PNW and So. Dakota: a comparison

[Hayseed]

A couple of years ago, I moved from the "woke" state of Washington to the extremely "red" state of South Dakota. I had been advised / warned that I would find things difficult in S.D. because of the conservative politics. I wasn't worried and my experiences have borne that non-worry out.

I started going out skirted in the PNW in 2020 or thereabouts. In one case, at Half Price Books in Redmond, one of the clerks, a young lady who, like me and a lot of men on this forum, just loved wearing skirts, was almost ecstatically supportive. Mostly, I found that no one cared; no compliments, no harassment.

In SoDak, pretty much the same thing. A few compliments from women. I think they are just saying that they are supportive of my clothing options. At the Prehistoric Indian Village site in Mitchell, I had a nice long conversation with one of the museum personnel about home remodelling and heating / cooling in older farm houses with inadequate (or no) ductwork in the upstairs portion. My attire (mid-19th century Victorian) was simply not an issue - the conversation just turned in that direction. The site is administered by Augustana University, a Christian educational institution.

I have found from my personal experience that the "issue" of clothing freedom for men cuts across the ordinary political spectrum and the latter is relly no guide to the attitudes one may expect.

[phathack]

I've been regularly wearing skirts for over 15 years.

I live in Dallas Texas and have traveled all over the south wearing a skirt or dress and have never had anyone say anything negative to me. I'm sure there are intolerant people out there but I've not bumped into any of them.

[moonshadow]

A couple of years ago, I moved from the "woke" state of Washington to the extremely "red" state of South Dakota. I had been advised / warned that I would find things difficult in S.D. because of the conservative politics. I wasn't worried and my experiences have borne that non-worry out.

Well, I moved from the ultra conservative area known as Appalachia (southwest Virginia/northeast Tennessee) to the "woke" state of Washington, and like you I have found no measurable differences regarding how I'm treated when wearing a skirt.

It did seem like I got more feedback back east. Here in the PNW nobody has said anything about my skirts, I have gotten quite a few compliments on my glasses though.

As for that "woke/maga" crap... I've come to find that people are people, and they are mostly the same.

[moonshadow]

Correction, I would later fins out that several people (almost everyone actually) back at the RV park we were staying in would often make snide remarks about my skirts.

So yeah, people are about the same everywhere.

[FLbreezy]

This is encouraging. I'm going to be spending a week RV camping through parts of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi, and the FL Panhandle very soon and I really don't want to wear pants the whole damn time but I'm apprehensive.

[jamie001]

This is encouraging. I'm going to be spending a week RV camping through parts of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi, and the FL Panhandle very soon and I really don't want to wear pants the whole damn time but I'm apprehensive.

I would also be apprehensive because many rural areas in those states are hillbilly country. When you are driving, watch for flying chewin Tobacco from the drivers window of the pick-up truck in front of you. That is a sure sign that you have arrived. I don't think that I would take the chance or wearing a skirt in those areas because many hillbillies make it a priority to enforce the ManBox code.

Best of luck and be careful out there,

Jamie

[crfriend]

Standard advice applies -- and that doesn't matter where you are: "Maintain situational awareness at all times, be closely aware of who you are around and what your situation is, and always have a plan of action in case things get nasty." It matters not where you are; the rule is universal because at any instant things can unravel in any number of unexpected ways.

The above having been said, you'll be quite safe in most places; sure there are holes all over the place, and some of 'em are getting deeper by the day, but as far as personal safety goes, the odds are in your favour.

[Faldaguy]

I would take the description and warning of "Hillbilly country" with a large grain of salt. I think too many folk have an outdated image garnered from fiction, ancient tales, and folk lore with little substance. We have several members who live, or have lived and travelled in the mentioned areas and no reports that I know of rising to the level of physical violence. Moon has travelled much of the region fairly extensively in skirts -- and lives to tell the tales! UA, Fred and others in TX. I've been in TX several times and other southern States with no perceptible difference from other places.

Frankly I'd be more concerned about going to the wrong parts of cities in any clothing. In general, attire is not a factor in normal touring/camping -- and tourist dependent areas only want to see a piece of your pocketbook at the cash register, they won't bat an eye at your skirt.

More to the point, is Carl's comments that one should always be aware of their circumstances. I would add -- maintain an air of confidence. If you go around acting, looking, frightened -- it will register. In the same vain that most of us have learned that presenting with confidence is all it takes to have our attire ignored; carrying on with confidence will avert most all undue attention.

In the US, my present fear would be if I were anything but White Anglo Saxon male, then ICE, Cops, Immigration, borders, and all the other puff-shirted "security" types would be grounds for a detour.

Assume the best -- it usually suffices; and disregard the occasional odd look or comment, "sticks and stones..." You pretty much safe out there except from Billionaires

[JPskirt]

I am one of the people in the South (Texas panhandle if that’s considered South still) that you should watch for chewing tobacco flying out of my trucks that has a Trump bumper sticker….. but when I get out and shake your hand to welcome you here, I’ll either be in a short skirt or micro kilt. Wear whatever you want here with confidence…. You’ll be fine.

[FLbreezy]

I'm going to be spending a week RV camping through parts of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi, and the FL Panhandle very soon and I really don't want to wear pants the whole damn time but I'm apprehensive.

So I did my trip last week, and packed a hiking kilt and a few skirts, but I stuck to wearing shorts almost the whole trip. We were doing a lot of new stuff and in places that were unfamiliar and I just didn't want to add to my feeling of vulnerability by "not fitting in". Usually I don't care. We had a good time anyway, although the weather was very rainy and a lot of the days we were on the road for 6-8 hours in between overnight stops. The last day after I got out of the shower I realized I was out of dry shorts and said f*ck it and wore my hiking kilt. We were basically packing up camp and then going for a hike and then driving 5 hours home. There was another trailer parked close to our pad, and I never really saw them but they had window screens open while I was packing up and securing various trailer bits and dumping the trash. I could hear the man say something about "that guy's wearing..." (too quiet to hear) and then the woman (her voice carried) saying "well, I think it looks good on him" and that seemed to be the end of the discussion.

Our site was near the trash/septic dump and so a few other RV's were stopped for a while as I was doing my thing and I wound up having nice chats with both of the wives. No comments about what I was wearing. The hike was good as well. The drive home wasn't bad either and we hit a few rest areas and a gas station.

Moral of the story: next time I won't be such a chicken.