Sara Kelley, Fall 2006
A well-known commercial asks, “What’s in your wallet?”: an interesting question, intended to increase awareness about a certain credit card. I would like to ask a similar question, “Where is your wallet?,” intended to increase the awareness (particularly in men) about the dangers of carrying a wallet in the back pocket. “What’s so dangerous about a wallet?” you counter. Then you point out the common belief: “It’s just a folded, case-like piece of material.” Well, I would like to introduce to you several reasons why carrying that simple folded piece of material in your back pocket is harmful.
First, carrying a wallet in a back pocket is simply uncomfortable and inconvenient. Who wants to sit all day on a wad of leather, a couple $20 bills, a Capital One card, and other items common to the wallet? “I didn’t like sitting on my wallet. It didn’t matter so much when I was younger; but now that I’m older, and my wallet is fatter, I find it very uncomfortable,” joked my father (Kelley). Despite the humor, the fact remains that it’s just uncomfortable to have a wallet in your back pocket when sitting or driving. I surveyed thirty-six men of varying ages about their wallet-carrying habits, and eleven of them mentioned the fact that carrying a wallet in their back pockets is uncomfortable (survey). That’s about thirty-one percent, a rather large proportion considering that wasn’t even a direct question asked in my survey.
Another response a few men wrote is that it is inconvenient to keep their wallets in the back pocket (survey). This is also logical. Think about the situations in which you need your wallet: when you need to pay for the groceries, when you need to show your license when you get pulled over (for having a taillight out, of course; you would never exceed the speed limit!), or when you want to show off Susie’s fifth grade picture, etc. It’s not quite so inconvenient when you’re standing, but what if you’re sitting—uncomfortably—on your wallet? Now you have to either stand up (if the situation allows) or awkwardly lift up your body so you can struggle to get your wallet out of your pocket. In the past, I have seen my dad do just that many times—when he needed to pay a toll while we were on a family vacation, for example.
When I asked my dad if he still carried his wallet in his back pocket, he answered, “No, my wife made me change it.” The reason: my mother didn’t like the fact that his wallet ruined his clothes (Kelley). The wallet’s constant wearing against the fabric of the pocket created worn spots, holes, or a stretched-out look in almost every pair of pants my dad owned. This wearing occurs despite the fact that fabrics like denim, cotton, and other woven materials commonly used for clothing are among the most durable of fabrics (Swantko 24). And apparently the damage doesn’t have to occur over a long period of time. My dad told me about his worst “durability experience.” He was wearing a brand new pair of dress pants to work, leaned back against a table, and tore a hole right where the corner of his wallet stretched out the fabric. So he ended up with a pair of brand new pants that were ruined within the first few times of being worn. This wearing-out of pants caused by the wallet seems to be a common problem; almost seventy percent of the men who still carried their wallets in their back pockets complained of damage to their clothes (survey). Isn’t it ironic that wallets are wearing on pants, not just being worn in them?
Yet another reason carrying your wallet in your back pocket is dangerous is that it makes it more susceptible to being stolen. In a Chicago Tribune article, journalist Judy Artunian quoted experts who said that pickpockets have nicknamed the back pocket “the sucker pocket” because it allows them to easily take advantage of individuals who choose to carry their wallets there (par. 4, 6). “So my wallet gets stolen, I lose some money…big deal,” you say. Even though about seventy percent of all the men I surveyed are concerned about their wallets being pickpocketed, more than half of that percentage continue to carry their wallets in their back pockets (survey). Well, your wallet getting stolen is a big deal. In recent years, the focus of pickpocketing has shifted from stealing money to stealing identities (Gowen, par. 1). Because most people’s wallets contain much personal information (including their name, address, and social security, credit card, and bank numbers), if their wallets are stolen, chances are increased that their identities will be stolen as well.
“Okay, fine. Maybe carrying my wallet in my back pocket isn’t such a great idea, but it’s not like it’s going to land me in the doctor’s office,” you say. Unfortunately, this is also untrue; it can. Three out of every four men experience some form of back pain during their lives, and many of these cases are caused by pressure (“Low Back Pain,” par. 1). The pressure created from sitting on a wallet can cause or contribute to conditions such as sciatica and piriformis syndrome, two common disorders involving compression and irritation of the nerve that serves the entire back of the leg (Werner 650). According to an article included in the Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, “Sitting on a wallet held in a back pocket can cause a misalignment of the sacroiliac joint, resulting in sciatica” (Klotter, par. 1). The symptoms of this painful syndrome include burning, tingling, weakness, and pain radiating from the hips and low back down the leg (Lowe 104). Although some cases of sciatica resolve within a few months with treatment, continuing to carry the wallet in the back pocket will maintain the problem, which can eventually lead to surgery (Anderson, par. 3). But there is still hope. One man who filled out my survey wrote, “I carried my wallet in my right back pocket for twenty-five years. Then I saw a doctor about my back pain, and the root cause was the wallet. [I no longer carry my wallet in my back pocket, and] I have had no back pains (caused by [the] wallet) for [the] last fifteen years” (survey). If this pain and the conditions causing pains like it can be prevented by not carrying a wallet in your back pocket, why suffer?
“Well, where do you want me to carry my wallet then?” you ask. Many men who took my survey and who no longer carry or never carried their wallets in their back pockets responded that they keep their wallets in their cars or in their front pockets. While carrying your wallet in your front pocket will eliminate many of the problems caused by carrying it in your back pocket, your clothes may still experience wearing. And while keeping your wallet in your vehicle will take care of almost all the issues, you no longer have immediate access to your wallet and the items needed inside it. But which is better? Would you rather suffer with back pain and run the risk of having your wallet (and identity) stolen or be a little inconvenienced? The Chicago Tribune article suggests carrying your wallet in a jacket or breast pocket or simply switching to carrying a money clip (Gowen, par. 17). I guess not carrying a wallet at all would indeed solve the problem of carrying it in your back pocket.
Despite all of the issues created by carrying a wallet in the back pocket, twenty-two out of the thirty-six men surveyed—that’s more than sixty percent—do. However, because it is uncomfortable and inconvenient, damaging to clothing, threatening to money and identity, and detrimental to health, I hope that you won’t answer my question “Where is your wallet?” with “In my back pocket.”
Works Cited
Anderson, Jane. “Sciatica: Common but Persistent Source of Back, Leg Pain.” Journal of Controversial Medical Claims May 2006: 5. Infotrac. UMass Dartmouth. 7 Dec. 2006. <http://infotrac.galegroup.com>.
Artunian, Judy. “Losing More Than Just Your Wallet; Protect Yourself Against ID Fraud.” Chicago Tribune 10 June 2003: 5. ProQuest. UMass Dartmouth. 11 Nov. 2006 <http://proquest.umi.com/>.
Gowen, Annie and Nelson Hernandez. “Keeping Pickpockets Empty-Handed; With Pilfered Wallets Leading to Identity Theft, Police Step Up Prevention Efforts.” Washington Post 26 Nov. 2005: B01. ProQuest. UMass Dartmouth. 11 Nov. 2006 <http://proquest.umi.com/>.
Kelley, Wheat. Personal Interview. 11 Nov. 2006.
Klotter, Jule. “Ergonomics and Pain.” Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients Jan. 2005: 28. Health Reference Center Academic. Thomson Gale. SAILS, Inc. 8 Nov. 2006 <http://galegroup.com>.
“Low Back Pain: Treatment and Prevention.” Harvard Men’s Health Watch Dec. 2006. Infotrac. UMass Dartmouth. 7 Dec. 2006. <http://infotrac.galegroup.com>.
Lowe, Whitney. Functional Assessment in Massage Therapy. Oregon: Orthopedic Massage Education and Research Institute, 1997.
Swantko, Kathlyn. “Fabric Durability and UV Protection.” KnitAmericas Fall 2004. 11 Nov. 2006 < http://www.fabriclink.com/Features/Assets/KAFall04UVprotection.pdf>.
Werner, Ruth. A Massage Therapist’s Guide to Pathology, Third Edition. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins, 2005.
Various men. Survey. November 2006.