Creative Writing - Help Please

[charlotte]

Hello,

I hope this is OK to ask this:

I am doing an English course at school, and am working on a piece of creative writing. What I was hoping to get was some ideas from the male forum members for how it feels for a boy to wear a skirt for the first time. What does a boy notice about wearing a skirt? Physical sensation? Emotion reaction?

I think I can imagine most of the likely descriptions — I wear skirts myself, of course — but thought it might be interesting to ask in case I get some perspectives that never occurred to me.

Thank you.

Charlotte
charlotte.jane.martin@gmail.com

[Stuart]

I hope this is OK to ask this:

Yes! We welcome polite questions!

I am doing an English course at school, and am working on a piece of creative writing. What I was hoping to get was some ideas from the male forum members for how it feels for a boy to wear a skirt for the first time. What does a boy notice about wearing a skirt? Physical sensation? Emotion reaction?

Gee. It's been a few years since I started wearing skirts, but I'll say "physical sensation." I'm an engineer by trade, a discipline noted for its lack of emotion. I recall the nothing-is-surrounding-my-legs feeling (others refer to this as "freedom"), and the occasional light brushing of the skirt hem. Alas, I'm a poor choice to answer your question, as engineers are rarely noted for their descriptive abilities, or their ability to compose English.

I'll note that almost every man here was frightened to their core when they wore a skirt in public for the first time, or when informing family members. You can find many such deeply-felt, emotional stories in the Personal Stories section.

Best of luck with your essay,

stuart

[crggrg]

Hi Charlotte - good to see a girl on this forum as well as someone who is younger than me (im 18 btw)

why do i choose to wear a skirt?
comfort - i have to say that is the main reason why i and i think most of the other people on this forum choose to wear skirts instead of trousers. i think the first time i tried a skirt, which was for pure coincidence on what it was like to wear one was just, wow, this is comfortable, i want to wear one of these again and again.

charlotte - just a couple of questions to ask you:
1) as a girl - do you prefer to wear skirts or trousers?
2) what is your personal opinion on men/boys wearing skirts?

Craig - wearing a blue school skirt

[Since1982]

Charlotte, if you couched your questions with consideration I'd be happy to help you, but...WE are NOT BOYS here. We are MEN. Most of us stopped being boys about age 18. When the rules and regulations of manhood come into play we are no longer boys.

[Stu]

Hi Charlotte,

I started with sarongs - and they felt really odd at first. I didn't know how to seat myself properly in a chair, or how to sit comfortably because, like most guys, I am more used to sitting with my legs apart. They just didn't feel natural and, to be frank, I was glad to get back into trousers. For many purposes, I do prefer trousers even today, if only for the convenience and warmth. Skirts come into their own when it's warm, or when you want to relax and have something a bit less weighty around your legs - if I wear trousers, they are invariably heavy jeans or woollen trousers and my pockets are stuffed full of all kinds of things - you can't do that with a sarong or skirt. I am very conscious of maintaining a masculine appearance, though. I like the look of Utilikilts, but I think they are massively overpriced, so I stick with plain denim and with a thick belt.

Stu

[JohnH]

A reason that I now wear skirts and dresses is the comfort of not having that wedge of cloth sticking in my crotch, and in the summertime, of having air circulate from below.

When I wear short skirts and dresses I instinctively sit with my legs together and when I cross my legs, I cross them high above the knee. I also brush my hands against my skirt when I set down. So there were no conscious things I had to learn.

In the summer time I wear denim skirts and dresses nearly all the time and hardly wear pants or shorts unless if it absolutely necessary. In the winter time I alternate between pants and dresses.

Unlike Stu I really don't care if I look masculine. I just want a pleasing appearance.

John

[kingfish]

Trying to think back several decades to when I tried on some of my sister's skirts....

I noticed that with the straight ones, your stride would get gently restricted.
I felt a sense of comfort related to the openness between the legs.
I felt a sense of vulnerability based on the exact same openness.
I felt a sense of risk based on breaking the rules created through the stereotypes of gender.
The rush I felt from that vulnerability and risk hooked me.

The funny thing, now that I think about it, my first "skirt" could conceivably have been that innocuous bath towel wrapped around my waist. The only difference between it and some of the stuff in my sister's closet happen to be the level of security involved with keeping it on (e.g. belt, button/zipper closure, etc). In fact, my method of securing it coming out of the shower now mimicks what I do with a sarong. I wrap it around my waist, then neatly fold the top couple of inches down three times.

Oh, and on another note, there is another work that sounds similar to your project.
You may want to check out "Bill's New Frock" by Anne Fine.

Good luck, I hope you share the work with us when you're done.

[charlotte]

I recall the nothing-is-surrounding-my-legs feeling (others refer to this as "freedom"), and the occasional light brushing of the skirt hem.

Hi Stuart,

This is exactly the type of items I am after. Great. Thank you.

Alas, I'm a poor choice to answer your question, as engineers are rarely noted for their descriptive abilities, or their ability to compose English.

Not at all. I'm only trying to compile the types of reactions -- it's my assignment to write them up in a descriptive way.

I'll note that almost every man here was frightened to their core when they wore a skirt in public for the first time

What is that fear of? Being confronted? Laughed at? Discovered? All of them?

Thanks

Charlotte.

[STEVIE]

Hi Charlotte,
Welcome and I congratulate you on your research for any assignment such as this one.
My take on skirts is very simple, I find them much more comfortable to wear than trousers.
I also would echo an earlier question, which do you prefer? I would assume for, at least some of the time, you have no choice, i.e. school dress
code.
I wil impose another question, how would you feel if your Dad , brother or male schoolfriends wore skirts?
Steve

[charlotte]

i think the first time i tried a skirt, which was for pure coincidence on what it was like to wear one was just, wow, this is comfortable, i want to wear one of these again and again.

Thanks for the ideas. What was the reason you tried the skirt for the first time? I understand you continued wearing because you realised it was comfortable, but why did you try it the first time?

charlotte - just a couple of questions to ask you:
1) as a girl - do you prefer to wear skirts or trousers?
2) what is your personal opinion on men/boys wearing skirts?

I wear what suits the situation. I have a school uniform, and so have to wear a skirt to school. I tend to switch to jeans or shorts (depending on the weather) when I get home. Jeans would be a my normal choice for a typical casual day out. I tend to wear skirts more in summer, or if dressing up for a special event.

In general, I think guys should wear whatever they like, including skirts. There should be no rules preventing them wearing. If your asking my opinion on style -- then I think some types of skirts look good on a guy, and some don't look good on a guy. Similarily, some skirts that look good on younger girls do not look good on older women. It's not really about sex, but about what looks good for a particular person.

Charlotte.

[charlotte]

Charlotte, if you couched your questions with consideration I'd be happy to help you, but...WE are NOT BOYS here. We are MEN. Most of us stopped being boys about age 18. When the rules and regulations of manhood come into play we are no longer boys.

I think there is a misunderstanding. The creative writing is about a boy in a skirt. It's not about a man in a skirt. That's why I mentioned "boy". Not to imply everyone here is a boy.

[charlotte]

Hi Charlotte,

I started with sarongs - and they felt really odd at first. I didn't know how to seat myself properly in a chair, or how to sit comfortably because, like most guys, I am more used to sitting with my legs apart.

Thank you Stu. My interest is that "felt really odd at first". What was "odd" about it?

Sitting differently is a good thought. Thank you.

Charlotte.

[charlotte]

So there were no conscious things I had to learn.

Thank you for your ideas John. It is interesting that it came naturally to you. I don't recall "learning" how to wear a skirt. It's just someone I have always done -- wearing a skirt. But presumably my parents taught me when I sat badly as a little girl. I've seen my aunt do that with her daughter.

Charlotte.

[charlotte]

I noticed that with the straight ones, your stride would get gently restricted.
I felt a sense of comfort related to the openness between the legs.
I felt a sense of vulnerability based on the exact same openness.
I felt a sense of risk based on breaking the rules created through the stereotypes of gender.
The rush I felt from that vulnerability and risk hooked me.

This is a fantastic list. Thank you so much. "Vulnerability" is a great idea. I hadn't thought of that, but I get it. Skirts do have a vulnerability which I did not think about.

Oh, and on another note, there is another work that sounds similar to your project.
You may want to check out "Bill's New Frock" by Anne Fine.

I have read that, thank you. I was hoping for to write something focussing more on the instant reaction to wearing a skirt the first time, rather than the practical consequences during a day -- though that is an interesting storyline.

Charlotte.

[crfriend]

It's worth noting that many of the participants in this forum haven't seen their boyhood, save in pictures and dim memories, in decades; some of us are likely old enough to be grandfathers to secondary-school "youngsters".

That having been said, I didn't put on my first skirt until I was well into my 40s and was immediately impressed with the sense of liberation I felt from the experience. For perhaps the first time I felt breezes hit spots that had been covered in the twin-tubes of trousers get up and underneath; the immediate thought that sprang from that was a feeling of having been cheated over the years with the notion of skirts being off limits. Since then, I have gone on to develop my own sense of style and my own aesthetic but that will not fit the requirement of the thread as I am not a lad any longer, and haven't been for years and years. I wish I'd had the strength, courage, and conviction to be different from the masses in terms of style in addition to interests.

Good luck on your writing assignment.