12 March 2009
men's skirts
We spend so much time discussing women's attire in class but even though we've earned the right to wear pants like men, men have lost the right to wear skirts. Today's Dear Abby addresses the issue of men wearing kilts. There's even an online store called Utilikilts that offers a variety of styles for even the most fashion-conscious. It's not everyday that we see a man in a skirt or even a kilt here at Clemson! It's more common to see a veiled woman.
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The first weekend in April every year, Pendleton hosts its Spring Jubilee on the town square. Pendleton's sister city is a tiny town called Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. In March/April each year, the high school hosts a contingent of students from Scotland. They perform at the Spring Jubilee in full Scots attire. What's interesting is that the males have no inhibitions about wearing the kilt. They behave exactly the same way they would in pants (which is funny when they sit in a chair!). The lack on conspicuousness and inhibition is interesting in light of the fact that wearing the kilt is not a sociocultural norm. In my time in Scotland, I never encountered an ordinary Scotsman in his daily routine wearing a kilt. However, there is a tremendous amount of sociocultural pride associated with the kilt. The colors and patterns indicate your clan - your family history. The kilt is also associated with patriotism, love of country because it was once banned by the English following the 1745 Scotish Rising (you know, the Bonnie Prince Charlie thing) as a way to subjegate the people. The kilt is also associated with manhood because a family often presents the kilt to a son coming of age along with a sgian dbuh (the dagger worn in the sock of a man in his kilt). The kilt has a reverance associated with it; it is only worn on special occasions (kinda like a tux, I guess). That is why it isn't commonly seen places like campus.
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