Is it OK for American Men to Wear Skirts?

I recently stumbled upon a Dear Abby column where a man wrote in because he wanted his family to accept him, skirt and all. This is a man that is happily married and is not a cross dresser. He simply enjoys wearing skirts because they are looser than pants. He writes in his letter "the only thing against men wearing skirts is social pressure..." and points out that pants are a relatively new style of clothing. For the entire letter, and Abby's response, visit http://www.uexpress.com/dearabby/?uc_full_date=20081231.

I decided to do some of my own research. I could not find any laws or religious beliefs that prohibited men from wearing skirts. Some men say that it takes a real man to wear a skirt. Others are humiliated by the mere thought of a man in a skirt and would never consider it themselves. While American culture does not accept and support this type of dress for a man, it is more common than I realized.

I typed American men that wear skirts in my internet browser and there were millions of sites for me to visit. Most were support groups and fashion sites. Most of the men were sporting traditional Scottish kilts.

So, what is the difference between a skirt and a kilt? According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, the word skirt dates back to the fourteenth century and has two meanings I wanted to share. The first is an outer garment or undergarment extending from the waist down, the second is a separate free hanging garment or undergarment usually worn by women and girls covering some or all of the body from the waist down. You can find the full definition at http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skirt[1].

When I looked up kilt in the same online dictionary, I was surprised to see that the use of the word as a noun only dated back to the eighteenth century. The meaning was a knee length pleated skirt usually of tartan worn by men in Scotland and by Scottish regiments in the British Armies. The use of kilt as a verb dates back to the fourteenth century. For the full definition you can visit http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kilt[2].

The only difference I found was that skirts can be any length and are made to be worn by women. Kilts are knee length and pleated as a rule. The use of kilts is Scottish, but can be worn by anyone.

So, I referred back to the Dear Abby letter and saw that the man did not mention kilts, he was speaking of skirts. This does not mean he is wearing a woman's skirt; all it means is that he did not specify kilt or skirt. When we hear the word skirt, depending on the person, we envision anything from a long free flowing ankle skirt all the way to a micro mini, and usually all on women. When we hear kilt, most of us envision a knee length, checkered and pleated garment on a man (usually marching in a parade playing the bagpipes).

It is our culture that dictates what is or is not acceptable. Most of us adhere to these standards. Not because we HAVE to, but because it is our comfort zone and we are content with that. I could not find any information online, other than definitions, origins, and opinions. I will say that there was one site that impressed me and plead the case for men, feel free to visit it at http://www.kiltmen.com/.

I decided to do my own research and interview some friends and family. The results were not very surprising.

I asked three grown women a few questions. They are as follows.

1. Is it ok for an American man to wear a skirt?

2. Other than culture or religion, would a reason such as comfort be acceptable to you for a man to wear a kilt or skirt?

3. Would you be attracted to a man in a kilt or skirt?

The first woman I asked is a professional married woman in her fifties with a lifelong and lucrative career. Her answers were as follows.

1. Only for cultural or religious reasons.
2. No, I think there is more to it than that. I think they are questioning their sexual orientation and have yet to admit that to themselves.
3. You know, if I saw a man in uniform that required a kilt to be worn, and he was marching in a parade and was good looking, I would appreciate his looks. But, if he were wearing it as normal attire, good looking or not, I would not be attracted to him.

The second woman I asked is a wife and mother in her forties with a new career after raising her children. Here are her answers.

1. No, not at all.
2. No, I think men like that need therapy.
3. No, I would absolutely not be attracted to a man wearing a skirt or kilt.

The last woman I asked is a retired mother (with grown children) and widow in her sixties. Her answers are as follows.

1. Sure, a kilt and bagpipes is acceptable in a parade or as part of one's culture.
2. No, I do not think so.
3. No, not at all if it were part of their normal every day wear.

Then I asked three grown men if they would or ever have worn a kilt or skirt. I also asked them what they thought of men that did.

The first man that I asked is a husband and father of grown children. He is in his sixties and retired from a long and successful career. He has never worn a kilt. When I asked him what he and the other professionals on his office may have done if one of their peers came to work in a skirt, he said, "we would have given him a one way ticket to Scotland so he could wear all the kilts he wanted to".

The next man I asked is a hard working middle class man in his thirties. He is a husband and father and very much a "man's man". He said he might wear a kilt as part of a Renaissance Faire or festival but not for any other reason. He has never worn one. He says it is ok if it "has armor on it".

The last man I asked is a single guy in his twenties. He said, "I would wear a kilt with pride as part of my culture for a parade or something. But not for everyday clothes. It is just not manly. Those guys must be gay".

Then I asked three children, a twelve year old boy, a ten year old girl, and a three year old girl if boys should wear skirts. I explained to the two older ones what kilts are as well.

The twelve year old young man said "no, it is not ok", and when I said to him maybe a man's pants are too tight and thought skirts gave them that comfort, he said, "they can just buy looser pants. That's weird".

The ten year old girl laughed and said, "He would get made fun of a lot".

The three year old girl wailed out a simple "NO"!

So there you have it folks.

There may be no written laws against men wearing skirts in our society, but it is not well received as part of the American Man's everyday wardrobe. For the men that choose to be different, kudos to you, but I would not count on a change of heart from your fellow Americans any time soon.

I leave you with the old Scottish saying, "whatever blows yer skirt up, so long as yer happy".