From famous Hollywood handbag owners like Nicole Ritchie or
Grace Kelly to the homeless bag lady, who has no name and no
place, bags have power. I suggest that this power lies in their
holding capacities—capacities that are both literal and
symbolic. Holding powers are dimensions of technology and
material culture not yet well examined. I’m thinking about them
using Zoë Sofoulis’ theory of Containment. Building on the work
of Mumford & Heidegger, Sofoulis argues that containment defines
both the tool or object and its function. It is about space and
what space holds. She reminds us that unlike hand-tools or
machines that require power to work, basic containers can
function unaided, as stand-alone holding devices or conduits. As
such they readily retreat to the background of our awareness,
but, crucially, they are the technologies that precede all
others. Today I’m going to use Container Theory to talk about
handbags, suggesting that handbags are political, and play a
crucial part in helping to structure, expr