Greetings from Paul

[Pythos]

My mother should be exposed to your last statement more often in her life.

She is always making me wear jeans when we go out. It makes me not want to do anything with her, which makes me feel like a heel.

People who try to control people's dress style, kill creativity in the field. They perpetuate the status quo, which at present is dull.

[Juan]

Paul! I'd love to have met you when I was living in Chicago (actually one of the Northern suburbs). We could have got together for a "skirted-coffee". Anyways, we can still meet here, at the skirtcafe!

Take care,

Juan

[nicothoe]

Actually, I was born in and bred in England, Liverpool to be precise, and moved to Chicago in 2002 to get married. Spent a couple of years living in the city, before moving to the northwest suburbs (Arlington Heights) and then finally to the far west suburbs.

I have only recently started wearing skirts, a month or two, so our paths probably would never have crossed. So I am still very much in the learning process, which includes be comfortable in a public arena. The wife is getting used to seeing me in skirts around the house, but I have yet to venture out into public with her by my side. It's one thing for me to bring attention to myself, but I don't want her to feel uncomfortable by doing so. We are both very open-minded individuals, so something tells me she'll be okay with it now. I think her initial fear was that this was so sudden, so "out of the blue", so contrary to my personality, that it caused her to panic. The truth is, she loves to see an man in a kilt, and has tried to get me one in years. We have dressed up in medieval garb as part of the SCA, so are most used to being "dressed funny" in public.

My two daughters, 6 and 3, aren't phased at all by my wearing skirts. In fact, the youngest of them simply called it a "boy skirt". They are at an impressionable age, where they are still learning what is "acceptable" in society and what is not. Hopefully they will grow up without some of them stigma and prejudices society likes to "force" on us.

[Skirt Chaser]

My two daughters, 6 and 3, aren't phased at all by my wearing skirts. In fact, the youngest of them simply called it a "boy skirt". They are at an impressionable age, where they are still learning what is "acceptable" in society and what is not. Hopefully they will grow up without some of them stigma and prejudices society likes to "force" on us.

*clapping wildly here* Yes, kids learn whatever normal is from home. I don't intend to let my husband sneak out of his skirts to be in pants whenever any nieces or nephews come around. Quiet Man is not up to that yet but then again my brother has no children yet either so there is still time. Children are comfortable with almost anything the adults around them are comfortable with, just as they are learning there are so many kinds of relationships. Thank you for setting such a good example for the girls! More people could do with a large dose of understanding that different is not good or bad, just different. Hopefully your girls will learn what is generally acceptable by society so they are not surprised by reactions but at the same time have the strength and good sense to be able to do what is right for them. It sounds like you and your wife are giving them that already.

Welcome to the cafe, Paul! And your girlfriend and wife are welcome to play here themselves too.

[nicothoe]

Thank you SkirtChaser for your kinds words. There are many styles of parenting out there, and people differ as to what you let your kids do, see, hear, say or believe. As far as my wife and I are concerned, are goal is simple: to produce two adults who are able to think for themselves, who have the mental and emotional tools to deal with life in the real world.

Whenever they see something different, I want them to think about it rather than immediately bashing and condemning it. To listen to both sides of the argument, analyze the facts, and reach their own conclusions. Someone once told my wife that what she feared most was her kids rebelling as teenagers. She was somewhat shocked by my wife's response, which was "i can't wait for my kids to rebel!" Rebellion need not be a bad thing, and in teenagers it's about becoming adults and having control over their own lives. To show that you have control, you often have to do something contrary to the opinion of beliefs of your parents.

By wearing skirts, the men of this forum of are in a way rebelling against the "norms" of this society, and in doing so are showing the people around that they truly are free to be themself.