Answering the question when it's asked by children

[Panache]

Frank wrote: With the greatest of respect to Panache I think he's unwittingly hit on the reason why masuclinity is in some ways such an artificial and fragile 'operating system'. Whilst he had "some pretty wonderful times" talking with girls on the subject of kilts, he found it easier to juxtapose kilts with a context of war and death rather than with simple personal choice when discussing the same topic with the boys. Isn't it sad that even the very young have to be divorced from their sense of self to the extent that any justification for kilt wearing is necessary ?


Frank,

I am a stay at home Dad. I work in my 6 year old son's kindergarten class where he is one of 10 boys. In addition, my wonderful son Tristan has a wide group of friends ranging in ages from 3 to 8. With the exception of one classmate (and to be honest he is a bit strange) they are all REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY into guns and swords. I seldom wear a real sgian dubh. In it's place I wear a "sgian don't" (a knife handled bottle cap opener*). When I go to my son's class in a kilt I am always asked "Mr Tanner did you wear a real knife this time? Did you? Did you?" I always say, "No just a bottle cap opener, same as always." They say "why not? A knife would be cooler!". (Sigh) Young boys seem to have a love of weapons programmed into them at an almost genetic level. I have a cousin who has raised her boy without guns, no violent TV or movies, no war toys, and carefully monitored play activities. At age 2 1/2 he started a preschool a couple of times a week and came home making a gun with his fists and saying "this is my Bang Bang".
My cousin was shocked. "How can he play guns when he doesn't even know the word gun!" she said exasperatedly. "Easy, he's a boy", I replied.

Please take this with a sense of humor (it certainly was written with one ). I was being honest in my advice on the response to children. Little girls love the story of Queen Victoria and the kilted soldier at Balmoral Castle. This little bit of lore seems to make kilts seem really interesting to them. Little boys eat up tales of swordsmanship and heroics It makes kilts cool. And making kilts cool to kids is well...cool.

I think I am paraphrasing Dave Barry here but the difference between girls and boys is: Girls are smaller human beings and Boys are pod people from Planet Destructo.

Cheers


* I will be hopefully posting some pictures of these that will be for sale sometime soon.