Context, context, context! I've enjoyed reading this thread, and my conclusion for me is that it just boils down to context.

I will happily go shirtless when doing summer-time yardwork, or when in swim trunks at the beach, or watching the kids play in my mother-in-law's neighborhood pool.

But I do not normally wear a kilt in any of those contexts. For me, when I put on a kilt I always want to project a more professional image (this could have something to do with the fact that usually when I am wearing the kilt I am representing the museum in some capacity) and so don't even normally wear t-shirts with a kilt, let alone going shirtless.

So unless I decide to succeed Hamish as X-Mark's official romance novel cover model, it is not likely to be one of my fashion choices. But it is really due to context, not any issues I have over body image.

If you are one to wear a kilt in one of the many contexts where it is appropriate for a man to be shirtless, then by all means do so.

(BTW, and as an aside, I agree wholeheartedly with Ali and others who have lauded the attractiveness of pale skin. Pale doesn't have to mean "sickly" and pale skin on a lady I think is much more attractive -- and healthy -- than skin-damaging tans. Good on ya!)