Monday, June 18, 2012

Culture Shock 2: Women's handbags, a fashion accessory or a burden?

I guess handbags are thought to be a burden for a woman here in China. And so since Men (the strong one) are suppose to help relieve a woman's (the weak one) burden, they will often offer to help carry any heavy item that she is carrying, including her purse.  


It doesn't matter how long I have lived here, I still consider this to be weird and funny at the same time. Sometimes I will look at a woman and admire her outfit, but then I'll immediately notice that there is something missing in her outfit - her purse! Then, I look to her left or right and notice someone else is carrying her purse, and it looks out of place on him.


What's even weird is that the men will carry the woman's purse on top of his own bag, so he now has two purses on him. The men carry a shoulder bag because they wear fitted clothes which leaves no room for thier   cell phones, wallets and what not. This is also for security purposes as there are pick pockets everywhere, especially in the subway stations, so a secured bag keep thieves away. Infact many foreigners find themselves carrying men purses after coming here. 

Most times I just wonder, "Why carry a purse at all if you know it will be too heavy to carry?" Perhaps Chinese girls are yet to understand the importance of purses in the completion of a woman's outfit. 


5 comments:

JenJen said...

I've lived in Europe and seen men carry shoulder bags, but my hubby doesn't like carring my purse ever.

Andi of My Beautiful Adventures said...

Haha I actually think it's really sweet! I make my hubby carry my purse sometimes when we are traveling and I'm trying to take pics.

~Adeola~ said...

aww, that's sweet of your husband. But men here usually carry their significant other's bag even if the girl is not doing anything. My friend once told me I could give her boyfriend my handbag if I find it to be too heavy. This is on top of her purse he was already carrying!
thanks for your comment

~Adeola~ said...

haha, because I guess he doesn't want your purse to ruin his outfit. I prefer Men's shoulder bags over the backpacks men carry in Canada. I mean, you're not going to school or going camping.
thanks for the comment :)

Anonymous said...

How can a handbag turn into a burden, when it is meant to relive a lady from the burden of carrying too many things while traveling? You might have seen that females carry their hair brush and cosmetics even when they are going to office from home. I am a great lover of handbags, and do not forget to
pay a visit to my favorite online shop to keep a track of the latest arrivals.