skirtcafe.org

recently there has been great news coverage in the netherlands on the issue of male skirt wearers. all thanks to the H&M men skirt, that will not come in after all... sigh! one of the major free newspapers here did a full page article on it.

Tomorrow rokster and I will be interviewed for our local tv station. I am curious about how this will end up.

wichor wrote:Tomorrow rokster and I will be interviewed for our local tv station. I am curious about how this will end up.

Congratulations, Wichor! Do point us to video if the station makes it available on-line.

What happened with the H&M skirt? Did the company decide to back off globally, or just in some places?

no the H&M backed off globally. You didn't know that yet here?

I'll start a new topic on it.

the item is on internet. You can view it here (it starts at 11:40):

http://www.westonline.nl/video/programmas/8155

For your information i give you the translation:

Anchorwoman: if women wear trousers, we can wear skirts, say more than 200 hetero men in the netherlands that wear a skirt. Sounds reasonable, but nevertheless you don’t see men in skirts out and about regularly.
Voiceover: No, this isn’t Schotland, but a local street in The Hague. And these are no transvestites, but two hetero men that like to wear a skirt sometimes.
Robbert: It’s a great feeling, and my wife totally supports me. When it’s no too sexy and when it’s a skirt she could wear too it’s great.
Peet: That one’s too short. Just above the knee I can handle, but shorter, no.
Voiceover: Shopping, that’s what they do in women’s stores,
Peet: that looks neutral, something for the summer
Women in shop: Are you planning to wear that?
Peet: that’s what I’ve been doing for 25 years
Voiceover: Peet has got almost 30 skirts at home, jeans are his favorites.
Peet: Well, I tnink, yes, it’s more comfortable. I don’t know what it is. It’s not something sexual or something like that, it’s the comfort.
Man in the street: No problem with that at al
Woman in the street: me neither, I love it.
Second woman: Yeah, I mean better that what I’m wearing
Voiceover: But apart from positive reactions men in skirts in the netherlands are being viewd as very weird people.
Man in the street: I don’t like it at all
Robbert: What is it you don’t like?
Man: It’s a weird look
Voiceover: often they are made rediculous, and to prevent them from being googled, Peet only will reveal his first name, Robbert has in real life a different name.
Robbert: we are being laughed at sometimes, but few people talk to us about it., but that’s what we miss, because then we can explain why we wear a skirt.
Woman in the street: what is it you like in the skirt
Robbert: it’s a great feeling, more freedom of movement.
Voiceover: Aha, and there’s according to the men also a medical reason for wearing a skirt
Peet: My family physician recently said to me that is healthy for the male potency, for the quality of the semen. And, yes there’s no obsruction.
Robbert: Well, my son was made within two weeks, so…
Peet: For the male potency it’s great
Woman: Oh he has a hard one all day
Man (makes a very bad joke on a very bad Dutch song about having hard ones)

You and Peet were wonderful, wichor! No matter how it was cast by the show you two were positive representatives of men who wear skirts and spoke well. It was also nice just to see and hear the two of you.

thanks skirt chaser for the beautiful words.

i wished everyone responded that positive...

my parents saw it and were not amused. they didn't know 'bout my hobby yet. it is a local tv station, that i tought had no coverage in the area my familiy lives, but apparently all of my family did see it already. and everyone of them was shocked.

only my oldest cousin mailed me that he thought it was cool, and if i ever needed a backup he would come to a family gathering skirted too and try to get his brothers with him too! i thought that was just great!

I need to watch the video. Perhaps tomorrow morning at work where I have a fast-enough computer...

wichor wrote:i wished everyone responded that positive...

my parents saw it and were not amused. they didn't know 'bout my hobby yet. it is a local tv station, that i tought had no coverage in the area my familiy lives, but apparently all of my family did see it already. and everyone of them was shocked.

Not everybody will be favourably impressed by an overt attempt to push boundaries -- even boundaries as seemingly trivial as the ones that we're working on. However, your parents' reaction sounds like it was a bit over the top. By all accounts, you're an adult, and have the power and the responsibility to exercise your right of self-determination; your parents should appreciate that they raised someone comfortable enough with who he is to have the courage to push boundaries.

only my oldest cousin mailed me that he thought it was cool, and if i ever needed a backup he would come to a family gathering skirted too and try to get his brothers with him too! i thought that was just great!

That's not "just great", that's huge.

Nicely presented interview. Full marks.

wichor wrote:my parents saw it and were not amused. they didn't know 'bout my hobby yet.

Oups! With hindsight it might have been a good idea to let them know before appearing on TV. Even if they had not seen it themselves there would have been a possibility that someone else would see it and mention it to them. I appreciate that it is not always easy to open up topics like this for discussion but do feel that honesty, especially with those closest to you is important. I guess that now the subject has been broached you have no choice but to talk to them, smooth over any ruffled feathers and allay any fears. The first few conversations might be a touch uncomfortable but you’ll get through them.

wichor wrote:only my oldest cousin mailed me that he thought it was cool, and if i ever needed a backup he would come to a family gathering skirted too and try to get his brothers with him too! i thought that was just great!

Fantastic! However I'd be hesitant about calling for reinforcements straightaway. Start low key though if you can get acceptance that your choice of clothing does not change you then having others arrive for a family gathering skirted might be quite fun provided it is not seen as a dig at either the less accepting members or at you.

The cat is well and truly out of the bag now, I guess you'll just have to make the best of it. Good luck.

Have fun,


Ian.