My theory: The airlines' excess baggage fee for overweight bags is sexist and discriminates against women.

Oh yeah, I got dinged $50 when I went to Washington, D.C., for the State of the Union address. My lone bag weighed 55 pounds, 5 pounds over United Airlines' per bag limit. The injustice of it all: If I'd had two bags to check and they'd both been 50 pounds, that wouldn't have been a problem. Because I opted for one bag, because one is easier to move through the airport than two, I had to pay to play.

At the ticket counter, I was told I could unpack my bag and take things out to bring the weight down. But I was already carrying a laptop and a stuffed-to-capacity shoulder bag and didn't have another bag to stuff clothes into. I couldn't see myself taking out my makeup kit (which wouldn't have made it through security anyway), or tossing my boots and a couple of jackets over my shoulder like a refugee.

So I whipped out a credit card.

I wasn't dinged because planes can carry only so much weight; I was dinged because it's just another way for the airlines to make money.

Admittedly, there are two kinds of packers in this world. Three, if you count the Green Bay variety.

The efficient types prepare for a weeklong business trip by wearing one outfit and packing a suit they wear day after day. One pair of shoes, two at the most.

There are women who fall into this category (I know only two). Men tend to be better at packing light. I belong to Group 2, those who throw in everything they need, then add things they might need. (I packed two outfits for the State of the Union speech.) Three pairs of shoes were included, even though I wore only the aforementioned boots because of the snow.

Coming back, I hauled my heaviest coat, wore the boots and packed the laptop with documents. This time, they said the bag weighed 57 pounds, which I found hard to believe. Again, the suggestion was made that I remove books from my bag. Like that one paperback was going to make a difference. Apparently there was an assumption I was hauling back copies of the Congressional Record in my suitcase.

This time I was checking in at the curb. The guy let me pass and got a good tip. (After this column, I'll be lucky if any of my bags ever arrive at their destination.)

The weight limits have been around for many years but started being enforced stringently only in the summer of 2002, when some of the airlines began charging for bags weighing more than 70 pounds. Now the common max is 50 pounds.

And it's not equal.

British Airways is giving golfers a pass on clubs.

But the mom with two kids and all the paraphernalia that urchins require isn't getting any pass. So the female business traveler who wants to look decent and the mom with kids are discriminated against.

David Castelveter, vice president of communications for the Air Transport Association, said the airlines are trying to offset costs any way they can while keeping fares low. Because of the restrictions on liquids and gels since August, between 15 percent and 20 percent more bags are being checked, he said.

Now that doesn't affect the total weight of the plane, whether those bags are in the hold or the cabin.

But additional weight does require additional fuel, according to the association. So this is the way the airlines "encourage" you to pack light.

Learn from my costly mistake. Weigh your luggage before going to the airport. Pack an empty nylon bag so if you go over the weight limit, you can pull out heavy stuff like shoes and the Congressional Record, which you carefully have placed on the top. That way you can take them out easily without waving your underwear around.

And when you fly, know each airline's standards, because they're not uniform.

Southwest Airlines, for instance, lets you ship three bags, while many others limit you to two. And Southwest would have dinged me only $25 for being over 50 pounds.

Jane Ann Morrison's column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call 383-0275.