What is the issue with a man in a skirt or kilt?

[Jamie001]

It didn't actually make me feel defensive, but it's still no fun to be around and it did succeed in making me less eager to hang around places where they hung out.

It seems that you should not want to hang-out with these types of males anyway. Their heckling/dominance is a good indication of their poor character. It's a good way to sort out who you want to hang with.

[busker]

I have a kilt in my family tartan that being the Kingdom of Fyfe , it is the full 9 yard's and quite heavy and I don't have any problems at all wearing it ,one time when my wife and I went to a restaurant whilst I was wearing it I got quite a few nice looks from the ladies, and no I didn't feel like a man in a skirt, because it is completely different , I have also worn it just to go shopping we went into town and I got quite a few nice comments , and anyway it means you can legally carry a knife in a public place.

That means you were likely more dressed than not since you put the dirk between your leg and the sock.
As an aside, are all kilts 9 yards, and is that where the phrase "the whole 9 yards" comes from ?

[meri]

A lot of kilts are bought at the local Irish festival. Many, many men are seen wearing kilts at these events. However, I too rarely see them on the street. I wear mine on a regular basis and have motivated others to do the same thing. One fine Spring day, we will all be shocked when a mass of men emerge wearing their. Irish festival kilts. Of course, that will be a fine day, but I suppose I will need to focus on sarongs instead!

Meri

[dominique]

I come from Scotland. It's the norm here if you spot a man wearing a kilt, there is no bad mouthing of the person wearing it. As its considered the national dress so no fuss is made of it. Also it was the norm up until the First World War that Highland regiments fought in kilts, not the tartan ones but khaki. So there is a tradition of us scotsmen wearing it and we wear it proudly. As for the whole nine yards I think but don't quote me on this is a saying from WW1 as the ammunition belt on a machine gun was 9 yards long so if you fire it all your going the whole 9 yards.
Hope this helps.

[jjjjohanne]

One year, at a party for my wife's work, I met a man in a kilt. He said that if he is not at work, he normally is kilted. He gave arguments that you would find at a site like this or at skirtcafe. By that I mean, he felt like he needed to be a little defensive. I heard people ask him questions like, "Are you scottish?" He just liked wearing them, he told them. I was surprised. It was so very cold that I was wishing that I had worn tights under my suit pants. He was bare legged. People reacted to him and asked him about it. I am sure they talked privately about the guy they knew in the kilt. But, then everyone moved on. If you weren't dealing directly with him, then you had no reason to think about it.

[MiraM]

My family is 1/2 Scott. I used to wear a Kilt on a regular basis years ago. My brother, however, wears a kilt daily as his normal mode of dress. He wears it at work (in a machine shop), on his motorcycle, horseback, etc. So to say that men don't wear kilts in the US is a broad generalization.

[Asche]

It seems that you should not want to hang-out with these types of males anyway. Their heckling/dominance is a good indication of their poor character. It's a good way to sort out who you want to hang with.

Unfortunately, it's not that simple. If they're your co-workers, avoiding them means finding another job (which may have the same problem.) if they're people who happen to like an activity you like, avoiding them may mean giving up that activity. (I'm into dancing, but there are a number of dancing styles that I love but have given up precisely because of the kind of people these styles attract.)

I gather women have it worse: if they're into an activity that also attracts a lot of males, they generally have to put up with a sewer-load of sexism, misogyny, and sexual harrassment if they want to pursue it.

[nhlighthouse]

So "What does a person wear under their Kilt?...and don't SKIRT the issue! I would say nude thight high or panty hose!
Let me add this little tib-bit...being in the sales/marketing/retail business I can see a HUGE HUGE HUGE opportunity for clothes manufacturers/designers to market a full line of clothing for men with the feel of womens fabric(s) and style. I feel we as cders could and would lead the way by break the barrier in society of the non-acceptances of men wearing womens clothes.
I also feel that this would lead to a more gentler society eg. less rage, more respect for one another, even world leaders could get along much better although the last one is a long short. medicially lower blood pressures, diabetes and stress, which is a cause of some of these, and who knows what other diesease would cease or be more manageable. ......Mike/Mychelle

[Frédérique]

So, it got me wondering why I NEVER see a man wearing a kilt in the USA, unless it is a parade or St Patty's day, or an event like that? Never just walking down the street, in Chicago, in the middle of July. Are we in the USA so against a "man in a skirt", that even kilts are not worn here? I see clothes from other cultures being worn ALL THE TIME. I see Sarongs, Sarees, Serapes, tunics, Turbans, or even MuuMuu's (yes US but not usually mainland). Why are all these clothes unique to other cultures seen worn all the time, but never a kilt?

Here in McPherson County, Kansas they have a Scottish festival every summer, very arbitrary in nature and completely unrelated to the surroundings. The county I live in was named after a Civil War (Union) general, and he happened to have a Scottish last name. So, each summer you MAY see a man wearing a kilt, if you’re lucky – I encountered one at Wal-Mart one night during the festival. Cool! However, I think he was in a Scottish group of some sort, and not free-lancing per se…

Me, I wear kilts all the time, but I wear them like a skirt (no sporran, no belt, etc.). I actually have a couple of female kilts, a true oxymoron – check out my profile image if you’re interested. Years ago, on TechTV, they had a show called “The Screen Savers,” and one of the guys on the show would wear a utilikilt on occasion. I think the company was nearby, and the host liked the product, so he promoted it on the air. The funny thing was that even in San Francisco, where the show originated, they couldn’t stop mentioning the fact that here was a man wearing a kilt, albeit a purely functional one. It took innumerable episodes before everyone on the show got used to this anomaly – there’s just something strangely taboo about kilts, since they look like skirts. Both men and women just laughed and laughed at this guy…

You never hear something like, “I love your kilt!” You only hear references to what you might be wearing, or NOT wearing, underneath. This gets extremely tiresome, especially if you’re trying to express something (such as your apart-ness) by your choice of clothing. Personally, I think that America is a very insecure place, and males are very insecure about themselves, or their inherent sensibilities. This comes through, loud and clear, whenever a kilt homes into view…