Men In Skirts - TEDx talk

[photoguy207]

Just came across this on YouTube.

Posted on 2/14/23 from last year.

https://youtu.be/XbPt5fsDrm0

He did a great job explaining why he wears skirts.

[rode_kater]

Nice talk, I think he explained it pretty well.

[gender free universe]

This is Dylan, an American from Alaska living in Denmark. He is the organizer of the Fashion Freedom Festival in Odense.

[Offkilter69]

This was an excellent talk. He gets to the crux of the matter: femininity and all things associated with it still equate to weakness and not being desirable if you’re a male. Equality between the sexes will never fully occur until that notion is no longer part of the societal belief system. Males wearing skirted attire and being accepted is a step to help break that down and bring true equality.

[Barleymower]

It is a great talk very positive and made me feel like going out right now and showing people men can wear skirts.

He shares some reasons why men do not wear skirts. One of his examples was power, he said "men are is a position of power and don't want to be associated with the less powerful". OK fair comment. Big man goes to work in a dress, he feels his masculine power is in an instant gone. he feels exposed and weak. Why does he feel this way?

One small thing that was not addressed: What about the girls? Surely on a power base point of view they would be cool with a man in skirt, he now stands there equal with them. Yet in many instances this does not happen. The women are enraged when seeing their man in a skirt and will go to any lengths to stop him.

[photoguy207]

Is he a member here?

[crfriend]

What about the girls? Surely on a power base point of view they would be cool with a man in skirt, he now stands there equal with them. Yet in many instances this does not happen. The women are enraged when seeing their man in a skirt and will go to any lengths to stop him.

I rather suspect that the gals regard men in skirts as "invading their turf" and thus are slightly offended by the notion. After all, what else do they have that men do not? They've got everything that used to be male, for better or worse (because they took a lot of the bad with the good). Men starting to wear skirts could well be regarded as a bit of a "land-grab".

I may have to have some conversations with my various women acquaintances on the matter.

[Barleymower]

What about the girls? Surely on a power base point of view they would be cool with a man in skirt, he now stands there equal with them. Yet in many instances this does not happen. The women are enraged when seeing their man in a skirt and will go to any lengths to stop him.

I rather suspect that the gals regard men in skirts as "invading their turf" and thus are slightly offended by the notion. After all, what else do they have that men do not? They've got everything that used to be male, for better or worse (because they took a lot of the bad with the good). Men starting to wear skirts could well be regarded as a bit of a "land-grab".

I may have to have some conversations with my various women acquaintances on the matter.

Carl, invading their turf in definitely one answer. I don't think it fully satisfies what I see around me. Men are ostracised because of it, marriages are ended because of it. It must be a very valuable piece of land to go to such extremes.

[crfriend]

Carl, invading their turf in definitely one answer. I don't think it fully satisfies what I see around me. Men are ostracised because of it, marriages are ended because of it. It must be a very valuable piece of land to go to such extremes.

It is, indeed, a very important "piece of land", although I was using "turf" as a euphemism. Of all the symbology in what we call "Western Culture", it's the skirt that most symbolises feminity -- thus it's a powerful statement, and one that women will not want to compromise on, even though they have largely abandoned skirts as a normal garment.

Now, I'm using rational thought here in an attempt to describe an irrational fear, so I may be way off-base. However, the phenomenon of the destruction of relationships speaks to it, even though the destruction itself is entirely irrational. And the thing does take on the feel of a "turf war" if viewed in some lights. Women may be abandoning skirts wholesale, but the notion of men (spit!) taking them up appals women (again, irrationally).

I'm pretty sure that one of the reasons my last attempt at a romance failed was that she would have had to "up her game" substantially on attire and style in casual settings lest she look like a rag-doll next to me (and she's never seen me in a fairly formal skirt rig) as she's a die-hard member of the shredded denim and flip-flop brigade. So there's one "destruction" that took place before the thing ever really properly lit off. Rational? Not in the slightest.

[Barleymower]

Carl, invading their turf in definitely one answer. I don't think it fully satisfies what I see around me. Men are ostracised because of it, marriages are ended because of it. It must be a very valuable piece of land to go to such extremes.

It is, indeed, a very important "piece of land", although I was using "turf" as a euphemism. Of all the symbology in what we call "Western Culture", it's the skirt that most symbolises feminity -- thus it's a powerful statement, and one that women will not want to compromise on, even though they have largely abandoned skirts as a normal garment.

Now, I'm using rational thought here in an attempt to describe an irrational fear, so I may be way off-base. However, the phenomenon of the destruction of relationships speaks to it, even though the destruction itself is entirely irrational. And the thing does take on the feel of a "turf war" if viewed in some lights. Women may be abandoning skirts wholesale, but the notion of men (spit!) taking them up appals women (again, irrationally).

I'm pretty sure that one of the reasons my last attempt at a romance failed was that she would have had to "up her game" substantially on attire and style in casual settings lest she look like a rag-doll next to me (and she's never seen me in a fairly formal skirt rig) as she's a die-hard member of the shredded denim and flip-flop brigade. So there's one "destruction" that took place before the thing ever really properly lit off. Rational? Not in the slightest.

I suppose that's why we need to carry on doing what we are doing. If this can be resolved and there are skirts for all, a lot of perceived inequality will be washed away.
A lot of women feel bitter about life and they think men are to blame. A sustained campaign of oppression by men. Reading the history books it was true and women are rightly hacked off by what happened, they have little sympathy for weepy men wanting to wear their clothes. If that is the situation then we need to be men about it. Stop asking permission and get on with it. That's what men do, they get on with it!
Truth is truth and facts are inescapable. Who is going to clear the snow from the path? Who is going to find out what that noise was in the middle of the night? Who is going to stand up and fight when the ruskies invade.

[Coder]

I had to go into the office today and was debating between wearing a skirt or not - the task I went in to do involves a lot of kneeling, walking, etc... and pants are a slightly more convenient.

However, with temps around 55F, it was basically a spring day and I was sorely tempted.

This video tipped things in favor of wearing a skirt, and so I did.

[Myopic Bookworm]

What about the girls? Surely on a power base point of view they would be cool with a man in skirt, he now stands there equal with them. Yet in many instances this does not happen. The women are enraged when seeing their man in a skirt and will go to any lengths to stop him.

I rather suspect that the gals regard men in skirts as "invading their turf" and thus are slightly offended by the notion.

In the case of reluctant partners, I wonder if there's sometimes an element of homophobia: not just "oh no, is my man gay?", but also "if I am partnered with someone slightly feminine, does that make me slightly lesbian?". I had a conversation with a young non-binary person once, who had had to reassure a partner that their identifying as non-binary didn't somehow change their partner's sexuality.

[crfriend]

In the case of reluctant partners, I wonder if there's sometimes an element of homophobia: not just "oh no, is my man gay?", but also "if I am partnered with someone slightly feminine, does that make me slightly lesbian?

In which case, they have just self-selected out of a quality "breeding-pool".

Face it, mentally healthy men have a subtle blend of "masculine" and "feminine" traits. This is normal, and indicates a healthy psyche. Throw that out of whack and all Hell breaks loose as is happening now before our eyes. "Lesbian" pairings are now extraordinarily common because the gals can't find a "sufficiently masculine" guy to pair off with and go instead for a masculine female (which are as common as dirt). The problem is that the gals are looking for the hyper-masculine types in men (the "macho") which aren't mentally or emotionally stable -- and they remove anybody else from the equation. The results overall are entirely predictable.

In the realm of, "What does this mean?", I am drawn to my late ex-'s comment of, "Well, there's 15 seconds I'm never getting back.", but she was a very highly intellectual woman in the early 2000s, not someone random in 2023. It's like comparing apples and frogs. And the goalposts continue to move on what constitutes "masculinity" -- and not in a reasonable direction. In the modern realm, it'll pretty soon be AI (Artificial Insemination) using turkey-basters instead of the old-school way of doing it.

[Ralph]

In the case of reluctant partners, I wonder if there's sometimes an element of homophobia: not just "oh no, is my man gay?", but also "if I am partnered with someone slightly feminine, does that make me slightly lesbian?".

Thats the FIRST warning in my standard lecture about how to let your spouse/girlfriend/fiancee in on this part of your life. It's normally aimed at crossdressers but all the talking points apply to men who present as men but wear "gender nonconforming" clothing. I won't rehash the lengthy diatribe here, but the gist of it is:
* She's going to worry that you are gay
* She's going to worry that you want to be a woman
* She's going to be enraged if she finds out on your own or you wait till after you're married, so tell her NOW before it blows up on you

So when you have "the talk", make sure you give her every reassurance that you are not gay and you are not trans-anything. In following up, show her with your actions, not just your words. Show her that you are still all man and she's never going to lose that. Show her that things which are important to you matter more than anything. Do things that she loves even if they bore you to tears. Always put her before yourself, and you'll find that as long as you keep her happy, she won't worry so much about what you're wearing.

That's considerably condensed and oversimplified, but you get the idea.

[Uncle Al]

Always put her before yourself, and you'll find that as long as you
keep her happy, she won't worry so much about what you're wearing.
That's considerably condensed and oversimplified, but you get the idea.

To re-hash the old saying, "Happy Wife = Happy Life"

My marriage proved that point to a "T".

Uncle Al