Some people just don't know

[Anthony]

I was thinking last night about some of the post on this topic, and about how many of the folks I meet daily, really have no idea what a kilt is other then some Scottish or Irish costume. While wearing a kilt more will help in getting people we come in contact with get use to the idea, its really going to take more then that to get "Joe Public" to understand that it IS a garment.

I'm starting to see more men in the film industry wearing kilts, mostly Grips (like myself) and Wardrobe. The sad part is the first thing the majority of people think, at least here in L.A., when they see a man in a kilt is he's gay.

I can't tell you how many people have asked me if I'm gay when I'm wearing a kilt. It doesn't upset me, I mean at least when someone ask they really want to understand why I would wear a skirt. So I tell them it's a kilt, and explain the background, why I have chosen to wear a kilt, and that I'm not gay, I'm a sadist.

Like so many things, public awareness really is the key to understanding and acceptance.

[Robert Lamb]

I have been thinking that maybe it would be useful to have a 1 page PDF file to stick up on the outside of my cubical explaining what a kilt is for the people here that just don't know any better and might be afraid to ask.

Anthony::
Why not print up some business cards(small print of course) that you can hand out to the ignoranus persons who are ill informed about men's clothing.
Robert"the kilted" Lamb

[Highlander775]

I find it hard to believe that most people in the U.S. don't know what a kilt is or have never seen somebody wearing one.If one watches t.v. you have the Sierra Mist commercial that was shown during the Superbowl last year where the pipeband leader is looking for Wallace. On the History Channel R.Lee Ermy answered a viewer's question about the kilt being a legitimate military uniform while he was wearing one with his Marine Corp's.blouse.As a kid,I remember an episode of Bugs Bunny where he thought that he was saving a lady from being attacked by a monster who was really a bagpiper. :P There was also the Three Stooges episode that found them in Scotland.In the movie "The Last of the Mohicans" director Michael Mann(Miami Vice)had Scottish Highland Soldiers inserted into the story(not that there were many at Ft.William Henry,but because he thought that it looked cool 8) ).At the very least,people have a seen a parade on t.v. or in real life that has bagpipers.



"Bringing History To Life"

[Rigged]

Even if someone sees a kilt in a parade or on tv doesn't mean they know anything about the history or culture behind it. To many people it's just guys in plaid skirts marching in a parade.

And that's one of the issues I have with the "just wear it and everything will be fine" philosophy.

There's a huge amount of public education to be done and has to be done on the mass-culture level if we're ever going to get past kilt-wearing being an oddity.

Right now, we have no control over the message we're trying to put out. The best recent example I can give is the November 8th issue of People Magazine. There's a picture of an actor (I can't remember the guy's name) on page 14. He's shown with a good-looking female (they'd just gone for Chinese food).

The caption mentions that he's "making a fashion statement" wearing a kilt (it looks like a new black neo-trad Utilikilt), but asks if the bag he's holding is his purse.

We kilting folk don't have a media strategy, so we're at the mercy of the media, and they have none.

[GMan]

Education is definetly the key. Most people think that it is just part of a band uniform, a television show, or a commercial and do not know the history behind them. So seeing one in a different (daily) context gives them a reason to do a double take.

The longer I am kilted, the talking is becoming easier, and I can tell those who are sincere in wanting to know the reasons of why, to those who just want to show their ignorance.

[Rob Wright]

For most Americans kilts and bagpipes go together, they cannot concieve of the idea that people would actually wear them on a regular basis. Anything outside of their preconceived notion throws them through a loop and they start to think man in a skirt

We kilting folk don't have a media strategy, so we're at the mercy of the media, and they have none

And we always will be because we refuse to play into their preconcieved notions and therefor will not get aur due.

Rob Wright

[macwilkin]

Our Assistant Dean & I were talking today, and he told me that he heard a student talking to a group of his friends in the hallway yesterday. The first student said something to the effect of: "I'm going to get a kilt, because my heritage is Scottish." The Dean asked me if I had been making any "converts". :mrgreen:

Our St. Andrew's Society is helping a local school with their Scottish night in a couple of weeks, and I will be doing a presentation on "kilt wearing 101" as part of the program. The kids are really excited about it and are designing their own tartans as part of the lead-up to the program -- should be interesting to see what they come up with.

Cheers,

T.

[bubba]

A Spongebob Squarepants tartan?

[Rigged]

I'm old enough to remember when women were struggling to be able to wear pants to work. I remember when there were "Firemen", "Policemen", and "Mailmen" because women couldn't get those jobs.

Much has changed for women, and not by accident. They have a strategy and they're working it.

I think the kiltmakers should form a consortium, like the egg producers, the beef and pork producers, the milk producers, Florida orange growers, and the California Cheese Board.

These groups each hired media consultants to put out a consistent and positive message about their products. In the case of eggs, milk, meat and cheese, their media campaigns have countered the public claims of health-food advocates.

Kilting should be an easy sell since it really is the healthy alternative.

It doesn't even have to be a multi-million-dollar television campaign to start out. It could start with a small ad in a couple of national newspapers. Then a quarter-page ad in a popular men's magazine, and continue building as the industry grows.

Anyway, that's what I think.

Got Kilts?

[Highlander775]

Good idea.









"Bringing History To Life"