beat up for calling it a skirt?

**pastorsteve** · 25th January 25, 09:16 AM

No matter how you rationalize it, to me, a kilt is a man's skirt. I'm sure some wear kilts because they want to wear a skirt - and that's perfectly fine as I don't care what anyone wears. For me, it's recognition of family heritage so I couldn't care less what anyone might think. If you take offense at someone making a comment about your attire when you are out and about, you should probably stay home. My family comes from the Western Isles, I've worn kilts for decades and can't remember one comment directed at me when kilted (or otherwise really) that was meant to be offensive, or that I considered such.

**FinnKilt** · 13th March 25, 03:21 PM

As a 365/365 kilt wearer (mostly, various kinds of utility kilt), I do fairly regularly get asked Why?; rather less often, What?
I am neither Scottish nor other-current-Celtic; my Celtic ancestors (it's highly likely that they did exist) may well have been the Brythonic Parisii of what is now eastern Yorkshire in Roman times, subsequently enslaved and assimilated by first the AngloSaxon and then the Norse invaders. But that is poor justification for what clothes to wear. So to Why?, one of my stock responses is that it isn't an ethnic statement, it's a fashion statement. Which is moreover pretty true.
As for responding to What?, absolutely the response needs to be light-hearted. If someone is really interested, one can explore the way that words like kilt have fuzzy semantic boundaries: there is the core meaning, which Jock Scot would be entirely happy with, but then there are the outer expansions including kilts for women and girls (often significantly shorter), but more relevantly, the modern or utility kilts in their various and wonderful variations.
Some years ago I was at a conference and exiting the main hall by a rather dark and gloomy staircase when a distinctly Scottish female voice behind me said: What's that? Is that a kilt? and as we came into a brighter space: Oh, it's a manskirrt. That's fine by me.