Life in a Bag!

One of the more interesting body practices I thought of in our everyday culture was the women’s ‘purse.’ (I am referring to the bag that is tossed and hauled around) I find this practice worth mentioning because I found myself falling into the body practice before I realized what I was doing. Ever since I was young I was excited to have a collection of different purses to be able to fill and carry with me. This habit stems from seeing my mom carry and shop for purses and being in junior high school where the ‘in’ thing was to carry around a stylish purse through the hallways. But why do women carry these purses? And what does the purse that you carry say about who you are?

I think culture argues us into consumer subjects. I believe that a purse has become another type of accessory that has convinced us to believe that we need to have several purses. Really, one big black tote would be fully functional for any occasion or any amount of stuff that needed to be transported. But instead, women believe that they need several colors that are several different sizes.

Also, I think the intelligible body has positioned certain products to men and women; when these product norms are challenged it is clearly abnormal. My mom usually cares a fairly large purse that has a lot of stuff packed into (some things necessary, most things not) and still has a little room if more treasures are bought/found to place into the purse. My dad, on the other hand, does not carry any sort of bag/purse because he would prefer not to carry anything! In fact, if he does buy/find something worth keeping he will throw it into my mom’s purse so she can carry it. We have also tried to cover up the gender-oriented purse and call it a man bag, but that still doesn’t sit well with everyone and it is still clearly a poor attempt to change gender roles.

I believe the importance of the purse for women comes from the role of the women as a nurturing and motherly. I think women feel like they are consistently playing their role in culture when they are carrying a purse that contains everything that could be necessary for any situation. It is possible that it makes them feel more comfortable knowing that they are prepared and organized because all of their important life things are placed all in one spot. This has been an eye-catching body practice to me because it is interesting that accessories and clothing and everyday things can constantly remind us of our gender and who we are in our culture- even something so simple as a handbag!