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Why are purses still seen as "just for women"?

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Made some edits to make it extremely clear to anyone who wants to take my first post mentioning a pink skirt and focus on the color and ignore the combination of it and the article of clothing. Which is the point. I am not trying to make a comment on the color pink. I am making the comment on pink skirts, to illustrate that there are still clothing items totally taboo for straight males to wear without serious social ramifications.

So one more time.

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Societal rules for dress aren't as arbitrary or stupid as they are at first glance. Different types of clothing are worn by the two genders because men's and women's bodies are different, and so different things look good on them.

Going to disagree with you here. What people deem to look good or flattering to the form is completely arbitrary. A pink skirt not being socially acceptable to be worn by men has nothing to do with male or female anatomy.
 
OP, have you considered a nice unstructured blazer as well?

You get two huge front pockets. I can fit an iPad mini in one. A breast pocket and four inside pockets.

I wear slim jeans, not skinny--I'm no hipster :P-but that helps to conceal any bulk in my pockets.
 
Going to disagree with you here. What people deem to look good or flattering to the form is completely arbitrary. A pink skirt not being socially acceptable to be worn by men has nothing to do with male or female anatomy.
Sure it does. People don't wear clothes they think would make them look ridiculous (that or they just don't care). You wear clothes that make you look/feel good in most cases. Women have boobs, wider hips, and more curves they have to work with than men, along with different fat distribution. Not to mention softer skin that gives a less rugged, rough look. Plus no facial hair and less hair around their bodies than men. It's different stuff to work with and so require different types of clothing.

It just gets to the point that particular clothing gets associated with one gender so much that it becomes *only* for that gender.
 
OP, have you considered a nice unstructured blazer as well?

You get two huge front pockets. I can fit an iPad mini in one. A breast pocket and four inside pockets.

I wear slim jeans, not skinny--I'm no hipster :P-but that helps to conceal any bulk in my pockets.
I hope you realize that most people here see slim jeans as skinny jeans anyway :P
 
Pink is seen as socially acceptable on men now for shirts, but skirts are still considered taboo. Well, guys can get away with kilts, but only if it's part of their heritage, and I guess maybe a dark skirt might confuse people and make them think it's some kind of kilt. So yeah, I can see how a pink skirt would still get a lot of derision.

Pink is in general a horrible color, gender assumptions aside.

As for skirts, a less utilitarian piece of clothing is not going to solve the lugging around too much stuff problem.

I don't understand the OP's desire for a purse. They're heavy, or unwieldy or not ergonomic compared to backpacks, messenger or mesh bags that could hold the same stuff in probably a smaller form factor.

Or, if he really needs a dedicated camera (ie an SLR) he can fit all the other stuff in the camera bag.

Purses aren't stupid because they're "girly", they're stupid because they're impractical for a lot of use cases.
 
I've used a satchel since the start of college, and still do when I really need one.

Women's purses by and large seem like black holes of stupidity. Their organizational compartments suck, and they tend be used as a fashion accessory rather than a utility.
 

Societal rules for dress aren't as arbitrary or stupid as they are at first glance. Different types of clothing are worn by the two genders because men's and women's bodies are different, and so different things look good on them. Dresses are for women because they so often make the female form look good; suits are for men because they so often make the male form look good. Now, this doesn't mean that a suit makes all men look good, or a dress makes all women look good, nor does it necessarily mean that men can't wear dresses, for example. It's just that it's so often the case that it because a norm: "Dresses are for girls, suits are for boys."

Obviously it's a "look at my ass" ploy. I mean, it's not like boys stare at us enough already!

If you want to wear a skirt, go ahead. You can just wear shorts. Men in different cultures than USA wear skirts, Scotland, Africa, etc. If you're talking about skirts that are fit to the female form to be worn by men and also are pink, I don't know. If you can find examples of the wide majority of men in women-fit pink skirts being socially harassed or humiliated like you claimed, educate us. Sounds interesting.
 
As for skirts, a less utilitarian piece of clothing is not going to solve the lugging around too much stuff problem.
It depends on the skirt. My denim mini-skirt has huge pockets – much bigger pockets than my jeans – and I can put a lot of shit in them.

Though most of my skirts don't have pockets.
 
Sure it does. People don't wear clothes they think would make them look ridiculous (that or they just don't care). You wear clothes that make you look/feel good in most cases. Women have boobs, wider hips, and more curves they have to work with than men, along with different fat distribution. Not to mention softer skin that gives a less rugged, rough look. Plus no facial hair and less hair around their bodies than men. It's different stuff to work with and so require different types of clothing.

It just gets to the point that particular clothing gets associated with one gender so much that it becomes *only* for that gender.

What looks ridiculous or not is determined by societal tastes, that much I agree. But the types of clothing and what is permissible to wear has little to do with anatomy. Anatomy only determines the fit of said clothing. Once a style is established, then they can be fit to individuals or standard gender sizes.

If you want to wear a skirt, go ahead. You can just wear shorts. Men in different cultures than USA wear skirts, Scotland, Africa, etc. If you're talking about skirts that are fit to the female form to be worn by men and also are pink, I don't know. If you can find examples of the wide majority of men in women-fit pink skirts being socially harassed or humiliated like you claimed, educate us. Sounds interesting.

My post does incline towards the west. Men wearing pink skirts are a tiny minority, as society has deemed this socially unacceptable on arbitrary reasons and it is no stretch of the imagination at all that a straight male will be treated in an unflattering manner.
 
If you want to wear a skirt, go ahead. You can just wear shorts. Men in different cultures than USA wear skirts, Scotland, Africa, etc. If you're talking about skirts that are fit to the female form to be worn by men and also are pink, I don't know. If you can find examples of the wide majority of men in women-fit pink skirts being socially harassed or humiliated like you claimed, educate us. Sounds interesting.

I was strictly speaking of clothing as a means to make you look good, which is often the case in the US. Men in Africa might wear skirts cause it's practical, and as for Scotland I never said you could make a skirt that doesn't look good on a dude. Kilts look good on dudes.
 
What looks ridiculous or not is determined by societal tastes, that much I agree. But the types of clothing and what is permissible to wear has little to do with anatomy. Anatomy only determines the fit of said clothing. Once a style is established, then they can be fit to individuals or standard gender sizes.

My point is that societal tastes help determine what is fit clothing for one gender over the other, and therefore isn't all that arbitrary.
 
Isn't that more of a matter of cut than actual type of clothing. Baggy jeans + unisex cut t-shirts, vs boot cut or skinny jeans + fitted tees.
 
I hope you realize that most people here see slim jeans as skinny jeans anyway :P

They are completely different styles.

Purses aren't stupid because they're "girly", they're stupid because they're impractical for a lot of use cases.

Exactly, I'll never understand a man who desires to deal with the shit the average woman would rather not deal with already. You don't really need that much stuff, and if you do there are better ways to carry it.
 
They are completely different styles.



Exactly, I'll never understand a man who desires to deal with the shit the average woman would rather not deal with already. You don't really need that much stuff, and if you do there are better ways to carry it.

Mac is a fashionista. He knows. He's just saying that many people here equate skinny with slim. Or any slim cut jean with skinny
 
My post does incline towards the west. Men wearing pink skirts are a tiny minority, as society has deemed this socially unacceptable on arbitrary reasons and it is no stretch of the imagination at all that a straight male will be treated in an unflattering manner.

Could you give some evidence on this? According to you, society in history has acted out against this in the west, so I'd like a history lesson.
 
Purses aren't stupid because they're "girly", they're stupid because they're impractical for a lot of use cases.
That's definitely not true for me or my female friends. I carry around all these things effortlessly with my purse: wallet, keys, phone, a Gameboy advance, pens, several bars of lipstick, a flash drive, and with room left over for whatever miscellaneous stuff I might need.
 
fuck you, im masculine as fuck and purple is fucking baller

you guys just need to run with the punches, if someone calls you out for liking purple, either ignore them or explain why purple is ballin. Nobody gives a shit about that stuff, they're just looking for excuses to belittle you.

Don't get me wrong, lavender is my favorite color, and I always look for grape-flavored stuff because of the color. My 3DS is Midnight Purple too. When I was in kindergarden, my favorite color was pink, though mostly to protest the idea that only girls could like pink. Still is a cute color.
 
Yeah, I don't see a problem with it. Like, unless I am actually going somewhere like a date/important function, I barely care about what I'm wearing, let alone what someone else is. Nice messenger bag, what's wrong with that.

i get the inverse, why are purses (purses, not messenger bags - those are a nono for us :p!) seen as mandatory or, better, '"optional", but we will wonder if you are gay' for women. I only need my wallet and phone and keys :( ... maybe handheld, that's the 2 front and 2 back pockets of my "Not judging you for wearing no skintight jeans, but you might be a big 'mo" jeans, so I can sympathize especially hard. :)
 
Just like the OP, I also carry a lot of stuff with me on a daily basis. I have a messenger bag for that. Crumpler has a few nice ones.

I also want to leave this link here. It's one of my favorite Flickr groups.
 
I carry my phone, wallet, and keys in my pockets. I don't need hand lotion and all of that other stuff. If I'm taking out my DSLR camera, I carry my camera bag.

One of the perks of being a man is that you don't need to carry around a dozen different items with you at all times.
 
I carry my phone, wallet, and keys in my pockets. I don't need hand lotion and all of that other stuff. If I'm taking out my DSLR camera, I carry my camera bag.

One of the perks of being a man is that you don't need to carry around a dozen different items with you at all times.

And yet women still try to get us to hold on to their purses.

But yeah, if the stuff you carry around does not fit in your pockets you are carrying too much stuff.
 
My ass and thighs can't come close to fitting in skinny or slim jeans.

Not everyone looks well in them, to be sure. I've gotten compliments for wearing mine, but my older brother needs a thicker or straighter cut of jean. He was a tight-end (American Football position) in High School and has thick, strong thighs and legs. Even the skinny jeans he could "fit" into just didn't look right.
 
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