Men in skirts - why don't more men wear skirts?

[CervixSampler]

At the risk of a bun fight this is a genuine question.
I was at a rock festival yesterday and there were a few men in skirts rocking the whole steampunk look. One guy was in a red tartan kilt but I didn't get a good look at the rest of his outfit-he was quite different to the others dressed in steampunk. I think it was a denim jacket. These men looked amazing and it got me thinking as to why when women now wear trousers (as opposed to historically predominantly being in dresses and skirts), that men don't wear skirts to the same extent. Is it socialisation? Blatant sexism? Practicalities? Lack of availability outside of cosplay type retailers? I prefer trousers/jeans because I hate my legs, I'd end up with it caught in my knickers, thigh rub, the whole tights/stockings/socks/footwear issue and my tendency to sit legs akimbo. I love dresses but sadly we aren't compatible.

My ds is 6 and chose to wear a flower crown. There were plenty of men also wearing these. A Slayer T-shirt and a flower crown combo is an unusual look on a man but no one batted an eye. Maybe festivals are some kind of alternative universe in general where people are more likely to flout restrictive norms for clothing? Whatever it is I found it fantastic.

I'm just watching How To Train Your Dragon for the millionth time and I've only just noticed that a few of the male characters wear skirts or in the case of Fishlegs a kind of shift dress.

I can see myself going down a history of clothing rabbit hole with this but yesterday really piqued my interest and got me wondering why it's acceptable for women to wear trousers but not for men to wear skirts/dresses.

@TalbotAMan

I don't feel sorry for men either, because I don't believe they secretly want to wear skirts.

As I said near the start of the thread, the taboo is so strong that it isn't even an option. Being an actual man, I suspect that a lot of us, when sweltering in a suit or even just shirt and trousers in the heat of summer, have looked at women floating around in thin dresses and thought they must be on to something. All I can say is that, personally, were it not for that taboo, I probably would wear skirts some of the time, but I'm not brave enough to face ridicule and/or be thought of as gay when I'm not. I suspect there are more of us than you think.

Why do you think men don't really take up the option in Scotland then, where there is no taboo? And why do so many women choose not to 'float around in thin dresses', again with absolutely no taboo?

"Why do you think men don't really take up the option in Scotland then, where there is no taboo?
And why do so many women choose not to 'float around in thin dresses', again with absolutely no taboo?"

That's not the point. The point is they have the choice. There are many reasons why a particular person might exercise a choice that they have one way or the other.

Scotland: I don't know. I'm not Scottish and in total I have spent less than 48 hours in the country in my entire life. I would imagine that in most of Scotland men's kilt wearing is still somewhat constrained.

Women in hot weather: it doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to spot that the hotter it is the more women choose to wear summer dresses. Your mileage may vary.

I own 2 kilts, one for the woods and one for going out. I hardly ever wear the going out one as I hardly ever go out, even in normal times, and it's a bit formal. Great for weddings.

Given the difference in our biology, I have no idea why more men don't wear kilts, they are far better suited to our anatomy, leaves you much fresher at the end of the day.

If you are at a wedding, once the drink starts flowing the kilt will get lifted. You do need a certain mindset to wear one day to day, especially in England.

Men have historically been mainly about practicality, trousers are more practical than a skirt.

The concerted effort to expunge any masculine tendencies form society seems to be leading to more blurring of this area.

I would imagine that in most of Scotland men's kilt wearing is still somewhat constrained

Kilts are not routinely worn except
(a) some weddings
(b) an alternative to black tie
(c) rugby matches at Murrayfield
(d) formal army dress wear
(e) pipe bands and competitive Highland
dancing and
(f) uniform for some private schools (girls and boys)

However I don't think there's the slightest taboo in wearing a kilt as normal day wear outwith those exceptions. A few people do and it doesn't raise any eyebrows or merit a second look. At worst it might be seen as a mild eccentricity.

Men have historically been mainly about practicality, trousers are more practical than a skirt.

Half of the women on this thread seem to think this, the other half seem to think skirts are more practical
It's just a matter of opinion.
There's not much practical about sweltering in an office in long trousers, socks and shoes, compared to thin summer dress and open, strappy shoes - so why aren't men talking the practical option?

The main constraint in Scotland is cost, a tweed kilt is several hundred pounds to buy. I'd say regular kilt wearing (outwith weddings when people hire dress kilts plus jacket and accessories) is a very middle class activity.

When I wear skirts without tights, my thighs rub together unpleasantly, even when I'm a much lower weight than I am now. I'd be interested to know whether this is an issue for men in skirts too.

@TheSmallClangerWhistlesAgain

When I wear skirts without tights, my thighs rub together unpleasantly, even when I'm a much lower weight than I am now. I'd be interested to know whether this is an issue for men in skirts too.

This may be a bit TMI but . . .

Men's thighs tend to be (proportionately) thinner than women's because women store fat on their thighs and bottoms, whereas men do so on the belly, so they're probably less likely to rub. While I don't have experience in skirts, many men have hairy legs which they don't normally shave, and the hair 'lubricates' so that if the thighs do come into contact they won't catch together where shaved or hairless skin might.

@TheSmallClangerWhistlesAgain

When I wear skirts without tights, my thighs rub together unpleasantly, even when I'm a much lower weight than I am now. I'd be interested to know whether this is an issue for men in skirts too.

It isn't an issue for me. I'm female and have been svelte to now chubby.

I hate the feeling of trousers , essentially denim, on bare thighs. It's uncomfortable in summer and cold in winter.

@TheSmallClangerWhistlesAgain

When I wear skirts without tights, my thighs rub together unpleasantly, even when I'm a much lower weight than I am now. I'd be interested to know whether this is an issue for men in skirts too.

Never had this issue, but I know some women do. I think it's the angle of the legs due to the hips. Men have narrower hips in general so their feet stand wider apart to spread the weight. Women's feet tend to be closer so the thighs can rub.

Probably because skirts aren't that nice to wear. They get bloody cold at festivals at night 😂 They're also not particularly practical.

Men do look handsome in kilts though.

I actually wore a skirt today (a very rare event). I was going for a long walk and had bought a walking skirt (so it has shorty underneath, so pockets in the short and skirt (yay). It was rather comfy actually...

I've became a skirt convert since perimenopausal. I appreciate the cool breeze🥵 and enjoy the swish

Because they risk getting beaten up by other men unfortunately

Like Fionne here?

Thinking more about David Bowie and a lot of androgynous male performers earlier. Mostly they wore variations on traditional menswear with flamboyant and feminine details. Bowie was fond of fussy tailored suits, but in interesting colours and fabrics, like pairing City pinstripes with a jewel-coloured silk shirt with oversized collar and cuffs and big contrast buttons.

Adam Ant used to mess around with supposedly really masculine characters like highwaymen and hussars who could be made to look really pretty and girlie very easily. At the same time, he made lipgloss and hair updos look really sexy to hetero women.

There's something really alluring about a mix of masculine and feminine in someone's appearance, but there's a definite line that's hard to cross for men. I remember Brian Molko from Placebo looking good in an LBD and I've always found these pictures of Brad Pitt quite sexy too.
mnewslite.com/photo-series-brad-pitt-wearing-dress-in-1999-caused-fever-again-harry-styles-was-criticized-for-wearing-dress/

Not many have gone over that line successfully though.

Even my rough gruff biker band member brother and his equally rough gruff mates had long ‘lassies’ hair back in the day. Sheesh.

@deydododatdodontdeydo But men didn't swelter in offices until very recently. They worked in agriculture, construction, manufacturing etc.

A skirt flapping about near a whirling drive shaft is likely to get you pulled in to a machine and you want trousers to protect your knees if scrabbling about on the floor fixing a car say.

[quote CBUK2K2]@deydododatdodontdeydo But men didn't swelter in offices until very recently. They worked in agriculture, construction, manufacturing etc.

A skirt flapping about near a whirling drive shaft is likely to get you pulled in to a machine and you want trousers to protect your knees if scrabbling about on the floor fixing a car say.[/quote]
True

But a firm of solicitors I've worked with claims to have been founded in 1810. The numbers may have been smaller but office work goes back a long, long, way.

I don't really put lawyers of any kind high on the list of professions dedicated to practical clothing.

When one of my parents was confused by placebo lead singer on totp.

My brother deadpanned.

His name's Brian.

Brian is a great name really for a man like molko. Brian. It's just so. Not just male but not shouting leadman gender bending awesome sound is it!

When women went down mines I expect they wore the same as the men.

'As part of an investigation into working conditions in mines, Sub-Commissioner Samuel Scriven went into a Staffordshire, Great Britain shaft in 1841 expecting to find a place of work. Instead, he descended into hell. Following reports of women and children being killed in coal mining accidents at work, commissioners like Scriven headed into mines to see for themselves, and were appalled by what they found.

Quite apart from the children who labored in dangerous conditions, men and women worked side-by-side, stripped to the waist and sweating furiously in the heat. There was “something truly hideous and Satanic about it,” Scriven said—not least because some of the women, if they weren’t completely naked, were wearing trousers.'

'This, along with their bare breasts, was an affront to Victorian modesty. These young women would be “unsuitable for marriage and unfit to be mothers.” The Labor Tribune, which called itself the “Organ of the Miners,” went further still: “A woman accustomed to such work cannot be expected to know much of household duties or how to make a man’s home comfortable.”

Trousers were shocking. The Manchester Guardian called them “the article of clothing which women ought only to wear in a figure of speech,” the Daily News claimed that the “habitual wearing of the costume tends to destroy all sense of decency,” and even the miners union’ said they were a “most sickening sight.”'