5 ms·
I think a big part of this is very much a psychological issue. Because squatting isn't 'common' for many people, it is experienced as more uncomfortable than i
by mercer 9y ago
I think a big part of this is very much a psychological issue.
Because squatting isn't 'common' for many people, it is experienced as more uncomfortable than it really is (even when it's done right - where there's no permanent tension from balance on your toes, for example).
Another example would be sitting cross-legged (or whatever that one leg over the other thing is called) as a man. I find that I and many guys I know naturally feel comfortable doing this, but we're taught from a young age that it's 'gay', so we learn not to do it.
I've noticed that people with autism spectrum disorder often have really odd ways of standing or sitting, and one particular thing I've noticed is that this often includes squatting, sitting cross-legged / yoga-style, or sitting on the couch with your legs folded up close to your body. In my case, these are things I often consciously avoid doing when other people are around, because it's perceived as odd or childish (or at least I think it is).
It would make sense that people with asd might just not care about or know these things, and do what's naturally comfortable/efficient.
- wink 9y agoInteresting, I've never heard anyone tell anyone else that sitting cross-legged is somehow unmanly. (I'm German). More like "don't sit like that in a professional setting" but that's also not something I remember anyone saying, it's more tribal knowledge. Yes, it's pretty uncommon seeing people in public do it (sometimes on the floor or on ledges), but there are not many opportunities. As a relatively big guy, I absolutely envy some of my smaller colleagues (yeah, mostly women) who can sit cross-legged in their office chairs - I'd absolutely do it, but I'm just too big, and just crossing one leg under the other often leads to numbness after a while.
- pja 9y agoYears ago I read a book which suggested that this was specific to the U.S.: sitting cross-legged doesn't carry any particular gender / sexuality coding elsewhere.
- udp 9y agoThere are two different kind of cross-legged being described here - the OP means sitting in a chair with your right leg on top of your left, while the reply mentions the floor which suggests the feet-under-thighs position. I can confirm that the former is considered effeminate by some in the UK. The latter perhaps childish.
- pja 9y agoI can confirm that the former is considered effeminate by some in the UK. That’s weird, because no one has ever mentioned anything of the sort to me. Were they particularly small-c conservative?
- coolso 9y ago> There are two different kind of cross-legged being described here - the OP means sitting in a chair with your right leg on top of your left, while the reply mentions the floor which suggests the feet-under-thighs position. There is a third - sitting in a chair with just your right ankle/calf (rather than the entire leg) resting on your left knee. I'm in the US and sit like this often, and see other guys sitting like that often as well. For me, and I would imagine most other males due to the male anatomy, it's just far more comfortable than having the other leg fully crossed. I have a feeling that this "anatomy issue" is why it's very uncommon to see males sitting that way, but seen very commonly in females, and as a result that's why it's considered effeminate when you see the rare male sitting that way.
- RightMillennial 9y agoAs a Midwesterner, I've never heard this before. The only stipulation is it's seen as informal. Is this a regonal thing?
- graeme 9y agoI'm not sure. I can't do a squat with proper form. And I have reason to want to do one, for barbell lifts. I'm working on unloaded squats now. I can get down comfortably with my heels on the ground. But, my back isn't great, it rounds. Whereas I can easily get off the ground cross legged, as I've been doing that motion sonce childhood. Squatting, I only tried a few years ago.