Thanks to a friend of mine, I've been watching the BBC series Sherlock, created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss and played by Benedict Cumberbatch (as Sherlock) and Martin Freeman (as Dr. Watson). You can't see this series here in the channels we've access to through public or paid TV, so the way you access to them is by the way of Internet, and those people who know were to look for the series. I'm not one of them, but I'm being provided with the episodes.
In the begining the series can throw you off a little bit because we are talking here about a Sherlock Holmes that's played in modern times, with a sort of fixation for texting, and a Dr. Watson who served in Afganistan. You quickly get the hang of it, so it doesn't really bother you. Something I appreciate terribly about the show is the absolute naturality with which homosexuality is treated. The mention of it in absolutely natural terms is refreshing, and thus helps the world break down the remaining reserves and prejudices some still have about it. It had been done before and it has worked, up to the point where nobody thinks twice when the idea is proposed that a woman might be the Big Boss (such as M in James Bond, just to show an example). One can only hope that after the wall of reserve and discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transexual people is destroyed, the world won't stop and we would see a more open approach towards people of other religions, other countries and etnicities.
In the first episode, or pilot of the series, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson go investigating a series of suspicious suicides - four in total - that clearly bear the mark of a serial killer. The fourth "suicide" is the one to which Scotland Yard calls Holmes and from where the case unrolls. It features a woman with a serious case of pink addiction. The excesive amount of pink drives Dr. Watson to name the case "Study in Pink" in his blog. Yes, Dr. Watson is a blogger. Of course, you can read his blog in real life.
Anyway, there's a woman in some abandoned looking house, laying on the floor, dressed in pink, like she's some kind of Legally Blonde or something. Looking around a little and deducing lots of stuff about her from her tacky clothes and tacky jewelry - clunky gold stuff, the type that looks like it was designed from some imbecile who thinks that the more the better - from her being from Cadiff, to she being a serial cheater and a smart woman and that the most important thing is missing: her suitcase. How come? There's mud behind her left leg, spattered mud, which would only get there if you're pulling a suitcase behind you. That suitcase is important because most likely her phone is in it, and no, she wouldn't leave it home because she being a serial cheater, and smart, would most likely make sure her phone is always on her.
Have you pulled a suitcase behind you? I have, but never through mud, so I can't tell you if the spatter on the legs is created, though yes, if the suitcase gets dirty and you roll it in your leg - as I do it all the time - or you keep it from tilting over, by kicking it in place by kicking back with your leg. However, as this went on I felt that something wasn't right. In the show it was right, it was awesome, it was brilliant, and once the pink suitcase was found answers came forward and things got solved really nice. And yes, all that was cool, but still, something was off. So what happened?
Well, though indeed the pink lady had a suitcase, it was really odd that such a girly, pinky, high heel, dress, lipstick and nail polish woman wouldn't have a purse. I guess there weren't women involved in the writing of the script, so I guess this just slipped, but I must say that this was a biggie.
Basically you can't hardly find a woman anywhere not carrying a purse or a clutck of some sort. Men can go around packing everything you need in your pockets, but women can't do this so easily for two simple reasons: we tend to carry far more stuff than men, and women's clothes are usually designed to cling tighter to the body, so there's less room for pockets, and sticking things in those pockets that are put on our clothes. So, deconstructing this a little bit, let's look into what women carry around with them.
Most women carry with themselves at least four basic things: their keys, their wallet, their phone and a cosmetics' bag that may or may not include any of the following: tampons and or sanitary pads, basic make up, hand cream, some sort of disinfecting gel or spray and pills or any other sort of medication. The concept of basic make up can also be opened, but that depends on what each woman considers necesary, and it can go from a chapstick and a mascara to a kit that includes everything you'd need to appear on TV. Actually it's interesting to check on the make up women carry, because that usually gives you a glimpse of the features they love more of themselves, and how they perceive them.
Now, when you are traveling, and staying somewhere, there's even more need of a purse or a bag of some sort. If you go to a long distance bus terminal, a train station or an airport you'll most likely see every woman carrying a purse or a bag, in addition to their hand suitcase. They may not have a suitcase, but they'll certainly have a purse or a bag. Why is that? Well, because when you travel there are things you'll need to keep at hand - you know, the things men keep in their pockets. Wallet - and if you pay close attention, women's wallets are usually larger or bulkier than those of men, basically because women won't fit them in their pockets -, traveling documents - at least the ticket -, phone, keys and our little bag of fix-it (cosmetics), all those need to be at hand, and the way to keep them at hand is by keeping them in your bag. Just think logically for a moment: you are carrying a suitcase that's rather big, that usually opens with a big zipper or some other mechanism that would require you to basically open it whole and leave it's contents for anyone to see, spreading a top that's just as large and wide as the suitcase itself, where your underwear is rolling around around with other private stuff... and you'll do that to fish out your wallet to pay the taxi fare? Do that to answer your phone? In the middle of a bus or a train or a plane? Maybe even going through having your suitcase pulled down from the overhead compartment? And then put it back? Really?
Think of your own habits. You are going to another city to spend a day with a friend, or just for some mini-vacations. You might just throw a pair of undies and a shirt in the bottom of your backpack or bag along with a tooth brush and a deodorant and be done, but if you are taking a suitcase - like pink lady - then were are you going to put your wallet, your tickets, your phone? Where do you keep your bubble gum or snacks? Where's your handkerchief? Before you make a case about these being in the coat pockets, let me remind you of the size of pockets in women's clothes again, ot the lack of them, and then direct you to the picture to the left. Does that look to you like the kind of coat that's not snug and would fit all you need at hand during travel?
Yes, I have a trench coat which I love, and it has fabulous big pockets, and I stick my keys in them sometimes, but not my wallet or my phone for two simple reasons: 1. I don't want them to be stolen, and 2. their weight would ruin the lines of the coat. A woman wearing so much pink, with polished nails and matching lipstick, wearing heels and a dress that short at that age is constantly trying to get attention, trying to appear feminine, she wouldn't ruin the flow of her clothes by sticking bulky things in her pockets, so Mr. Holmes, where's the victim's purse?
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