Skirts, at what cost?

[STEVIE]

Please note that I am not basing this thread on any specific nation or ideology, so if it is political, it will be in the broadest possible sense.
There are places in this world where wearing a skirt as a guy is illegal to the point of being a capital offence.
There are places where one can wear what one pleases with impunity and there are the grey areas.
I'm thinking of how the "rules" can change, the speed and degree of such change.
Today I may go out freely, in clothes of my own choosing, tomorrow it will be decreed that if I don't adhere to the new
"Gender Dress Codes", there will be consequences.
Societal disapproval is daunting, but ask yourself, would I risk liberty and possibly life for that precious freedom?
Secondly what risk of censure would you take by using being a man in a skirt as a means to circumvent a different statutory requirement.
Klinger is a legend, those like him had to live and endure a very different harsh reality.
Steve.

[Bart_Allen55]

Yeah, the risks vary a lot depending on where you are. In some places it’s literally life-threatening, elsewhere it’s just social pressure.

[Stu]

I'm curious to ask where in the world is a man wearing a skirt a capital offence? Is it the garment itself which creates the legal jeopardy or other factors?

My personal view is that I don't see this as an inherently gendered issue. Nor do I seek to challenge gender norms: what I want is the right to ignore the arbitrary rule that masculinity entails wearing trousers 100% of the time.

[jamie001]

I'm curious to ask where in the world is a man wearing a skirt a capital offence? Is it the garment itself which creates the legal jeopardy or other factors?

My personal view is that I don't see this as an inherently gendered issue. Nor do I seek to challenge gender norms: what I want is the right to ignore the arbitrary rule that masculinity entails wearing trousers 100% of the time.

The solution for me is to ignore masculinity and just be myself. Masculinity created the Man Box and needs to be eliminated for men to make progress. Men need to be allowed to be themself, not some preconceived idea of how a man should look and act.

[Grok]

The Taboo is not only arbitrary, it is stupid.

We may need to live by some rules (rules that make sense), but why should I have conform to a stupid rule?

[DrFishnets]

It’s absolutely ridiculous that a rule and law is being used to stop a man wearing a skirt. Wearing a skirt doesn’t harm health, it’s actually good for health and it’s good for mental health and wellbeing and a lot more hygienic than trousers and pants. Rules and laws should be used for anything that threatens health and harms other people not something that is harmless.

[STEVIE]

I'm curious to ask where in the world is a man wearing a skirt a capital offence? Is it the garment itself which creates the legal jeopardy or other factors?

I hope this clarifies my point Stu.
On a side note, women in these countries would be no better off either.

"The severest penalties for cross-dressing vary by country and context. In some jurisdictions, such as Iran, Northern Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and Yemen, the death penalty is imposed or a legal possibility for private, consensual same-sex sexual activity. In Afghanistan, Brunei, Mauritania, Pakistan, Qatar, UAE, and Uganda, the death penalty is a legal possibility for such activities. Additionally, in many countries, transgender individuals are targeted by laws that criminalize same-sex activity and vagrancy, hooliganism, and public order offenses."
Human Rights Watch

In these countries, wearing a skirt as a guy is cross-dressing which in deemed a homosexual act.
Same sex relationships may carry the death penalty?
Would you have enough faith in the legal codes of these places to take the risk and I doubt that imprisonment would be a bundle of laughs either.

[Stu]

In these countries, wearing a skirt as a guy is cross-dressing which in deemed a homosexual act.
Same sex relationships may carry the death penalty?
Would you have enough faith in the legal codes of these places to take the risk and I doubt that imprisonment would be a bundle of laughs either.

OK, thanks.

So they are conflating three things - 1. the sartorial choice of a man to wear a skirt rather than trousers; 2. crossdressing, i.e either trying to pass off as a woman or dressing as a woman to fulfil a fetish; and 3. homosexuality.

That's nuts.

[STEVIE]

That's nuts.

No argument on that score, but it is "legally" nuts.
Trying to evade conscription "Klinger" style in these places could easily get you executed and given the state of the world right now, levity may not be the most appropriate approach.
Thing is, I'm speculating but I wouldn't like to bet on being wrong either.
Even The Kilt, that most masculine of garments may be ill advised if visiting as a tourist.
Steve.

[Grok]

I recall a comment posted years ago to a defunct forum.... In the Middle East the kilt is deemed obscene-because it is too short.

[mr seamstress]

In these countries, wearing a skirt as a guy is cross-dressing which in deemed a homosexual act.
Same sex relationships may carry the death penalty?
Would you have enough faith in the legal codes of these places to take the risk and I doubt that imprisonment would be a bundle of laughs either.

OK, thanks.

So they are conflating three things - 1. the sartorial choice of a man to wear a skirt rather than trousers; 2. crossdressing, i.e either trying to pass off as a woman or dressing as a woman to fulfil a fetish; and 3. homosexuality.

That's nuts.

Stevie left out it is a bad thing to wear jeans in Afghanistan for men also. Here is one of many articles that was publish about it. Can't wear a skirt nor jeans.

https://scwomenlead.net/as-taliban-begi ... up-sooner/

[Grok]

I recall a story I mentioned awhile back. There was an attempt in the Arkansas state legislature to dictate short hair for men.

Different places using legal systems to suppress individual expression. Though-comparing Arkansas with Afghanistan-in opposite directions, in conformity to local culture.

[yardstick]

Just as a point of interest I read that it used to be illegal for women to wear trousers in Paris and although it hadn't been enforced for a very long time that law was only repealed a couple of years ago and I bet the unsuspecting public were blissfully unaware.
I wonder how many other oddities like this are on the statute books of various countries but never enforced?

[jamie001]

I recall a story I mentioned awhile back. There was an attempt in the Arkansas state legislature to dictate short hair for men.

Different places using legal systems to suppress individual expression. Though-comparing Arkansas with Afghanistan-in opposite directions, in conformity to local culture.

What was the reason or justification for requiring men to wear short hair? Was there a similar requirement for women to wear long hair?

[Sepchugang]

This anti-woke right-wing ascendency at the moment in some places in the World can be quite depressing and indeed intimidating, but it is not all bad news. The other day I came across this sign upon exiting the 'gents' in a pub in Blandford Forum, Dorset.

"GENTLEMEN ADJUST YOUR DRESS"

If you really feel you cannot wear a dress or skirt in public where you are living at the moment then you could consider relocating and working for the government in Bhutan. Unlike countries where you might face the death penalty for wearing a skirt or a dress, in Bhutan it is compulsory for male civil servants to wear a dress (Gho). It might explain why Bhutan is so proud of its Gross National Happiness Index https://www.gobhutantours.com/bhutan-tr ... l-costume/.