I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately about the differences between men and women. After all, it can’t hurt to be a little bit more informed about how the opposite sex thinks and what motivates their behaviour. That said, the central tenet, which comes across over and over again, is that men and women are practically two different species. In fact, one book even suggested viewing the opposite sex in the same way as you would view someone from a different culture – which may have some merit, I suppose.

Of course, while it can be fascinating to ponder over the mysteries and peculiarities of the male species, sometimes a little self-reflection is in order. As a female, I don’t mind admitting that we also have our own enigmatic anomalies, which must be equally dumbfounding to men. Take the handbag, for instance.

This is really quite a fascinating object if you think about it – and if you are aware of all that goes into it. Designed with practical applications in mind, the handbag has inadvertently become a woman’s whole world – and you can probably find the whole world in there if you look hard enough. In fact, some handbags are rather like a black abyss where you need a torch to find things. (Note to self: that’s a good idea; I should put a torch in my handbag, so that I can use it to find other items if I can actually find the torch itself.)

It’s rather amazing what women feel inspired to lug about with them in their handbags. Men, on the other hand, feel no such desire to carry an excess of personal items wherever they go, but a woman must always be prepared no matter what the eventuality. I presume this stems from the fact that we are inherently gatherers, so gather we do – and then we toss it all into a bottomless bag for convenience’s sake. Need a tweezers? No problem. Excess clothing? We’ve got you covered. Cut your finger? There’s a band-aid in here somewhere.

I mean, the list of items at a woman’s disposal is nearly endless as far as handbags are concerned. Incidentally, it never really occurred to me just how intriguing a handbag is until I recently attended a baby shower where we played a handbag game. The game worked as follows:

1. The hostess shouts out an item.
2. Everyone then digs frantically through their magic carpet bags to find the relevant item.
3. The first person to retrieve the item, runs to the mother-to-be (outrunning any competitors) and hands over the item to win a point for her table.

Well, I’ve never seen such fierce competition or a more astounding collection of items in one’s handbag! Gum, sunglasses, nail clippers, nail files, tissues, pens, hand sanitizer, perfume, keys, notepads, toys (for the kids), breath mints, dental floss, toothpicks, lipstick, earrings, hand cream, safety pins, hair ties, a hair brush, a lighter, a mirror, pepper spray and don’t forget about essentials such as your money, credit cards and cellphone – even a pet occasionally pops out of someone’s handbag! I bet you could name just about any portable item and some woman, somewhere, will have it in her handbag. We are that good at gathering!

On a personal note, I’m not keen on big handbags for the very reason that you can never find anything. Plus, the bigger the handbag, the more you’re going to fill it and the heavier it becomes. However, I’m equally guilty of carrying strange items around (including a toothbrush and even a razor on one occasion – don’t ask).

You see, a handbag is not only a great accessory for carrying all your other accessories, it’s also an excellent place to chuck any random stuff that’s lying around. Now you see it – and now you don’t! Hmm… what should I do with this empty sweet packet? I’ll pop it in my bag. This unwanted receipt? Ditto. How about this button that’s fallen off? And that chocolate bar, and those hair clips, and that extra pen… and so it goes.

So, while its true purpose and contents may be a mystery to the male species, the essential nature of a handbag cannot be denied to the inner workings of the female mind. It’s a remarkably versatile item with almost superhuman properties. Now, what woman wouldn’t love that?

© 2017 Audrey Whyte   All Rights Reserved