HELP! Men in skirts!

[KAS1991]

Hello everyone,

My name is Katie & I am a third year student at Southampton Solent University. I am studying Fashion Journalism and am currently in the process of writing my dissertation. The title of my dissertation is Men in Skirts. I am writing about why there is discrimination against men in skirts and how we can stop this. It's not right that men should be discriminated for wearing what they want. Women can wear trousers, so why can't men wear skirts? I was wondering if any of you were willing to help me with my dissertation by doing an interview with me over email or over this site? Look forward to hearing from you soon!
Katie xx

[crfriend]

Katie -- Welcome, and good luck with your dissertation.

One angle you might wish to explore is why won't (or don't) men wear skirts as well as why can't men wear skirts. To the best of my knowledge, there are few, if any, jurisdictions that prohibit -- by law -- men from wearing any lower garments other than trousers of some form, so "can't" may be a bit off the mark from a constructionist viewpoint. Won't and don't, however, are interesting avenues for exploration ranging from men's own insecurities of being perceived as "less than men" (whatever that means), from pressure from those closest to them, or some fear of reprisal if they "get caught" in something other than trousers.

If you spend some time reading the posts here at SkirtCafe, you will see that gaining the support of his family is usually the biggest obstacle -- and by far the hardest to overcome -- that men face in this regard. Whilst there seems to be ample anecdotal evidence that women are generally supportive of guys wearing skirted garments, that general support seems to evaporate when it's "their man" in question -- and this is quite possibly the major obstacle to the notion and which keeps most men from even contemplating swapping two tubes for one. "What would my wife (or girlfriend) think?" is a powerful disincentive for most guys.

There's also much public confusion between outright cross-dressers and blokes that might want to "put both legs down one pipe", and that further muddies the waters and causes stress. Face it, outright crossdressers seem to be far more commonplace than the chap who simply swaps trousers for a skirt and doesn't try to role-play. I say "seem" above for I have no concrete evidence, but the average person is much more aware of the phenomenon of outright crossdressing than a bloke making a simple fashion statement.

[KAS1991]

Hello!

Thank you so much for your response! It has definitely given me so much help on other aspects I can focus on and a lot more to talk about. I will be taking in consideration changing the word 'won't' instead of 'can't.' I will have a discussion with my tutor about it. Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to me! I am very grateful!

[SkirtRevolution]

Hi Kate,

It’s wonderful to see more people questioning this obvious double standard in society. I have a facebook site which promotes skirts and kilts for men as apart of men's clothing today. If I can be of any assistance in your thesis then I would love to help. My facebook site is http://www.facebook.com/mensskirts Please just sends a friend request and I will add you. I look forwards to chatting with.

[skirtingtoday]

I too am willing to help in your thesis. You could send me a PM or ask for general comments (in the forum) or if there are specific questions you wish responses to. I assume it would be as a form of questionnaire but possibly with comment sections?

You will find a large variety of acceptance particularly by spouses from absolute acceptance to total abhorrence and with many shades of grey in-between.

Keep in touch and let us know how you are getting on.

[ChrisM]

I too am happy to participate in the conversation.

I will say that, tedious as it will be, you would be well advised to read some hundreds of the previous discussions on this point in the archives of this forum. We have discussed this topic A LOT over the years, and this could "jump start" your own research nicely.

All the best,

Chris

[KAS1991]

Hello Everyone,

I am overwhelmed with the responses I have received from all of you! Thank you so much for getting in contact. I have a tutorial on Wednesday and will get back to you all when I've discussed things with my tutor. Thank you again so so much for your help!!

Katie xx

[skirtyscot]

I'd be happy to take part in this as well. Send me a PM if of interest.

[Stevie D]

Katie - PM sent to you.

[RichardA]

Hi Katie, I'm not too far away from you, I'm willing to help

[renesm1]

Hi Katie,

Speaking as a journalist, I'd suggest that you also need to speak to women on this as well. Over the years we have all heard stories of significant others open to the idea of men in skirts just so long as it wasn't their man! I'd ask these people why is it OK for other men but not their own. Really try to get under the skin of why this is so. You need to ask about their own fears, prejudices, etc.

And of course, here on the board are a lot of women that contribute and are much more enlightened on the subject, welcoming their men in skirts. It would be good for the piece you are writing to have both sides of the argument so the reader can draw their own conclusions.

PM me if you want to talk further!

Ren

[Nolyn]

Katie,
If you still need any help, you may PM me as well.
Thanks for persuing the topic.
Nolyn

[Miket]

I'm happy to give my help as well. Just PM me.

[crfriend]

The humourist in me (or at least the class clown) is tempted to look at all the requests for PMs and equate the scene to the blokes all asking the pretty gal at the bar for her 'phone number.

I can understand why some details might be best kept "under wraps" -- especially if the paper needs to be judged as free from external influence -- but there's also a part of me that would be interested to see the entire scene play out in public in a dignified scholarly manner. That way various search-engines might grab and index it, and hopefully -- just hopefully -- shed enough light on the matter that those who might be curious about "shoving both legs down one pipe" might realise that it's perhaps more normal than the herd-mind that society can get judges it.

After all, ideally, this is not a pursuit that goes on behind closed doors (skirt-wearing by guys, that is). Why hide it beneath a veil of secrecy?

[skirtyscot]

So that an exchange between two people doesn't fill up the forum with stuff which is not relevant to anyone else?