YourTango: Male Robotics Engineer, Football Coach & Married Dad Of 3 Wears Heels Because The Higher The Heel The More Co

[Coder]

https://www.yourtango.com/self/male-rob ... -confident

Marc B article - I didn't try to see if this was new or regurgitation from another source. The linked TikTok is from 2020, but the Instagram post is from Feb 19, 2024.

[moonshadow]

??

Alright, I'm just going to come out and say it...

What's up with Mark's media coverage? I swear this story keeps being recycled year after year. There are other guys that wear skirts and heels and whatnot.

I saw a guy wearing a long green boho skirt standing on the corner of a safeway in SeaTac waiting on a bus last week... I saw another order guy in a green kilt at Winco about a month ago...

Why doesn't the media do hundreds of articles on those people?

Nothing against Mark, but these stories are getting very repetitive.

Hell, even Carl was interviewed by the media once, but I don't see hundreds of articles posted about him. I'm just genuinely curious as to what makes Mark's case so special?

[crfriend]

Hell, even Carl was interviewed by the media once, but I don't see hundreds of articles posted about him. I'm just genuinely curious as to what makes Mark's case so special?

One word: "Hype". I made some cogent statements in the public media a while ago, but didn't push things too hard because I know that pushing things too hard usually makes the going more difficult than it needs to be.

[Coder]

Why doesn't the media do hundreds of articles on those people?

Nothing against Mark, but these stories are getting very repetitive.

Hell, even Carl was interviewed by the media once, but I don't see hundreds of articles posted about him. I'm just genuinely curious as to what makes Mark's case so special?

Not sure. I'm guessing a desire for publicity+provocative choices (specifically the footwear)+social media presence. Plus, a lot of us just wear whatever the - ahem - f - we want and it's not a glossy version of style that Mark tends to portray. ie, designer clothes, etc... Not suggesting he doesn't want to - it's just a lot of our tastes are around boring brands and the media only cares about flashy stuff like gucci and prada.

I don't want my mug plastered all over the place, but there are lots of guys who don't toe the line when it comes to clothing/style/fashion and there are *lots* of positive (hopefully) stories that they could generate. Even though I see others here and some on social media, I feel like I'm a lone voice crying out in the wilderness sometimes.

[Myopic Bookworm]

Bright colours, pencil skirts, and stiletto heels probably make more of a media splash than the dark utility kilts and Doc Martens favoured by many MUG-wearers.

[Barleymower]

Cost.
Mark ticks a lot of boxes. He non threatening. A guys guy. He's into sports. He has a good job. He's a family man. He well mannered. He's not trying to be anything. He can walk in stilettos and has good taste.
In terms of news worthy stories, he's interesting and safe.
He fulfills the gender nonconfirming role without risking anything. No wonder his story is constantly repeated.

[denimini]

I agree with Barleymower that Mark ticks a lot of boxes to attract media. Good on him if he is happy to be promoted like that. It does no harm towards making men in skirts more acceptable.
A neighbour of mine saw Mark interviewed on TV and told me about it saying that I wasn't alone in wearing skirts.

Another srategy to get men in skirts accepted as a normal thing is not to promote it as extraordinary.

[STEVIE]

Another srategy to get men in skirts accepted as a normal thing is not to promote it as extraordinary.

Which, intentionally, or not, the publicity around Mark seems to.
The message I take away is unique, the one and only guy daring to wear a skirt, anything but "normal".
I don't do Instagram, but I visit Pinterest regularly, lots of MIS illustrations, but Mark seem to be fairly unique in the repetition stakes there too.
So it happens, do I worry about the cause, no!
The Herald article, which Skirtyscot, Skirted84 and I took part in is now a year old and pretty much forgotten as well.
One consistent comment I got was "natural and normal", what it actually achieved, I don't know.
Sadly, and for several reasons, I don't really care.
I wear what I choose, other peoples choices are theirs alone and their satisfaction with those choices, not my concern.
Steve.