Small minded people and their small minded comments...ugh!

[PeterPan09]

Ok, here's the reverse. I don't carry a purse. I have an Eddie Bauer backpack that I carry to work or all day things like the parks and a smaller Eddie Bauer travel wallet that I use for daily errands. I used to carry purses, even had some nice ones from D&B, but it got to a point where my shoulders were killing me and my bank account was tired of spending money on them.

Is that a mark of my sexual orientation like my flannel shirts and Birkenstocks or would it be ok for a straight woman to make that same choice?

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I got the whole "she looks too white to be Hispanic" thing all my life (Half white and Mexican) from my cousins who were much darker than me. I was accused of not being "dark enough for the family". It was a joke but it stung. Finally a long distance cousin arrived from her home in Mexico for a vacation. She is blond and blue eyed. When they made a crack about me she put them in their places.

Oh that hits home. I'm been told by idiots that there's no way I'm the racial mix I say I am. I figure at least the idiots have revealed themselves early and move on.

Although, in at least one case, it became a kind of interesting sociological experiment. The individual in question was from a different place and espoused certain viewpoints that were quite different from the place he'd moved to for work. (He actually said "You can't be mixed. You're too White and too smart." ) He acted normally most of the time, but if we caught him off guard, we were able to find out what he really thought about some things. It was quite enlightening to find out how many outright lies he believed whole-heartedly and how many sweeping prejudices were a part of his innate world view.

 

[Uncle Remus]

T-shirt, shorts, shoes 'n messenger bag, what else do ya need?

 

[topolino]

Although I would never make fun of someone for carrying a messenger bag, I would probably do a double take if I saw a man carrying a bag like the one pictured earlier in the thread. That looks more like a purse than a messenger bag. Some things are just not seen here in the US that much. I always cringe when I see the European men at WDW with capris with the ties at the bottom. I guess I am just uncultured

I do think it's rude for your friends to badger you about it.

Nah, you're not uncultered, it's just a DIFFERENT culture, and that's why it looks strange.

Just as the capris on men look strange to you, there are many fashion statements by Americans that look odd to Europeans. It's so easy to spot American men in Europe, they may as well be carrying a sign. Khaki shorts with white sneakers, and baseball caps are two good examples.

 

[Goofyluver]

Ok, here's the reverse. I don't carry a purse. I have an Eddie Bauer backpack that I carry to work or all day things like the parks and a smaller Eddie Bauer travel wallet that I use for daily errands. I used to carry purses, even had some nice ones from D&B, but it got to a point where my shoulders were killing me and my bank account was tired of spending money on them.

Is that a mark of my sexual orientation like my flannel shirts and Birkenstocks or would it be ok for a straight woman to make that same choice?

Birkenstocks.

 

[topolino]

T-shirt, shorts, shoes 'n messenger bag, what else do ya need?

Agreed, except in my case, I only wear shorts on the hottest of days. And sometimes I'll wear a light casual button down instead of the t-shirt. Of course it depends on where I am, and how long I'm going to be there. At WDW in July, all fashion sense bets are off, and it's a t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops!

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Ok, here's the reverse. I don't carry a purse. I have an Eddie Bauer backpack that I carry to work or all day things like the parks and I smaller Eddie Bauer travel wallet that I use for daily errands. I used to carry purses, even had some nice ones from D&B, but it got to a point where my shoulders were killing me and my bank account was tired of spending money on them.

Is that a mark of my sexual orientation like my flannel shirts and Birkenstocks or would it be ok for a straight woman to make that same choice?

You sound like some of my BFFs who are almost painfully straight, like 0's on the Kinsey scale.

 

[Sparx]

A few have asked what I put in there.

Mine is not small like a purse, and doesn't have those outside pockets like the one on the guy from The Hangover pictured on page one.

I don't bring it around every day, only when I have more to carry. It's big enough for my laptop, a couple files, and in the inside pockets an iPod, a checkbook, a USB cable, etc. I still carry a wallet with ID and credit cards, etc.

I'm a college student and I see men with messenger bags/laptop bags all the time.

I think it would be interesting for a man to carry a bag with the express purpose of matching the purpose of my purse. However, I think most men would find it superfluous because men's clothing works the same way women's purses do.

In one of my gender classes some of the men and women volunteered to bring in extra clothes and we as a class explored the way the clothing was gendered. Men, if you have never thought about this before, truly examine the way that pockets are made on women's jeans. They are almost nonexistent. I've had pockets that were less than two inches deep, not even deep enough to hold my cell phone. Whereas the men in my class had pockets (and lots of them!) that could hold scientific graphing calculators and pens and their cell phones without any problem.

I hypothesize that if women's clothes were made to be more storage friendly that more women would go without carrying purses.

 

[PeterPan09]

Birkenstocks.

Were you not issued a pair at orientation?

 

[Goofyluver]

Were you not issued a pair at orientation?

Darn it, no. Where shall I send my complaints?

 

[NikitaZee]

I love long hair on guys. Purses - no way. But I'd never say anything about it, unless I was asked.

 

[Uncle Remus]

Agreed, except in my case, I only wear shorts on the hottest of days. And sometimes I'll wear a light casual button down instead of the t-shirt. Of course it depends on where I am, and how long I'm going to be there. At WDW in July, all fashion sense bets are off, and it's a t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops!

Oh, I can't wear flip flops, I actually trip all over the place.

And I wouldn't be seen in Birkenstocks.

 

[topolino]

I'm a college student and I see men with messenger bags/laptop bags all the time.

I think it would be interesting for a man to carry a bag with the express purpose of matching the purpose of my purse. However, I think most men would find it superfluous because men's clothing works the same way women's purses do.

In one of my gender classes some of the men and women volunteered to bring in extra clothes and we as a class explored the way the clothing was gendered. Men, if you have never thought about this before, truly examine the way that pockets are made on women's jeans. They are almost nonexistent. I've had pockets that were less than two inches deep, not even deep enough to hold my cell phone. Whereas the men in my class had pockets (and lots of them!) that could hold scientific graphing calculators and pens and their cell phones without any problem.

I hypothesize that if women's clothes were made to be more storage friendly that more women would go without carrying purses.

And that's not even to mention men's cargo shorts. These are basically a purse that you wear! lol. One pair of mine has six pockets, and the ones at mid-thigh could almost hold an iPad!

 

[Goofyluver]

And that's not even to mention men's cargo shorts. These are basically a purse that you wear! lol. One pair of mine has six pockets, and the ones at mid-thigh could almost hold an iPad!

I once asked my father what you guys do with that pocket. He said you could use it to hold a hammer, or other tools.

 

[Planogirl]

I don't see the long hair as being of interest really. There are plenty of long haired guys of all ages even here in old-fashioned Texas.

It must be the bag. Personally, I don't care if a guy carries a bag. I don't like them myself but I do understand how useful they are. I do get that European men sometimes use them and have for some time. Again, no big deal.

As for your friends, I would just suggest not reacting. Teasing begs for a reaction and if they get none, good or bad, they might just get bored with it.

 

[PeterPan09]

Darn it, no. Where shall I send my complaints?

Perhaps you got in the wrong line? I think that's how I missed getting my copy of the agenda.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I'm a college student and I see men with messenger bags/laptop bags all the time.

I think it would be interesting for a man to carry a bag with the express purpose of matching the purpose of my purse. However, I think most men would find it superfluous because men's clothing works the same way women's purses do.

In one of my gender classes some of the men and women volunteered to bring in extra clothes and we as a class explored the way the clothing was gendered. Men, if you have never thought about this before, truly examine the way that pockets are made on women's jeans. They are almost nonexistent. I've had pockets that were less than two inches deep, not even deep enough to hold my cell phone. Whereas the men in my class had pockets (and lots of them!) that could hold scientific graphing calculators and pens and their cell phones without any problem.

I hypothesize that if women's clothes were made to be more storage friendly that more women would go without carrying purses.

This is why I wear cargo shorts and capris to Disney whenever possible. . .I can carry the things I need to in the pockets and I don't have to go through the purse line!

 

[PeterPan09]

Oh, I can't wear flip flops, I actually trip all over the place.

And I wouldn't be seen in Birkenstocks.

They're going to take your union card....

 

[Poohforyou]

About the hair...

They're just jealous! Most men over the age of 30, if they COULD grow long hair, WOULD grow long hair.
Oh... and while satchels, man bags, whatever you want to call them, are exceedingly common and unremarkable in my town, I do know what you mean about "culture". It's a kind of provincialism, and I often see it in folks from small towns. In my experience it's not so much narrow-mindedness, as it is an unfamiliarity with things. We fear change.

I've sat at a fancy government awards ceremony with high ranking officials, only to see them staring at their haute cuisine dinners asking nervously, "What's in it?" and wondering what to do with the cutlery. If it's too strange, some of them will start saying, "I don't like this kind of food." But what they really mean is, "I honestly thought truffles were chocolate and I'm really kind of freaked that the waiter's telling me it's a mushroom."

When something's strange to us, the common reaction is often either to reject it or make fun of it.

P.S. This post is only describing what I've observed locally. It is in no way meant as a criticism of small town folk, or suggest that big city folks are more sophisticated, and I do not intend to imply that they're all afraid of truffles.

I don't get that at all or anything about being jealous of the OP. Personally would probably do a double take if I saw a man with long hair carrying a purse like bag.

It would have nothing to do with being jealous and wishing my DH grew his hair out and got his own bag. I do not like long hair on a guy. I certainly wouldn't make a comment though. I live in a pretty liberal area being near a lot of universities but the OP's look really isn't the norm here.

 

[grahamfam3]

I carry a bag all the time. It's a map case that I bought during Desert Storm, with my name tape, branch insignia and rank sewn on, along with a couple of division patches from units I've been in.

No one says a thing ....