Unbifurcated garments – including kilts, robes, caftans, sarongs, tunics, and other skirt-like garments – are traditionally male clothing that have been worn by men throughout history. They have been worn by all the men in the Bible, by Roman gladiators, Vikings, and Scottish Highlanders. They are still worn frequently by men in Scotland, throughout Africa, the Middle East, parts of Asia, and the Pacific islands, to name just a few examples. Unbifurcated garments are far more comfortable and suitable to the male anatomy than trousers, because they don’t confine the legs or cramp the male genitals the way that trousers do.
Although there was a relatively brief period in history when manhood was symbolized by the wearing of trousers, this is no longer the case. Today trousers have become unisex garments that women wear most of the time. In the United States, for example, a guy wearing blue jeans will find himself dressed the same as perhaps 90 per cent of the girls. If a man wishes to distinguish his masculinity through clothing, he would do much better by strapping on a real Scottish kilt.
You are probably aware, as recently as 50 to 60 years ago, it was generally unacceptable for a woman to wear pants in our culture. Why? Well, there are a lot of reasons surrounding status, power and long-held ideas of masculinity and femininity, but it is a battle women finally won. Of course, throughout this time (since the Dark Ages) there has only been one men’s unbifurcated garment that has both “survived” and is generally accepted in Western cultures, the kilt.
The kilted warriors of Celtic origin (the Vikings/Normans and Highlanders) could be seen as the original “rugged individualists,” often feared and admired by their peers and enemies. As such, they were free to do as they pleased and held their heads high in the face of critics and naysayers, thumbing their noses at those that would object to their lifestyle and traditions. Those that choose to wear a kilt, at some level, are carrying on that ancient warrior spirit and keeping the tradition alive, whether they wear a clan tartan kilt, a khaki UK or a lava red Sportkilt!
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
You don’t have to be a cowboy to wear blue jeans or a cowboy hat.
You don’t have to be an athlete to wear a tracksuit.
You don’t have to be a pilot to wear a bomber jacket.
You don’t have to be a baseball player to wear a ball cap.
You don’t have to be a hunter or a soldier to wear camouflage clothing.
You don’t have to be a man to wear trousers and…
You don’t have to be a Scot to wear a kilt.
For some, it is a matter of self-expression. The kilt has always been a masculine garment. It has been the choice of true warriors and rebels for centuries.