A father has sparked a conversation about the issues with gendered clothing after questioning why his newborn son’s clothing often has pockets while his wife’s clothes frequently do not.
Zach Mander, who goes by the username @zach_mander on TikTok, raised the design question in a video posted this week, in which he explained that he had a “quick message to whoever’s in charge of pockets”.
The radio host then jokingly pointed out that his newborn baby is “good” and doesn’t need pockets on his clothes.
“Um, my newborn baby… he’s good. He’s good. He doesn’t need pockets,” Mander said, as he showed a pair of the infant’s shorts, which included deep pockets on each side. “Like, he’s still developing the ability to see colours, so having somewhere to keep his car keys is a pretty low priority at the moment.”
Mander then took the opportunity to acknowledge the frequent lack of pockets on clothing designed for women, with the TikToker adding: “My wife on the other hand, you know, a fully grown adult, she would appreciate a few more options.”
As of 9 May, the video has been viewed more than one million times, with many viewers agreeing with Mander’s point.
“It’s crazy to me that they give better pockets to baby boys than they do full grown women,” one person commented, while another said: “I’ve been screaming this from every rooftop I can since my eldest was born!”
One woman said she even went as far as measuring the size of her six-month-old’s pockets versus her own and found that “all of his were bigger…”
“I’ve compared with my baby. And my pockets are the same size as 12-month baby pockets,” someone else revealed.
In addition to resonating with viewers, Mander’s video also prompted many to thank him for calling awareness to the issue with gendered clothing.
“Thank you!! YES!! Women would like pockets please!!” one viewer commented, while someone else wrote: “Out here fighting that good fight, thank you sir.”
“This is modern feminism talking,” another person declared.
Mander is not the first to call out the issues with pockets on clothing for women. TikToker @technicallyatech recently shared her disappointment with the size and depth of the pockets on her workwear in comparison to her male counterparts.
“Our tools are the same sizes, our phones are the same sizes. What is the reason that women’s pockets are so much more shallow than men’s pockets?” she asked.
Complaints about the size, or lack of, pockets on women’s clothing are not new, as the issue has persisted for more than a century, according to Vox. While the absence of women’s pockets is largely due to the French Revolution, which saw fashions change and silhouettes made thinner, and, as a result, the introduction of the decorative purse, the outlet notes that the issue is also political, as a lack of pockets limits the amount that women could hold throughout history, thus making them dependent on others.
