Red Pill, Blue Pill

[Barleymower]

For those less addicted to films. The red pill, blue pill originates from the film "The Matrix".
The red pill and blue pill represent a choice between the willingness to learn a potentially unsettling or life-changing truth by taking the red pill or remaining in the contented experience of ordinary reality with the blue pill.
One year ago today I donned a skirt for the first time in 49 years. It was a pink and red skirt I borrowed from my wife and sat down to dinner in it. I did it to prove to my family I'm not old fashioned, patriarchal figure who doesn't understand the problems of gender exploring teens in 2022.
Truth was that I couldn't bear it any more. Seeing my daughter in the beautiful clothes I bought for her brought back feelings I thought were long dead. I had not worn a skirt since the age of nine when I feared the reprisals of getting caught.
It did not ever fully go away, the sight of a pretty girl in a lovely dress always gave me mixed emotions. One, will she go out with me. Second, I'd really like that dress!
So in 2022 I decided I'm going to wear the beautiful skirt I want to wear. I'm not going hide away in the bathroom at midnight. It's going on and I'm going out the front door in it (to the bin and straight back in). One year later I've been to London several times, reading, Torquay, Brighton and now I've added Peterborough to the list. I pick my son up most days from school in a skirt.
The red pill has been an unsettling journey. My eyes are open and things will never be the same again. My world view has changed and I can't go back to drab old me.

[crfriend]

The red pill has been an unsettling journey. My eyes are open and things will never be the same again. My world view has changed and I can't go back to drab old me.

If only it could be so for the vast herd of lemmings out there. Odds of that?

[denimini]

I imagine that most stocks of red pills are going to be destroyed because they are past their use by date and there is a continuing shortage of supply of blue pills. Most people do not like to get out of their comfort zone, including myself which I recognise and reach for the bottle of red pills quite often, throwing myself into a situation that is often challenging ............. and usually rewarding.

Congratulations Barleymower on your journey.

[Barleymower]

The red pill has been an unsettling journey. My eyes are open and things will never be the same again. My world view has changed and I can't go back to drab old me.

If only it could be so for the vast herd of lemmings out there. Odds of that?

It could happen. It would need something huge.

[Stu]

I see on a different thread, someone mentioned "The Cause".

If we have a "cause", what is it? Do we share the same vision? Do we all want the same outcome? How do we propose to achieve it? And how will we measure our success?

[crfriend]

I see on a different thread, someone mentioned "The Cause".

That would have been me a few minutes ago. It was used in context.

If we have a "cause", what is it? Do we share the same vision? Do we all want the same outcome? How do we propose to achieve it? And how will we measure our success?

If "we" have a Cause, I'd see it to get skirted/"open" garments of all types accepted as proper male attire for whatever reason the individual man may have, without exception. In short, "de-gender the skirt".

Will it happen in our lifetimes? Likely not, but at least we're the "early adopters" of the style. How that'll play out is anybody's guess.

[Barleymower]

I see on a different thread, someone mentioned "The Cause".

If we have a "cause", what is it? Do we share the same vision? Do we all want the same outcome? How do we propose to achieve it? And how will we measure our success?

Stu I was just about to talk about the cause when I saw the text above (the forum banner) which could be described as a mission statement for MIS.

Do we share the same vision? The answer is yes we all want the same thing. How that is expressed in our personal lives is personal. For one man it could just watching TV with his family without fear of repercussions, thats all.

Do we want the same outcome? The answer is yes. Clothing freedom. Again how we express that in our personal lives is open our own interpretation.

How do we achieve it? This is at centre of the question. Everyone will have their own idea on how this is achieved. Carl had a article published last year. Stevie made front page of the Scotitish Herald. Coder achieved acceptance in the workplace. Every day someone on the forum posts articles where men all over the world are doing their bit to promote MIS. Men on the forum are out there everyday promoting skirts by wearing them. I'm one of those men. Some women are doing their bit by supporting them.
My personal view is that men and women belong together, with no walls between us regardless of things like LGBT. I think if skirts can be common place between men and women much of the conflict that exists will melt away. I'm prepared to march down Whitehall with all MIS saying that.

How do we measure our success? By seeing and sharing actual change.

[Coder]

Stu I was just about to talk about the cause when I saw the text above (the forum banner) which could be described as a mission statement for MIS.

That's how I see it as well.

A side effect of expanding one's acceptance of MIS leads to - I hope - greater empathy for others who are different or marginalized. I don't see it as a given or necessity, but there can be positive effects beyond our own "selfish" wants and needs.

[ScotL]

A side effect of expanding one's acceptance of MIS leads to - I hope - greater empathy for others who are different or marginalized. I don't see it as a given or necessity, but there can be positive effects beyond our own "selfish" wants and needs.

Exactly. Wearing non traditionally male clothing had made me a better person for this reason. I have a marked increase in empathy for the differences I see in others

[Stu]

Thanks for the answers so far. I don't want to hijack the blue poll v red pill topic, so I will provide my answers to me own questions and then move on.

If we have a "cause", what is it? To open up sartorial choices for men so that non-bifurcated garments are no longer seen as exclusively female attire.

Do we share the same vision? Mostly. Some people here might want to extend beyond my vision to include other things, or to challenge gender norms, but that's not a vision I share.

Do we all want the same outcome? In terms of men's rights to wear skirts without attracting adverse judgments, yes.

How do we propose to achieve it? I think we can only show ourselves as men wearing what we like. Society has to do the rest.

And how will we measure our success? For adult men, the acid test can be summed up in one word - retailers. Can I walk into an ordinary department store and see a variety of skirts for men as there are for women and being sold as routine garments at normal prices? At the moment, no, I can't. We have a long way to go. For boys in the UK, the acid test will be whether skirts are available in school outfitters as valid uniform options. Again, the answer is no.

Put simply, the vast majority of men have not taken the red pill. I am sorry to say that, unlike Barleymower, most men are addicted to the blue pill and seem to have settled for drab, and teh quiet life that bestows.

[Barleymower]

Thanks for the answers so far. I don't want to hijack the blue poll v red pill topic, so I will provide my answers to me own questions and then move on.

If we have a "cause", what is it? To open up sartorial choices for men so that non-bifurcated garments are no longer seen as exclusively female attire.

Do we share the same vision? Mostly. Some people here might want to extend beyond my vision to include other things, or to challenge gender norms, but that's not a vision I share.

Do we all want the same outcome? In terms of men's rights to wear skirts without attracting adverse judgments, yes.

How do we propose to achieve it? I think we can only show ourselves as men wearing what we like. Society has to do the rest.

And how will we measure our success? For adult men, the acid test can be summed up in one word - retailers. Can I walk into an ordinary department store and see a variety of skirts for men as there are for women and being sold as routine garments at normal prices? At the moment, no, I can't. We have a long way to go. For boys in the UK, the acid test will be whether skirts are available in school outfitters as valid uniform options. Again, the answer is no.

Put simply, the vast majority of men have not taken the red pill. I am sorry to say that, unlike Barleymower, most men are addicted to the blue pill and seem to have settled for drab, and teh quiet life that bestows.

Stu, you are not hijacking the thread, it is relevant to the subject.

Yes, the vast majority of men have not taken the red pill. However if there is going to be any meaningful change something has to change.

Women are women. Simple. eg "She's a woman, she can wear/do what she wants". Her right to be a woman cannot be brought into question.
The same cannot be said for a man. The defintion of a man is left to others: "Call yourself a man?". Imediately you are called to justify yourself, with the other as a judge. As men we need to be strong, we must put an end to any statement that calls our manhood into question. Women won't stand for it and neither should we. This does not mean we have to move away from women, we can do this with them by our sides as equals.

My vision for want of a better word is a world where men define their own place in society. Where they make their own choices, their own clothing choices. I want to do this with everybody onside: men, women, LGBT, trans. I dont want to get involved necessarily with gender arguements and definitions. I just want that we all agree on one thing. Wear what makes you happy and comfortable. Is that too much to ask?

[Barleymower]

I think it can and should work. I live a double life, one with skirts, one without. The without people know but say nothing.
In my normal dealings with other guys some are oblivious. If offered they would say WTF ? NO. They really dont care and have no desire for anything showy. I can see the rest would like to go for it. They really want to dress up, would spend ages looking for the right shirt etc. Back in the eighties, in my youth it was all about the shirt. Men don't know they could actually do whatever they want. they are so frightened that someone is going to snigger they won't even try. And its getting worse.

[familyman34]

I see on a different thread, someone mentioned "The Cause".

If we have a "cause", what is it? Do we share the same vision? Do we all want the same outcome? How do we propose to achieve it? And how will we measure our success?

...

How do we achieve it? This is at centre of the question. Everyone will have their own idea on how this is achieved. Carl had a article published last year. Stevie made front page of the Scotitish Herald. Coder achieved acceptance in the workplace. Every day someone on the forum posts articles where men all over the world are doing their bit to promote MIS. Men on the forum are out there everyday promoting skirts by wearing them. I'm one of those men.

Some women are doing their bit by supporting them. (my added emphasis)

My personal view is that men and women belong together, with no walls between us regardless of things like LGBT. I think if skirts can be common place between men and women much of the conflict that exists will melt away. I'm prepared to march down Whitehall with all MIS saying that.

How do we measure our success? By seeing and sharing actual change.

I also feel that we should do more to encourage our wives/partners to express open support for what we blokes are trying to achieve. When they post here, showing other wives and partners that they have their men's backs, it empowers all of us. So ladies, please emulate Elisabetta.

[Barleymower]

I also feel that we should do more to encourage our wives/partners to express open support for what we blokes are trying to achieve. When they post here, showing other wives and partners that they have their men's backs, it empowers all of us. So ladies, please emulate Elisabetta.

My wife openly supports, she came with me to Peterborough. however:
I asked and the reply I got was "why would I want to join skirt cafe? I can wear a skirt any time I want"and "a wife would only join SK if she wanted to check on her husband. Anyway I had enough of that on mum's net. I don't like forums".

[familyman34]

I also feel that we should do more to encourage our wives/partners to express open support for what we blokes are trying to achieve. When they post here, showing other wives and partners that they have their men's backs, it empowers all of us. So ladies, please emulate Elisabetta.

My wife openly supports, she came with me to Peterborough. however:
I asked and the reply I got was "why would I want to join skirt cafe? I can wear a skirt any time I want"and "a wife would only join SK if she wanted to check on her husband. Anyway I had enough of that on mum's net. I don't like forums".

Perhaps I didn't explain clearly enough ...

I feel that wives/partners could support all of us by showing that they support the notion of skirts worn openly by their men.

I wear skirts all the time, at home and outside, but my wife thinks that I'm weird doing so! We have often been out together, and she can see that people in general do not react badly, but she still doesn't want me to be the only one that she knows about.

She didn't wish to come to Peterborough with me when we had our meeting; but she might have, BM, if she could have known in advance from your wife that she would be there with you, showing that other men too can wear skirts as perfectly normal apparel. Your wife's voice, unmediated by you, would have been very powerful in persuading my wife!

Other men on this forum, both registered and members, could also be strongly influenced by more postings from supportive women.