Girls’ pencil cases
I always find it funny that schoolgirls pack so many pens and pencils into their pencil cases. It’s like they’ve got a whole stationery store in there! I habitually carry only two pens at any one time - one red pen and one black pen. And, I hardly ever use a pencil. I never carry one with me. That’s been my custom for as long as I can remember. It’s simple. It’s utilitarian. But females habitually carry enough writing instruments to set up an office - a rainbow of ink pens, pencils and erasers all in a diverse collection of styles in a cut case that reflects their personalities. Maybe it’s because women, or girls like to doodle and draw pictures more than men and arm themselves accordingly. Or, maybe it’s a manifestation of some kind of nesting behavior. Girls and women are gatherers, and boys and men are hunters. In the classroom I often take note of how many pens and pencils female students are packing because it’s funny. It’s also a little cute. Maybe the clutter and heft of an adult woman’s bag, or at least her cosmetics case, is a natural evolution of the schoolgirl’s pencil case.
One day in December 2022, I remarked to an 11-year-old girl student about the copious contents of her pencil case. I emphasized (in Japanese) the difference between us by removing my pens from my breast pocket under my sweater and showing her, demonstrating that I have only one of each. I was surprised when she said, in English, “Life equal cute.” It’s a common Japanese mistake to drop the final “s” in first person singular present tense verbs. I have also been told by teenage students, in English, that cuteness is how people appeal to one another, a feature of human behavior that is more important in Japanese and Asian cultures than in foreign, Western cultures, I think.
“Life equal cute.”
Yu Odatai
Age 11