A question from my six year old daughter, so only serious answers please. Why do women carry purses, and men?

Question

carry wallets? She asked me this question the other day, and I was wondering if any one here actually know the answer, or at least had a good answer I could give her.

Answer 1

If you are asking about handbags, I assume that since women's clothes normally did not have pockets, then women carried bags instead.

Purses and moneybags have been around for as long as there have been coins.

Wallets came in use after the invention of paper money.

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...Wallets were developed almost immediately after the introduction of paper currency to the West in the 1600s. (The first corn paper currency was introduced in the New World by the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1690.) Prior to the introduction of paper currency, purses (resembling simple drawstring leather pouches) were used for storing coins. Early wallets were made primarily of cow or horse leather and included a small pouch for printed calling cards....

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...A purse is essentially a pouch, and pouches have been used by man (and woman, of course) for as long as human memories have been recorded. Peasants in early rural societies used bags to carry seeds, African priests carried beaded bags and a painting dated 480 B.C. that now belongs to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England, depicts a boy holding a “purse” filled with knucklebones, which were considered to be a token of seduction.

According to “Carried Away: All About Bags” (Vandome), the first incarnation of the modern accessory, with its long-stringed reticules, came in the late 18th century.

In fashion, it’s the little things that mean a lot, says Farid Chenounne, who put together the book and a complementary exhibit at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris. “If you take a little object like this one (a handbag), you’ll put together a lot of stories of what life is, what power is, religiosity, what men’s and women’s relationships are – and it’s all fashion, too.”

But Chenounne’s definition of fashion goes beyond a glossy magazine. He includes wizards’ bags, doctors’ bags and religious bags in his broad scope.

The similarity between an haute couture tote and a satchel belonging to an African witch, he explains, is that both bags hold a secret of some sort....

Answer 2

Men originally had to keep their hands free for their weapons so women took on the responsibility of carrying stuff and children. The men were, after all, the protectors.

The original wallets were the size of bags and were carried by non-fighting men and priests. They've shrunk down over the centuries to what men carry today. These are small and fairly easily hidden because men still are more likely to carry more money than women.

Women still need to carry things for themselves, their children, and their husbands so they carry purses. For a while women's fashions did not feature pockets and the purses were larger. These days women DO have pockets and some women have opted for wallets because (1) they aren't carrying things for children or husbands and (2) they might have to protect themselves.

Answer 3

Women seem to need more room to carry stuff then men. As a mom aren't you the one who ends up carrying the tissues, aspirin, band aids, etc?

And some men do carry purses, in Europe "man bags" are very popular.

Answer 4

We like to carry round lots more stuff than men, and also they always seem to have more pockets. If women put a wallet in their pocket it would ruin the line of the clothing!

Answer 5

I think it has to do with the amount of stuff we have to carry around. I think the custom of carrying purses or handbags began in the early 1900s when women found themselves carrying cosmetics with them. Prior to that, make-up was mainly used by prostitutes to mimic the healthy look of wealthier, better-cared for women. When average women began wearing make-up on a daily basis, it became necessary to carry that kind of stuff with us. Men, never needing to touch up their make-up didn't need a bag to carry it all.