Why Do Some Take Such Offense...

[xman]

I had a lady compliment my "skirt" the other day. I just said, "thank-you", because I could see it came from an honest place and I simply didn't have the chance to correct her. Being the stickler for detail I certainly do correct people and appreciate being corrected.

Another time a friend asked me if she thought a certain jacket was too masculine for her daughter. I told her I didn't think so but also pointed out that she was asking the guy in a skirt for such advise.

There are times when it's okay. Like being black and using the 'n' word.

[The Volusianator]

like being black and using the 'n' word.

lol

[Mirthlesstroll]

My usual reply to "Nice skirt" is (at the top of my lungs) "Thanks, but I'm only interested in women".

It's usually enough to make the offender (always a man) blush and feel a bit of an a$$ around his other friends (as this type of person is the sort who would never make such a comment without an audience/peer group to back them up.)

I'm totally stealing this for my newly kilted sons!

[CDNSushi]

I've seen this topic flare up numerous times in the past.. "Yes, it's a skirt." "No it's not!" And from my own recollection, I don't think we've ever reached any kind of consensus.

I don't wish to put down the OP's original question or reason to post the thread; people will call kilts different things based on their upbringing, experience with Highland dress, even their command of the English language (or lack thereof) and many members realize and understand that. There are also those XMTS members who feel that people should make an effort to use the correct terms, or be willing to be educated if they don't know them.

In the end, WHO CARES whether A definition, or YOUR definition, or the DICTIONARY'S definition, or ANOTHER MEMBER'S definition refers to what you wear as a skirt or not? I've seen heated arguments where people pound each other with definitions they've pulled from various dictionaries, and it can get ridiculous. "Merriam-Webster say THIS..." "Yeah, well... Oxford says THIS...." "Yeah, but they didn't before the 1921 edition." "But you didn't read definition 6." Etc. All dictionaries were made by PEOPLE. People like you & me, each of whom has their own outlook on life. There is very little apart from widespread public acceptance that makes a dictionary's definition superior to mine (or anyone else's) when you really think about it.

As for the issue at hand, I would simply just say, that it's always best to tackle remarks, compliments, and criticisms on our choice of clothes on an case-by-case basis. Most of us probably already do this anyway. To answer the OP's question very directly, some people may get an earful from an offended party because the "offendee" felt that the person was being a jerk and that they deserved it. That is why some "take such offense." We don't like to be put down or slighted, and when we are, you can see that some respond quickly and more explicitly than others, and that's just the nature of it all.

[Downunder Kilt]

Exactly CDNSushi

[The Volusianator]

I've seen this topic flare up numerous times in the past.. "Yes, it's a skirt." "No it's not!"

Actually, that's not the topic, the topis is "why do so many take offense to it being called a skirt", not is it or not.

[nagod]

i just take comments in the spirit its offered and respond in kind.

[Cygnus]

By the dictionary definition, a skirt is "a separate free-hanging outer garment [...] covering some or all of the body from the waist down" - the definition of a kilt is "a knee-length pleated skirt usually of tartan worn by men in Scotland and by Scottish regiments in the British armies" (emphasis added).

I have no problem with that - especially considering that the definition goes out of its way to say that the kilt is a man's skirt (at least in Scotland and the military - it's not clear what it's called out of that context).

Going by the dictionary definition would also make the great kilt a dress.

[Peter Crowe]

By the dictionary definition, a skirt is "a separate free-hanging outer garment [...] covering some or all of the body from the waist down" - the definition of a kilt is "a knee-length pleated skirt usually of tartan worn by men in Scotland and by Scottish regiments in the British armies" (emphasis added).

I have no problem with that - especially considering that the definition goes out of its way to say that the kilt is a man's skirt (at least in Scotland and the military - it's not clear what it's called out of that context).

Going by the dictionary definition would also make the great kilt a dress.

I have been reflecting on the OP's original question on why people take such offence and a number of thoughts occur to me.

1) Offence may be too strong a word, but certainly while I can feel offended by some because that is their clear intent, I may feel only mild irritation with others that don't know any better.

2) For me personally wearing the Kilt is a reflection not merely of my nationality and ethnicity (Many Scots don't wear the Kilt for many different reasons) but of my immediate family upbringing and values learnt from earliest childhood. Consequently it has an existential quality which is part of my identity as a Scot, my parents son, and a heterosexual man.* (Not that I would seek to limit the kilt to only Scots or heterosexuals, far less to only Scottish heterosexuals). In summary, the kilt is part of who I am. Devalue the kilt or take it away from me, then you are devaluing me and attacking my innate dignity.

3) While the Kilt has strong martial associations, it is more than the dress of a warrior. The Kilt is also the national dress of a people and country (despite it's purely Highland origin in the XVI century and reinvention in the XIX century) which has a strong culture in all the arts and sciences, including all branches of philosophy going back to at least medieval times and which descends from an even older civilisation going back a millenia.

4) The Kilt does not cease to be a kilt because it is worn outwith Scotland, or by other than a Scot or someone descended from the Scottish diaspora.

[Taygrd]

I too failed to answer the OP original question. So I will try to now and will leave it at this. The kilt, and more importantly the tartan, represents to me a deep family history, an emotional tie to my heritage and my ancestors. It is something which should be worn in pride and and respected. To some it is just a garment to be worn like flip flops. It has been debased to the point where in society it means nothing or been altered to represent something entirely different; so why would society not call it a skirt? This stigma has now been added to those who are traditional and non-traditional alike regardless of how you wear it or what you wear. So I take offence when I am lumped together with this stigma and someone calls it a skirt. I have only have close friends say that to me in jest and never a stranger. I guess I wear it well