Cultural differences

[susan54]

Scotland has a reputation for being a Presbyterian country with attitudes to match, but it is actually very accepting and tolerant of differences. I go out dressed a lot, and though I look good and move well, I do not pass. Usually I can go everywhere without getting any reaction - a very rare double take is as bad as it gets. (I often get good reactions, though - yesterday a lady passing me in a shop in a small town said "I love your colours"). Earlier this week, I went to a major (crowded) tourist attraction on Loch Ness in a floaty skirt, where most of the visitors seemed to be either American or from continental Europe. There was quite a lot of head-jerking. One guy even retraced his steps for another look. Nobody said anything (even to each other - at least within my hearing) but the reactions definitely made the visit less enjoyable. It made me realise how great our own society is and what those in other countries have to go through when they venture out. In the UK we have a very strong culture of "don't react" when we see someone out of the ordinary, and that only relaxes when someone is dressed in a way that THEY want to attract attention.

[BLUE ORCHID]

Hi Susan, Unfortunately Total acceptance is a long way off for us.

[kimdl93]

Oddly, here in urban Texas I find most people are quit restrained in their reaction, if the show any at all. Who knows what catches a persons eye.

[Beverley Sims]

If you present yourself in a lot of places in the US there is little reaction.
To get reaction from international tourists they obviously saw something abnormal for their present surroundings.
Back home their reaction may have been different.

[noeleena]

Hi,

Keeping in mind they who ever those people are or where they come from . local or not this is about being seen , so can we take this further, how about talking with them or just a hi its a nice day or similar. is that going to happen , could you in fact go that far,

Okay here in Waimate or Timaru & Oamaru. well for me it does not matter any where i go .

To dispel peoples fears or for thier thinking whats going on here ?'s . I meet & greet people . i spos the best place for myself is being in front of 400 people from some 17 countys represented at one meeting = our Multy cultural group or Race relations group being seen by all talked to or said hi to most plus do photography .

it presents a very good opening for myself to meet so many. this i have done over the last 4 years, & with some of our family . 7 of us, & then others who know our family as well is really a fantastic oppitunity, so ill have met some 1300 people in that time through our group,

What i find so neat is many will see me down the road & stop to talk with me so is this not what its all about plain old acceptance is working,

I know not every one can just do it or are in a place both where you live & how you see your self in being able to as ill say go up to people youv not meet & talk with them,


...noeleena...

[Kiltie]

Hi Susan. I'm from Scotland too and its so nice to hear of your good experiences when dressed here. For my own part as you probably gather, I wear kilts a lot. This all went back to when I was a boy and wore a kilt to school. I genuinely loved wearing my kilt and the girls navy blue and bottle green knickers that went with it as was the practice then. In later life I took to wearing kilts whenever I wasnt at work and now that I am retired I wear kilts 24/7. To me wearing a kilt was natural and felt good and in the beginning when I started wearing a kilt full time I had reservations too about getting comments. I neednt have worried. All the comments I have ever had about being kilted have been good ones. Some ask the usual question, some ladies say how nice it is to see a man in a kilt and, yes, I suppose there are some cd's and trans people who also are attracted by a man in a kilt as everyday wear. Personally I have a transgendered friend who lives on the south of England and she loves to see pictures of me in my various kilts. I take it as a great compliment. Maybe I'll see you out someday and you will know who I am because I'll be wearing my kilt for normal day wear. Its hard to explain here but I like the feel of a kilt and have done since those early days when I wore it as a boy. I have mainly mid weight kilts and a few lightweight ones for summer as the heavyweight cloth is impractical for everyday wear in my opinion. Good luck and Im sure you look great dressed.
Ian