Pregnant Mom Gives Trophy To First Man To Offer His Subway Seat

New York woman was in her second pregnancy when a man gave up his seat… finally

After almost two whole pregnancies and not a subway seat offer in sight, Yvonne Lin was so disappointed in men that she made a special trophy. She carried it around to present it to the first man decent enough to give up his seat on the subway for her – a very pregnant woman.

“I was getting no seats from men,” the 38-year-old design told DNA Info, “if I finally get a seat from a guy then I have to celebrate this some way and make sure he knows he’s appreciated.” Lin said she’d had plenty of ladies offer up their set to her, but had no luck with the fellows. What are grown men supposed to stand up and play Pokémon Go? What if they have an important text to send? Clearly, that’s much more important than a woman who is performing a miracle by growing a human inside of her while simultaneously riding the damn subway.

Ever the optimist, Lin purchased and carried what she described as a “silly little card” in the third trimester of her first pregnancy. But thanks to the charming men who use New York public transit she never had to use it. Instead of “accidentally” kicking every man she came across, which is what I would have done, Lin decided to get creative. She had a custom 7-inch bronze trophy made just in case she ran across a true gentleman one day. She carried the statuette inside her work backpack. “I thought, ‘You know what, it’s worth it to carry it,'” she said.

The mom also dressed in a way that ensured people knew she was pregnant, she said, to raise the chances of success on her “social experiment.” Finally, during her second pregnancy when she was at eight months a man offered up his seat so she could sit down on the subway. Lin was able to finally give away her trophy that looks like the “Incredible Hulk” half-way through his iconic t-shirt tear. Underneath him is a tiny plaque that said “#1 DECENT DUDE. First Man to Offer Subway Seat to Pregnant Woman throughout Two Pregnancies.”

“He looked up at me and looked super startled and embarrassed,” Lin explained, “and he immediately stood up and said, ‘Please take this seat, I just noticed.'” Lin and the gentlemen chatted for a bit, and she snapped the above pic of him with her hilarious trophy. Lin told reporters that she hopes her story inspires folks to raise the bar for they treat one another. “If men just gave up their seats the same amount of time or similar [as women], then it would be no problem,” she added.

Since the internet was dying to know who the last man with manners is, DNA Info tracked him down. Ricky Barksdale is an Army veteran and mixed martial artist who works as a body double in movies like Keanu Reeves’ “John Wick: Chapter 2” and other action flicks. The 34-year-old was playing a game on his phone on Feb. 24 when he looked up and noticed Lin. “I didn’t realize she was pregnant because she was wearing all black, and it was really hard to tell. The moment I saw, I got up immediately and said, ‘Here ma’am, take my seat,'” he shared.

Barksdale told reporters his compassion for women comes naturally because he’s the oldest of five kids and has two children of his own. Still, like the rest of the world, he didn’t expect to earn a trophy that day. “She said, ‘Wait, I got something to give you,'” he explained. “That caught me off guard and she explained to me how she never gets a seat, or rarely gets a seat from men when they clearly see she’s pregnant.” He said he was even more surprised to hear Lin was through her second pregnancy before any man had offered up his seat.

“It’s just a common courtesy thing,” Barksdale said. “I have no problem giving up a seat regardless of how tired I am, or where I’m going.” Spoken like a true decent dude.