pockety women unite
Pockets are what women need more of. The women’s movement in the past ten years has made huge steps in achieving greater social justice for women, but there is a great deal of work to be done. The fact remains that no one has tried to find out the role pockets have played in preventing women from getting the social position and rights that could and should be theirs.
While it is always dangerous to make a general statement, it seems quite safe to say that on the whole, the men of the world, at any given time, are carrying a much greater number of pockets than the women of the world. And it is also quite clear that the men enjoy more power, respect and wealth than women. Everything seems to point to a definite relation between pockets, power, respect and wealth. Can it be?
An examination of the function (作用) of the pocket seems necessary. Pockets are for carrying money, cards, important messages, pens, keys and handkerchiefs. All the equipment is necessary to rule the world. They are neatly put in proper order. They can be easily used with efficiency (效率). Men have more confidence with them.
What do women have to match this organization? A purse. The most hurried examination will show that a purse, however large or important-looking, is no match of a suit full of pockets. If a woman carrying a purse is so lucky to get an important telephone number or some information from the manager with whom she is lunching, can she write it down? Can she find her pen? Perhaps she can, but it will be probably buried under some old shopping lists, two combs and a checkbook, all of which she has to pile on the top of the lunch table before she can find the pen.
Will she ever again get other information from the person of power? Not likely. Now she has lost any psychological advantage she may have had. He may have been interested in her wise discussion of the present situation before she opened her handbag, but four minutes later he is no longer interested.
What can a pocketless woman do? There seems to be two ways. The women can form a pocket lobby (游说) and march on the New York district. Or if that effort fails, another way is: lobby, lobby and lobby again.
Every man in the country for his next birthday finds himself the lucky receiver of one of those very modern men’s handbags, and to go with it, one of those great new no-pocket body shirts.