"Why We Oppose Pockets for Women" a poem by Alice Duer Miller

A poem from the public domain

Intro

With Presidents Trump and Musk and the rest of the GOP continuing their crusades against Trans rights, Women’s rights, Indigenous rights, Latino rights, Hispanic rights, Black rights, and non-Christian rights, it’s easy to become discouraged. To be honest, that’s how I feel right now. Earlier today, I pretty much begged my FB friends to care about trans rights and again shared my poem opposing trans g-cide “Don’t Remember Me for My Resilience.”

A lot of my reading for the public domain side of this site has focused on poems that were rallying cries for previous rights movements. This poem comes from suffragette Alice Duer Miller. I enjoy Miller’s sardonic tone—represented here and in other poems—that ridicules the absurd notions of the patriarchy. In the 100+ years since Miller published this poem, those notions haven’t become any less absurd, and I’m happy to ridicule them anew.

As a trans woman, I’ve been on both sides of the clothing pockets divide. I had some JNCOs in the ‘90s with pockets so big that they probably each exceeded the cubic pocket volume of many women’s entire wardrobes. As a woman, there are times when I care less about the utility of a piece of clothing than wanting to look good (to other women), but other times a pair of jeans I can fit my keychain into would be nice.

I hope you enjoy this poem. If you do, considering supporting me with a one-time gift at ko-fi.com/thepoetmiranda and/or subscribing here.

The poem is below, followed by my video reading.

💜Miranda📚

Why We Oppose Pockets for Women

1. Because pockets are not a natural right.

2. Because the great majority of women do not want pockets. If they did they would have them.

3. Because whenever women have had pockets they have not used them.

4. Because women are required to carry enough things as it is, without the additional burden of pockets.

5. Because it would make dissension between husband and wife as to whose pockets were to be filled.

6. Because it would destroy man’s chivalry toward woman, if he did not have to carry all her things in his pockets.

7. Because men are men, and women are women. We must not fly in the face of nature.

8. Because pockets have been used by men to carry tobacco, pipes, whiskey flasks, chewing gum and compromising letters. We see no reason to suppose that women would use them more wisely.

My Reading