Women in Utilikilts

[Shay]

As someone who has been a reenactor (mostly American Civil War, Spanish-American War and other assorted periods), I have no problem with women in the ranks, as long as their is a lot of documentation for their presence. If there was a woman that served in a particular regiment disguised as a man, and it can be documented, then fine. Otherwise, it's an inaccurate portrayal of history.

To be fair, so are all of you being in fairly good health and having all your teeth, arms and legs or wearing wigs. I don't see a problem with a woman portraying a man on a stage or in a reenactment, or vice versa, that's just me.

BMackay- I was thinking of that, too!

which to attract the female of the species, and to discourage other males from invading his territory....

Hmmm... whenever I see a guy in kilts, he's at the bar talking to the women...

[macwilkin]

To be fair, so are all of you being in fairly good health and having all your teeth, arms and legs or wearing wigs. I don't see a problem with a woman portraying a man on a stage or in a reenactment, or vice versa, that's just me.

Shay, that's a bit of a "roast chesnut", I'm afraid. I will freely admit that there are a lot of reenactors out there, especially in the Civil War era, that are not historically accurate. But there are many of us who try -- naturally, were not going to run out and get lice, dystentery, etc., but anyone portraying a historical time period for educational purposes (like myself as a park ranger at a Civil War battlefield) should be as accurate as possible, with appropriate & reliable documentation. Yes, there are reenactors who don't take it so seriously, but they are misleading the general public (most unintentionally). As someone who makes their living in the field of history, I have a big problem with that. A reenactment or a living history program is not the same thing as a stage play, although there are similar elements.

I have no problem with women portraying men at reenactments, I just want to see the documentation that it is appropriate for a particular unit and/or battle, just as I would want to see for a "atypical" musket, uniform, etc.

Regards,

T.