We begin with a belief in the heroic.
We begin with the belief that our strength will be honored and respected. Every new step is encouraged and celebrated, no matter how small. Parents will celebrate their child’s first poop, first step, first ten contiguous steps, first walk across the room, first poop in the right spot, and so forth. Each new demonstration of strength, ability, and competence is a red letter moment, whether it is riding a bike without training wheels, playing a minuet at a recital, earning a perfect score on a math test, or scoring a goal in a soccer game.
We begin with a wonder woman lunch box, and the expectation that the road will rise to meet us.
Problems Begin
Lost keys.
Lost pens and wallets.
Shattered screens, screaming of shattered dreams.
We are all so careful. Yet, the inevitable occurs. The keys are set down in a safe location so we could pick up something else. The pens and wallet are forgotten at the cash register because we were rushing to complete the transaction and leave the store. The phone took a back flip out of an inadequately sized back pocket. None of this would have happened if only we had enough adequately sized pockets.
The dream was to be just as effective as we imagined wonder woman on the lunch box would be.
Divergence
It becomes impossible to ignore how our male colleagues have fewer such problems. There is always an ample pocket for them to add one more thing. Keys, pens, small notebooks, phones, and wallets — all fit into the generous pockets of men’s clothing with additional room to spare. Men’s slacks now have a sixth tech pocket on the side of the femur with a zipper to conveniently secure any size phone.
Meanwhile, women’s pockets shrink and disappear. What used to be a real pocket slowly morphed into a sewed shut pocket, and then a smaller pocket, and then the imprint of where a pocket would be, if we were created male instead of female.
Women are told to carry purses for lack of pockets. The purses themselves lack pockets and become a chasm of lost items. If you seek an item from your purse, all contents must be dumped from its depths if more than three days have passed since the item’s last resurrection.
This the Wrong Future
The same store cannot sell both a wonder woman lunch box and women’s pants without pockets. The world is not large enough for both an exalted view of strength and the infantilism of dropped keys. The daughter we raise to believe that she could become an astronaut if she wanted to, does not and cannot become the woman who must drop all of her groceries on the concrete in front of her home, because extracting keys from a purse is a two-hand operation, because her pants lack pockets.
The Right Future
The right future is one in which women’s pockets expand to meet their potential. The right future puts seven sleek pockets on women’s pants, each one generous and voluminous. The right future allows women to make a quick run to the store without first collecting a purse, because her wallet will fit into a pocket. Women will walk around the office prepared with a pen, phone, notepad, keys, and two free hands. They will leave the office on time, not lingering to collect their things in a cavernous purse. They will ignite their car engines without first searching for a crevice to set their phone and purse. They will open doors and shake your hand with new found liberty of not having to carry necessities by hand.
The Right Future won’t happen automatically.
Join the Pocket Revolution
Every little bit of liberty must be demanded, fought for, and won. The trend toward fewer and smaller pockets will not be reversed without a Pocket Revolution. The internal revolution must precede the external revolution. I urge you to take these simple steps now to accelerate the end of pocket tyranny, and to join me in the Pocket Revolution.
- Do not purchase pants without pockets.
- Do not purchase jackets or sweaters without pockets.
- Ask a tailor to add pockets to pants, jackets, and dresses.
- Tell your favorite stores that you will not purchase clothing with inadequate pockets, and urge them to also support the Pocket Revolution.
- Go to the men’s section of clothing stores and check out the pants. You won’t believe the pockets! Imagine all of the wonderful items you will one day put in your pockets, after the Pocket Revolution.
This is only the beginning of the fight for the end of the tyranny of tiny pockets.
Stay tuned.
Wish us luck.
Remember: pants with pockets are filled with love. Your life is too important for you to accept anything less than fully functional clothing with pockets. Women’s clothing is too expensive to require a choice between form and function. The goal can and ought to be fully functional clothing with incredible design.
Thank you.