As a frequent patron of the MTA I have been on my fair share of crowded buses.Yes, if you are a user of public transport your palms will now start sweating as I make you relive every time you’ve been on an extremely crowded bus.You will be familiar with the feeling of a stranger, varying in degrees of unsettling (if you think this is harsh you have not rode the Baltimore City Public Bus before), coughing hot moist mouth air down your neck from behind you, or mumbling into your ear, or having your crotch right at someones eye level for an unbroken 15 minutes, or, oh, God, accidentally touching the hand of some other person holding onto a metal bar for support. How awful.It becomes a consuming game trying to avoid any sort of contact with the people surrounding you as you’re all sloshed around a narrow moving vehicle. The whole sweaty crowd sways together and its absolutely nasty. I will spend my entire ride on the packed bus resenting the people crowding me and being offended that the person behind me is standing so close. I mean, nothing personal here, its just that you’re all bursting my personal space bubble and it is killing me. It is making my skin crawl. Im not even claustrophobic, strangers just aren’t supposed to touch strangers.
Well, anyway, I do not like crowded buses. However, I made the sacrifice and took one to a concert I went to because I do like concerts. I like to stand up by the stage and dance through the whole set. I get off the bus, walk to the concert and I weave my way to the front. If you’ve ever been to concert you know that music can transform a crowd. In this case, when the music started, the crowd, who seconds earlier stood stagnantly, starts pushing forward in an adrenaline induced frenzy. The people around me are smashed against my body so closely that I am lifted of my feet with them as they jump and dance. Within ten minutes Im drenched with the sweat of myself and others. A person behind me leans their head on my back, I hold a crowd surfer up by their butt, and me and a stranger put our arms around each other while we sing the bands most famous song.The whole sweaty crowd sways together and its absolutely euphoric.
What a contradiction! I feel upset when someone stands too close on the bus but unified with a person equally as foreign to me who stands way closer (or purposefully touches me) at a concert. Isn’t it interesting how we construct a personal space bubble and it expands and contracts depending on the situation? One is violating, the other unifying, though its the same physical action (of course with some variation). Of course this isn’t rocket science, this has everything to do with consent and whether or not it is already set up as being socially acceptable in a particular environment. None the less, I find it interesting to remember there is no solid personal space bubble, at least for me, its something thats socially constructed. I think the reason why being caught up in a concert crowd is so refreshing is because the rules of The Public Sphere are suspended. And it feels great. It feels natural. But you can be sure that when I left the concert and got onto the bus home with other concert goers I did not want them standing near me on the bus.
Unruly Bodies 
What a great observation!
Your writing is so evocative; when reading this post, I felt my body stiffen and tense as though responding to the touch of a stranger on the bus, and I could almost feel the heat from the bodies of the frenzied, dancing crowd that you described. This post was so insightful and interesting, especially when compared with my own experiences in both of these spaces. For me, the difference between them is typically not quite so pronounced. While I love concerts and find them to be uniquely cathartic experiences, I have also learned that they are places where I have to be on the alert for unwanted attention. I love to dance and sing and shout along to my favorite bands, but I have found that dancing alone tends to be viewed as an open invitation to all the sleazy dudes to invade my space and to grind up on me. These experiences vary radically, of course, depending on the space. But overall the invasions of personal space that I have experienced on public transit tend to be based on mutual understanding and shared chagrin, while those that I have experienced at concerts have been the most invasive and aggressively sexual that I have experienced.
You brought up a great point, depending on the scene we are comfortable being in close proximity to others. However, I noticed a difference in what is the acceptable proximity to be near others. While traveling overseas I observed how Europeans and Asians were more comfortable being in someone else’s personal space than Americans. On a train into London my friends and I were amused as a fellow traveler would sit very close even when there were other seats available. Also, I recall being packed like sardines into the moving metal Tokyo carts and no one had a grimace or tried to avoid the body parts of others. There were even smiles exchanged. During both situations the close proximity of bodies wasn’t problematic.
A lot of American guys I know would rather stand than have their ‘man space” violated. The maintenance of personal or man space is obvious in a crowded movie theater. People do not want to take that seat between two other people unless it is the last possible chair to see the movie without eye strain.
It as if we all have our space limitations. You can sit next to me in the movies but please don’t rub elbows or knees, even though it is very difficult. We can all dance in the club but don’t brush against my behind or touch my hair. Lets all crowd a train or bus but pleeeeease don’t touch my hand, not even the pinky or step on my toes. Yikes, glad we can see air exchange between people in a room.
This is a great observation. I think it also has a lot to do with context. There is something at a concert that bonds you with the rest of the audience, a shared experience, love for music, and an excitement to see the performance. On a bus there is not too much to be that excited about, at least not that I have encountered. Maybe it also has to do with the different kinds of bodies. There is a much more diverse pool of bodies on a public bus as opposed to a concert because at the concert you all have a common interest and are more likely to be similar. I also don’t like when I accidentally touch people on the bus, but I also just hate when I touch people I don’t know in general. This is a very interesting post, thank you for sharing!