Years ago I use to wear a fanny pack around. For the record, I'm male. But people made fun of me for having one, saying it made me look like a senior even though I was in my 30's then. I found it made carrying certain things like a wallet and keys for instance easier. Now they have man purses, which I would never want to use. What's wrong with men using fanny packs that many seem to frown at?
shareI wear a small crossbody bag, and I've done that for years. It allowed me to carry some book (an e-book, nowadays) and read it in the public transport, or elsewhere (I am a voracious reader). A few times, I had some people making fun. I politely used to explain the reason why I used it, and then I politely used to ask whether they had some problem with it or with me. After that, everything was OK.
shareWe called them Belly Bags here in the States. They were a common staple for people living in the 80s and 90s, when you needed to carry stuff around on vacations and didn't want to wear a purse or tote bag. Trouble is, they are not figure-flattering on anybody and what's even more embarrassing, is that elderly people and LD kids kept on wearing them long after the young dumped the style trend, so it makes them even more unpopular than they used to be.
The only exceptions to the rule these days are when someone is wearing them for utilitarian purposes, such as patients with a medical condition and equipment to carry around; scientists and researchers working in the field; and hikers. You could also just tell people to shove it if they're gonna be rude about how you carry your stuff.
I will personally admit to wearing a cute, Beauty and the Beast belly bag when I was 9 and visiting Disneyworld in June of '96. It was a very pretty bag; blue with dark rose vines printed on, and a pink flap with a iron-on of Belle's face. Could you blame my 9-year-old self for wanting to have it, wear it, and use it? (I have no idea where it is now, due to all the moving and it being so many years since then. It's probably buried in a box in our garage somewhere).
Mom, of course, has a very simple, black one she's used for years, and doesn't care what people think of her wearing it, hehe.