Should it be considered acceptable for men to carry purses?

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Purses are a convenient way of carrying extra stuff. Why should men not be allowed to carry them? What's so wrong with a man carrying a bag?

I think men should carry bags. It makes much more sense than to try to stuff everything needed in a wallet or a pocket. I always thought it made no sense for men to not carry bags for their belongings, especially in modern times when we often need to carry many items on a daily basis.

I think it should be.

I have heard the term "man purse" many times over many years, so I don't think it's seen as entirely outside the boundaries of men's gender norms....?

At any rate, men can carry messenger bags and backpacks (and briefcases, although briefcases are not really convenient like other types of bags because there is no hands-free way of carrying them) so the gender norm isn't that men aren't supposed to carry bags, it's something about the style of the bag.

Men carry bags all the time.

They don't look like pocketbooks/handbags, though.

I wouldn't be caught dead carrying a woman's handbag, unless I'm in a store with my wife.

No one is going to make it mandatory for a man to carry a purse; especially as long as trousers have pockets and backpacks/rucksacks are still acceptable.

A man needs only a wallet, a ring of keys, eyeglasses and maybe a comb and cell phone - pocket items.

Men do not need to carry those things normally found in a woman's purse, such as:

- checkbook
- spare reading glasses
- sunglasses
- candies
- deodorant
- hand lotion
- hand sanitizer
- handkerchief
- hairbrush
- hair clip
- scrunchies
- lip balm
- medicines
- sunscreen
- nail clipper
- face powder
- lipstick
- mascara
- tissues
- calendar / date book
- breath mints
- various items related to feminine hygiene

Hell, I could carry a large Bowie knife in one.

Sign me up.

Some men wear fanny packs but some men have gotten thought of as gay for doing it. I do hate the stereotype that men cant do or wear different things without being thought of as gay.

Isn't a satchel basically a "man purse"? Or do people think that's not masculine, either?

I get it, it's more acceptable for a woman to do "guy stuff", but that's because "girl stuff" is still believed to be inferior. I could play with action figures as a kid and no one had a problem, but if my brother played with dolls he'd have to be transferred to another school... unless he "played" with them the way Sid from Toy Story 1 would have.

I don't find womens items inferior. I just find them too feminine for me.

You know you can carry hand sanitizer and a check book in your pocket right?

I do all the time,

I do not carry the majority of those things.

I carry:

- credit cards
- debit cards
- health insurance cards
- various cards for different stores that I really don't want to have but have to carry in order to get sale prices
- gift cards that I never remember to use
- cash
- driver's license
- car keys
- earphones
- cellphone
- lip gloss
- hand lotion
- sometimes I have tissues
- water bottle
- maybe a tampon

I always have to have water because I usually forget to drink during the day and feel ill as a result.

Some men do carry chapstick, water bottles, earphones, gift cards, store cards, various mobile devices, charger for the mobile device or battery pack, medicines, breath mints.

Those are not women-exclusive items.

What usually happens is men do carry a lot of things and then they have huge bulging wallets stuffed with everything they have to carry, and then when carrying it they look like they have some sort of tumor growing out of their buttocks.

And then they will put extra items like the cell phone and keys in another pocket.

I didn't say it should be mandatory for men to carry bags, and certainly not purses. I just think it's preferable to what they now are doing.

I carry a knapsack.

I carry a murse to my square pegs aspie meetings, it contains-

*nail clippers
*eye wash [I have dry eye]
*drinking water
*floss [in case I get something stuck between my teeth
*nutrition bars
*portable umbrella
*flashlight
*small bottle containing advil, Tylenol and caffeine
*opera glasses
*plastic fork, knife and spoon
*napkins

it has both a shoulder strap as well as hand straps. my late mother made it for me

I carry a computer case type bag for work, and a camera bag for fun. Purses never have "Kodak" on them.
Then, of course, there are gym bags, backpacks, etc. which are considered gender neutral.
Who said guys have to carry bags that resemble womens' fashion accessories? Any one of these with an over the shoulder strap would never cause confusion.

I always wondered about that - aren't there any single guys that have checkbooks?

You don't call it a "murse", Mr. K.?