- Women have to deal with a lot of things men don't.
Makeup, cat calling, periods, the wage gap,
and one thing that we don't really talk about
a lot is pockets.
Men's pants all have pockets, but most women's
don't, or if they do, they can't really hold anything.
So why are pockets a thing that are left out
of most women's clothing.
Today we're gonna talk to some people in the office,
see how they feel about pockets
and then I'm gonna challenge four of my
male colleagues to see if they can spend a day pocketless.
- Can we see what sort of pockets are on these?
- [Chantel] I don't put anything in my front pockets,
because they're usually too shallow.
- Whenever something has a pocket though, I'm like,
(gasp)
like a dress with pockets!
- I get annoyed with blazers, women's blazers,
there's no pockets.
We have more things to carry,
why not give us more pockets?
- People also make fun of women for always
putting their cell phone in their boobs
at clubs or whatever, and it's like,
we have no pockets.
What are you gonna give us?
We're gonna use nature's pocket,
which is our boobs.
- This is Alaina with our research department,
and I was wondering Alaina, if there's any
historical context to why women's pants
are either made without pockets
or with small pockets?
- Women didn't historically wear pants
for a very long time.
The 1600s, they wore these large dresses
that had pouches underneath them
that were like pockets, but at some point,
big, heavy skirts was no longer in fashion.
Once they had slimmer frames for dresses,
you couldn't hold anything inside of them anymore.
That's when people turned to purses.
So it wasn't until the beginning of women's suffrage,
around the turn of the 20th century
that pockets became this thing that, to some activists,
represented freedom and mobility.
There were notable suffragettes who would wear
coats with many pockets on them.
- Now that we know a little bit more about pockets,
let's meet the four guys who've agreed to
live one day without them.
- I rely on my pockets for a lot of stuff,
carrying my cell phone, my keys, my wallet.
- You know right away if you're missin' somethin',
'cause you can feel it.
I'm gonna have to apologize to every lady friend I have,
I always made fun of them for losing things.
- I love pockets so much that I used to
only have cargo shorts in my wardrobe.
In my pockets, I keep essential things.
- Actually I have my phone, my wallet,
used to have cigarettes in that pocket, not anymore,
so I have my headphones now, and I have my chapsticks
in the small pocket, I actually use it.
- I will be sewing these pockets up.
Oh my god, these pockets are so big!
Look at all this room, you could fit an iPad in here.
(upbeat music)
- I just left my house and I already forgot my wallet.
It's gonna be a great day, I have a lot
of confidence in myself at this point.
- It was really hard to get ready this morning,
because I left my work bag, and Frankie,
in the back of my car and I wasn't able to put
my wallet, my keys, my phone, my work badge
that normally go in my pockets, I had to put 'em
all in this hat because I'm going
to a Dodger game tonight.
Even Frankie's poop bags are in the hat.
- Nearly less than 30 minutes and I already
tried to put my wallet in my back pocket
at least five times.
- This is starting to stress me out a little bit.
I am going to lunch right now and I'm carrying
my wallet and my keys in one hand,
and it's just so frustrating to know
that you might lose your things.
- So left the office, and forgot my wallet on my desk
because it's not in my back pocket like it normally would.
- During my lunch break there was an ice cream truck
and after I got my ice cream I realized
I didn't have hands to eat the ice cream
while holding my phone, while walking home
and my ice cream melted.
I've kind of discovered an alternative to pockets,
which is my armpit.
- So I'm running around, not using my pockets,
holding everything.
People assume I'm like late for work,
I'm lookin' for my car, 'cause I keep running
around with keys.
- My keys are so annoying.
- We're at Dodger Stadium, and I still have my badge
on me, and my wallet in my hat, my phone in my hand.
And one of these fine gentlemen, or lady,
gonna hold my wallet.
- [Male Friend] Not me.
- One of them is.
- The real struggle is that I've been constantly
checking my pockets, making sure I have my keys,
my phone, my wallet, and every time I check,
there's nothing and I freak out.
- They're stitched on, they're not real.
- [Eli] What? - If you do find pockets,
they're like that deep.
- [Eli] Are you serious?
Wow.
- God damn, the amount of sexism in just the
simplicity of pockets on pants is crazy.
- It's kind of like inventing electricity,
but living in the dark.
- Alright, so today's over, I'm glad
to take these pants off.
Oh yes, yes, pockets.
- How was your experience with no pockets?
- It was horrible.
(Ali laughs)
Would you buy a pair of pants if it
didn't have a pocket?
- No, I purposely avoid pocketless shorts for the gym,
'cause if you're at the gym and you're changing
machines, you need pockets.
- I've left so many things at the gym,
like on the treadmill because you forget it, yeah.
- Why don't they just make pockets for all pants,
whether you're a girl, whether you're a guy,
whether you have leggings.
- I understand the functionality of the purse
and the handbag and the inconvenience of it all too.
But now it makes sense if I'm rollin' out with my girl,
or I'm with someone, they're like, hey can you hold
onto this for me, can you hold this for me,
hold that for me, now I won't say, I'm not
your personal Sherpa.
I'm sympathetic to everything.
- Okay, so there you have it, life without
pockets sucked for these four dudes,
but most girls don't even realize
that they've been finding other solutions
for them this whole time.
This is why girls love dresses with pockets.
So guys, I dunno, hold your girlfriend's purse sometimes,
or don't, it doesn't, you don't have to,
you figure out what works for your relationship you know.
Also don't, why do people always make fun of girls
for freaking out over pockets?
It's like no, they're the best thing.