-oriented transportation may be new, but male attempts to shut these things down are actually at least 100 years old.

From the Shanghai-ist:

Women's only bus runs into accusations of sexism in Zhengzhou

Commuting women in the city of Zhengzhou can spend a little less time worrying about creeps now that the city has rolled out a "ladies-only" bus.

Predictably, controversy has sprung up in the Henan capital over this supposedly discriminatory form of transport. According to CCTV News, some male riders are complaining that the initiative is humiliating to men when there are so few individuals who would harass a woman in public.

Well, tell that to the women who became victims of this upskirt pervert at an Anhui bus station. In fact, a 2012 survey by China Youth Daily found that an incredible 81.9% of participants felt they had experienced sexual harassment on the subway.



The bus company installed this socially-conscious bus on route 906, one of the city's busiest bus routes. According to the Bus Transport Corporation of Zhengzhou, that route alone serves as many as 30,000 passengers in a single day.

The ladies' bus is offered during summertime rush hours to reduce the possibility of harassment to female patrons. The company also added a partner bus to follow along and avoid inconveniencing male passengers.

Female passengers appear to be satisfied by the service saying that they feel it's novel and respectful of women. Admittedly, nobody expected this kind of forward-thinking to come out of Zhengzhou. Last month, a city in Jiangxi became one of the few in China to provide women with special privacy booths for breastfeeding their children.



Aside from enjoying a pervert-free environment, the bus has got great ambiance too. It's decked out with plush teddy bears, a frilly driver's seat and a large red notice that reads "women's only bus." It seems like a pleasant respite from a world where nude men attack middle schoolers and bystanders hit record as women are murdered.



But you can't please everyone, one video that has gone viral on the Chinese internet shows an elderly man's reaction to the new bus service, shouting at the driver "You're discriminating against men!"
Watch the video below:


Unfortunately, women everywhere else in China are just going to have to start taking self-defense classes, to defend themselves from random pervs and pickpockets on public transportation:



By Matthew Patel