Peter Jordan commented:
> Although around here men have been seen in skirts, (they call them kilts,
> but if it looks like a skirt, call it one).
*shrug* Context context context. According to clothing taxonomy,
dictionary definitions, fashion history ... a kilt is a type of
skirt. A type of skirt customarily worn by men. Anyone who argues
on _that_ point is being oversensitive.
But in _casual_ speech, we tend to distinguish between "skirt",
which _usually_ refers specifically to not-customarily-men's
skirts, and other terms (such as kilt) for regional or historical
costume that includes a skirted garment worn by men. I'll leave
the sociological implications of this as an exercise for the reader,
but it does come down to frequently hearing, "It's not a dress, it's
a tunic," and "It's not a skirt, it's a kilt," in response to
comments and questions about what folks are wearing at Scottish or
Irish festivals, renaissance fairs, medieval re-enactment demos, etc.
Personally, the distinction for me is that if it makes me feel
pretty, it's a skirt (or a dress); and if it makes me feel _butch_,
it's a kilt (or a tunic). Not that one can't be both butch and
pretty at the same time, but _feeling_ butch tends to distract
me from feeling pretty at the same time. *shrug* Personal hangup.
The thing is, my kilt -- which I wear on stage with The Homespun
Ceilidh Band -- is the most butch, most macho clothing I own.
More so than my fancy tunic, more so than my working/camping tunics,
more so than a modern coat-and-tie, more so than a rented tuxedo
or morning suit, more so than renaissance vest and knee breeches,
more so than bluejeans and a flannel shirt. I never feel more
Masculine than in a poofy "pirate" shirt, kilt, gillies, and knee
socks. And feedback from others suggests that at least some portion
of the folks around me _see_ that as my most masculine attire.
None of this changes the fact that technically, a kilt is a type of
skirt. We just don't usually _call_ it that.
As for what one can and can't do in a skirt, well most of my
(non-kilt) skirts are longer than my kilt and drape differently
(plus I'm usually wearing opaque hose with them), so I usually
have to be more careful in a kilt than in a skirt. Since last
night I've been trying to find the photo a friend took of me at
another friend's wedding, which shows me (in a skirt and high
heels) perched halfway up a wall with an elbow looped over an
angled brace in the rafters to shoot the cake-cutting. Someone
would've had to be seated right under me to look up my skirt and
see something they shouldn't. (Admittedly I couldn't do that in
the full-circle denim miniskirt that fit when I was seventy pounds
lighter, but that's not the kind of skirt I'd wear to a wedding.)
An ex-girlfriend used to boast that she could do anything in a
skirt that others could do in trousers, including climbing trees,
without flashing anyone. I really don't feel limited in most of
the skirts I wear. Yeah, if I lose a bunch of weight and go back
to wearing miniskirts more often (*sigh*), I'll have to be careful
in the shorter ones, but I could still wear a longer skirt if I
expect to be shooting pets or children.
Now if I had to hang upside-down by my knees to get a shot, _that_
could be a problem.
-- Glenn
