Smartphone — the world in your pocket…
…if you’re lucky enough to have a big one where it fits.
In the 16th story from My 52 problems series, I’ write about gendered fashion, smartphones and how women struggle with having their devices within close reach.
Half of society is not aware of one thing. Women pockets are smaller, even more than half the size of men’s. It leads to the fact that quite often we’re not able to reach it easily when we need it. When we’re walking (doesn't matter if it’s just around the house or office, or in the park or going through the city) we need to have a bag, purse, backpack, whatever to be able to put this device in and have it close.
Women and pockets
The history of women pockets is the history of gender discrimination which is still very present. Since the end of the middle ages, women pockets are political.
Back then women as men had pouches on a rope where they kept their essentials (relevant to their times — food and stuff) which were easy to reach.
At the beginning of the 17th-century, the idea to sew pockets in clothes was born. While men’s pockets were easy to reach therefore use, women’s were sewn in the inner layer of their outfits what meant they weren’t able to reach to their pockets in public, what actually contradicts the idea of having a pocket.
But at the 18th-century women fashion moved towards hugging dresses. Hiding pockets wasn't easy and woman had to start using small decorative bags where you couldn't fit more than a coin, which was quite funny as women weren’t these who could have money. The husband was the person keeping the money. Women need for pockets was seen as irrelevant. Pockets were taken away.
Well, why women would need pockets if their role was to stay at home and take care of children? When they were going out they were partnered by their husbands, right? They had pockets. Problem solved. There was no single woman on the surface of the earth…
The big “come back” of pockets in women’s clothes was when the suffragette movement was born. These women had a lot of stuff to carry and they needed pockets (like we all do now). Manuals showing how to sew pockets were widely shared. The Rational Dress Society was fighting for women’s clothing to be more functional. During WWI or WWII, when women had a lot on their plate, pockets became a normal part of women's clothing, especially when women started to wear trousers.
When it all went wrong?
As a kid, I remember I could fit a lot to my pockets. Being a kid in 90's was the time when there were not many gendered trousers for children (especially in Poland). Unfortunately, when I started to grow and buy women’s trousers I discovered that my pockets are getting smaller and smaller. It wasn't too upsetting in times when mobile phones were not much bigger than the credit card but became a problem when smartphones became part of our lives and its size grew significantly. (Don’t let me start talking about smartphones, devices designed for an average man hand… You can read about it, and pockets, in the “Invisible woman” by Caroline Criado Perez)
Too small or just fake
Quite often pockets in women's trousers are not only small but also fake. You can see all the lining indicating the pocket but nothing more. Why, I ask, why to fake a pocket?!
Fashion designers are saying that pockets are destroying the shape of the outfit as people put there a lot of stuff. But if it’s true, people who share this view can just not use it. They don't mind men doing that? Have you ever seen men’s pockets which were fake?
Everyday troubles
It’s the worst in summer when you have just shorts, a dress, a skirt and a (t-)shirt and just want to go for a walk. We’re constantly connected so taking a smartphone is a natural thing. If you're a man, you put it to your pocket- simple. If you are a woman:
- you put it to your pocket if you’re lucky (I think only one out of 12 pair of my trousers has pockets big enough to fit a phone)
- put your phone in a medium-size pocket what means you need to be really careful with movement as it may fall out (recently my wife broke her phone screen as she kneeled to look at something and it slipped off her to-small-to-fit pocket… just 5 days earlier I asked if she finished paying it off).
- take the purse — it’s annoying but having a phone and other essentials (keys, wallet, things which men just put in their pockets) is a must
- take the backpack or a bag and add loads of other stuff not to make it look empty (guilty as charged)
- if a woman is lucky and has a dress from a local designer there’ a big chance, she can hide her phone in the pocket! yes, designer dresses or skirts can be great! But it comes quite often with a higher price.
Smaller size, higher price
If you are a woman and like your clothes and hate bags you may think of having a smaller phone.
And here I laugh!
How many times you’ve seen a decent smartphone which was smaller than an average smartphone which is about 15cm tall?
You may have seen a few, but looking at its price and description you’ll see that we’ll need to pay more for a smaller phone with worse specification and performance…
Health and wellbeing
Various health and wellbeing apps are so popular now. They are able to track everything in our lives. Even the steps we make. But if you are a woman it won't count some of your steps because if you don't have a pocket big enough to fit your phone steps you do walking through the office or at home aren’t being counted.
In such moments a bomber bag comes to the rescue, but still, it's an additional thing, not your pocket!
Ease of use
If you are walking through the area you don't know you probably use google maps. Often you need to check your location and route every 5 or so minutes. If you are a man you can just put a phone to your pocket and fetch it when needed. If you are a woman… you need to keep it in your hand (not best when you have other stuff in your hands like an umbrella or a kid or you’re walking with your dog.) Reaching the phone from the bag or backpack is really irritating when you’re on the go. Quite often you can also miss a phone call because you just couldn't hear the phone ringing in your backpack.
If you are a woman you may be worried about your safety and walking with your phone in your hand in the park may be not the best option. If you have your phone in a purse-bag-backpack retrieving it in rush in case of an emergency is way more difficult than taking it out from the pocket.
It’s all really irritating and requires planning and thinking. Looking for a phone in the bag/backpack is an activity which takes quite a lot of time in a woman’s life.
The future
Phones are not sizing down. Motorolla Razr is an option, you can fit it in a medium pocket but still, it’s more prone to slip out and you wouldn't like to damage a phone you invested in quite a money.
What’s the future?
I’ve seen women with pocket’ style phone holders, where the phone was attached, it looked odd but was handy, but quite exposed. What if it rains?
Lack of big pockets generates the need and market for things to put it in. In the era of minimalism, it’s difficult to really harness that approach because if you are a woman some decisions are dictated by the clothes you wear.
Remember if you are a man and you see a woman going to the toulet with a small bag, it’s probably not a make-up filling it, just essentials you keep in your pockets.
A good, big pocket is really valuable stuff it can be so helpful!
The fight to get decent pockets is still on. We are modern women and we do things, we live outside of our homes, we commute, we travel and we need to have easy access to our phones.
Designers give us decent pockets! Create a line with good pockets and you’ll see how your sale will grow!
Thanks for reading. If you’d like to find out more about pockets listen to the 99% invisible podcast or read a great analysis of pockets on The Pudding.
