It isn’t a skirt it is a kilt

[Lyle1]

Yes, of course, a kilt is unquestionable a type of skirt. However, knowing that some kilt wearers take offense when their kilts are referred to as "skirts", why would you use that terminology with a stranger who is wearing a kilt? Would you walk up to an overweight stranger and crack a fat joke, or walk up to a bald stranger and kiss his hairless pate for luck?

[LitTrog]

Would you walk up to a bald stranger and kiss his hairless pate for luck?

Heavens, no. I'd do it for giggles.

[Friday]

Yes, of course, a kilt is unquestionable a type of skirt. However, knowing that some kilt wearers take offense when their kilts are referred to as "skirts", why would you use that terminology with a stranger who is wearing a kilt? Would you walk up to an overweight stranger and crack a fat joke, or walk up to a bald stranger and kiss his hairless pate for luck?

Never again, in the future I may say nice tartan, but, then I probably will say nothing.

[crash]

I guess my question is "Why would someone from this forum make the "skirt" crack to a stranger in a kilt?

Yes, of course, a kilt is unquestionable a type of skirt. However, knowing that some kilt wearers take offense when their kilts are referred to as "skirts", why would you use that terminology with a stranger who is wearing a kilt? Would you walk up to an overweight stranger and crack a fat joke, or walk up to a bald stranger and kiss his hairless pate for luck?

[Friday]

I guess my question is "Why would someone from this forum make the "skirt" crack to a stranger in a kilt?

I came close to him I said in my normal irreverent manner

I have a sick sense of humor and it is a skirt!

[jfraser]

Gosh this indeed is a tricky one. If you are referring to the Scottish kilt then I don’t think it is the thing to do. It seems the Scottish kilt is worn by men and skirts by women. However, I presume that some of the non – Scottish kilt could be call skirts, as these don’t seem to have as much protocol attached to them. I know that there would be many of Scottish decent who would take umbrage to the kilt being called a skirt. In fact, in certain circumstances, if you with malice called a Scottish kilt a skirt, you could just as easy end up lying on your back on the ground.
In my experience, I have come across two reasons (but there obviously are more) why men would call the Scottish kilt a skirt, the first case is out of ignorance and the second seems to give their female side a feel good experience. In the first case a simple explanation as to why you don’t call a Scottish kilt a skirt is enough, as any reasonable person does not want to be known as culturally insensitive or boorish. However, I don't know the reason for the second.

[Mikilt]

It's true, a kilt is a sort of skirt. However, "skirt" is a term for an article of women's clothing. That's the rub. I wouldn't want my undershorts being referred to as "panties" for the same reason. It's the connotation/implication that I am somehow a cross-dresser that I find offensive. I don't actually get offended unless someone pushes me after I tell them it's a kilt. It's at that point that I feel like someone is picking a fight with me and while I will not sink to their level, it still ticks me off.

[xman]

If we are men enough to wear a kilt in public shouldn’t we be men enough to admit that is a kilt is:

Class -> Clothing
Order -> Skirt
Family -> Kilt
Genus -> Clan or fashion
Species -> Pleat style

Most precisely, yes! I also never get my nickers in a knot when someone says it's a nice skirt or even calls it a dress. Mostly they don't mean anything by it. They just don't know any better. I simply say, "It's called a kilt", but never labour the point. I like wearing my skirts. Many men are the same. If I had a problem with it I wouldn't do it.

I remember the first time I tried on a kilt. It was during a costume fitting for a staged production of Macbeth. It was an ex DND issue uniform kilt and too long covering my knees which we see a lot of these days intentionally. The director laughed and said I looked like I was wearing a skirt. I looked at him and said quite matter of factly that it was a skirt. I guess I've never had a problem with that.

[Jock Scot]

Gosh this indeed is a tricky one. If you are referring to the Scottish kilt then I don’t think it is the thing to do. It seems the Scottish kilt is worn by men and skirts by women. However, I presume that some of the non – Scottish kilt could be call skirts, as these don’t seem to have as much protocol attached to them. I know that there would be many of Scottish decent who would take umbrage to the kilt being called a skirt. In fact, in certain circumstances, if you with malice called a Scottish kilt a skirt, you could just as easy end up lying on your back on the ground.
In my experience, I have come across two reasons (but there obviously are more) why men would call the Scottish kilt a skirt, the first case is out of ignorance and the second seems to give their female side a feel good experience. In the first case a simple explanation as to why you don’t call a Scottish kilt a skirt is enough, as any reasonable person does not want to be known as culturally insensitive or boorish. However, I don't know the reason for the second.

Bang on! We (male and female) in Scotland are not troubled with this dictionary definition stuff and all this theoretical nonsense, We KNOW the tartan kilt is MALE attire and we KNOW that females wear skirts.That is learnt right from birth for many and often rather brutally reinforced in the school play ground and even if we then grow up to never wear the kilt, or a tartan skirt--for the girls----we know what a kilt is. A kilt is a kilt pure and simple, IT IS NOT A SKIRT.

I say this as kindly as I can. It is you chaps from afar that have problems with this, not us. I suppose its to do with your culture being watered down by other cultures and by time and distance and of course if you choose to wear the kilt "out there" you are bound to stand out and thus catch the eye of those that might mock.

Now I hear you say, what about non tartan kilts such as, tweed, or these MUG things and what about women wearing the kilt in a pipe band? Fair questions.

Well the tweed kilt is so rare that it would indeed cause the Scot pause to think and I suspect its traditional construction would put it in the "real" kilt bracket. As to the MUG, again they are not a common sight and I have only ever seen one and again it would undoubtedly cause most Scots pause for thought and I can only guess what the conclusion might be.

Women wearing the kilt in a pipe band happens and for the sake of uniformity it is accepted practice, but how much nicer is the look of a lady band member who is dressed in a tartan skirt, wearing tights, instead of the unflattering bulky kilt hose, and light but sensible, female type shoes.

[Friday]

At one time I thought that those with Celtic ancestry had a great deal of testicular fortitude. This fortitude has allowed the overcoming of many things, to rise above and to carry forth. More and more lately I have seen that this is not true. For example, the pride of non-Scotish born in their family and heritage and in this case, the use of a generic name for an item of clothing seems to be an affront to this testicular fortitude.

So for sake of diminishing contention I will state that when “a one-piece garment extending downward from the waist” and is wrapped around a person without testacies the garment is a skirt, if the garment is wrapped to cover testacies it is a kilt.

Thereby a kilt is not a skirt. It also appears my ability to raise above simple terminology must come from the Irish (O'Shay) on my maternal side.