By Chris Cosci

I have recently noticed an interesting difference between male and female kids (no, not THAT difference). I noticed it by observing my two nieces. The older niece loves traditional girl stuff. Barbie dolls. Dressing up. Anything that has to do with Snow White, Cinderella, or any of the other Disney Princesses. The younger niece loves stuff more commonly associated with boys such as trucks, trains, and Buzz Lightyear.

It is not uncommon to see a girl develop a liking for things that are usually associated with boys. In fact, we have a term for girls like this. We call them tomboys. On the other hand, there's no name for a boy who likes the same things as girls. Well, there are names, but I don't think it would be appropriate to mention them here.

What I'm trying to say is that, for some reason, it is acceptable in our society for a girl to play with toys designed for boys, but it is not acceptable for a boy to play with toys designed for girls. Girls will play with trucks and Legos. However, you don't often see boys playing with Barbie dolls. Girls are able to break the boundaries while boys are relegated to stick with toys that are male-oriented or gender-neutral.

Of course, this pattern doesn't disappear as girls grow older. It just tends to migrate from toys to clothing. Women seem to have the option of wearing women's clothing or men's clothing. It is perfectly acceptable for women to wear men's shirts. Women can wear suits and ties. Men do not have the same option. You don't see guys walking around wearing dresses and high heels. Well, maybe you do, but that's something altogether different.

So, why are females allowed to cross the borders into the males' territory, but the males must stay within their confines? There is one area that is particularly frustrating about men not being able to adapt to womens styles. That would be pocketbooks.

The pocketbook is one of the greatest ideas in the world. Instead of carrying items in your pockets, you have a small bag that hangs comfortably from your shoulder and holds everything you need. No more keys bulking up in your pockets, jabbing into your skin. No more shifting to keep from sitting on the wallet in your back pocket. In theory, I can't understand why a man would not want one of these.

However, somewhere along the course of fashion, it was decided that the pocketbook would only be used by women. Now, there is no hope left for men ever using a pocketbook. I'm aware that in some European countries, they developed a men's pocketbook, but you'll notice that that concept never really took off. On the other hand, if it had been decided that the pocketbook would only be used by men, you could be sure that women would be using them anyway.

Sometimes, I'm not even sure why there's a Mens department in stores. Instead, there should be a Womens Only department and an Everybody department. There are other issues hiding beneath the surface here, but that's a story for another week.