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Inequalities based on gender may be perceived in the indiscriminate use of the most ordinary equipment. These inequalities are inscribed within all kinds of technical structures that members of both sexes understand and manipulate differently. In this article, we examine the equipment of passers-by, and more precisely the phenomenon of carrying bags in an urban environment, from the perspective of gender relations. We will see that the bags we carry have a lot to say about our identity and our relationships to others, that they are particularly good illustrations of the gendered division of urban activities, and reveal precious information about the socialization processes that are at work in our societies. Indeed, handbags do speak : men and women reveal – through their adoption and use of various pieces of equipment – the outlines of the social injunctions that influence their behaviour.