4. The first group I tried this act of deviance on were associates on campus. The reactions were mostly positive. One girl snickered, but it might not have been directed at me, since she was with a group of people, and they could have just been goofing around before I showed up. This was in passing, so I did not linger long enough to determine anything from that instance. Other reactions ranged from Briggs Harston’s comment of “Woo! Kilt” to Mary MacKintosh’s remark of “look at you! Sporran and all… looks good.” Lindsey walked up, and very politely demanded to see the kilt. I was wearing my typical lazy black over shirt with it, and sitting down at the time, so it was hard to see. After that, she made the comment of “right on” and we proceeded to talk about Utilikilts, and how she sees guys running around Seattle in them. She then inquired if today was any special occasion. I told her no, that I was wearing it, just to wear it. John, from the e-Lab called it a skirt in humor, we both laughed. One classmate had asked where I bought it, so I promptly gave him the web-address. Professor Power had asked me if I was feeling festive today, and said that she liked it anyway… even after I explained why I was doing it initially. 3 guys total asked me if I was wearing some form of undergarment. This part is odd. For one, I do work on campus, and 2 of the 3 who asked know that I work on campus, so I would hope that I have to sense to be decent under there! There’s just something disturbing about a guy asking another guy if he is “regimental” under his kilt. However, one guy did ask how that sort of came about. I told him that from the best of my research, it started with the Highland Regiments. One lady who worked in the NSC mistakenly called it a skirt. Now honestly the kilt is a kind of skirt, but it has its own name, and cultural identification behind it, so the colloquial term “skirt” is not quite accurate to describe it. Ryan Robertson, who is an associate of mine (ex-class mate, and friendly acquaintance) corrected her on the subject, then came to the library to inform me of the event. We both had a good laugh at it. The only two people who appeared to have misconceptions were women. I honestly cannot place that. I have read many a story about women doing very un-ladylike things to guys in kilts, usually involving trying to sneak a peek at what is underneath. I can guess for a fact that one of them was not well versed in cultural attire, other than her own; this woman was Hispanic-American , which leads me to believe that she had no reason to learn of anyone else’s culture, aside from maybe her Hispanic side, as I have noticed that when someone is mixed race, they usually only identify with one. It could also be that her cultural experiences were that of a Hispanic, mixed with the blanket of “American culture.” The other could have been a simple mistake; she might have forgotten the appropriate word, it has been known to happen. However, by and large, most people recognized the kilt for what it was, and they were pretty supportive of it. Some of the responses were relatively polite, and I could tell that the people regarded the kilt as unusual, but seen frequently enough in formal wear that they could easily correlate it to some kind of event. Most of the people who said anything were Caucasian. This sort of makes sense, as I am quite sure that there were not any native colored Scottish people. I expected more responses from the culturally diverse people; perhaps they only care about respect if it happens to be their culture that is getting disrespected? I know that often people do not act, unless prompted to for some reason. The “if it doesn’t affect me…” mindset is well known. The most supportive, and enthusiastic reaction was from Mary, as she had sort of prompted me to do something similar to this already. There is also a shared interest in Scottish culture. I have seen her wearing her clan tartan, and her clan badge before, so she also has a level of respect for these sorts of things.
What is considered normal in one part of the world, or with one subculture, can, and typically is, viewed as quite unusual in another.
5. One could use a number of approaches to explain this act of deviance, and the various responses to it. One could use the conflict theory, and argue that there is a whole subculture of people, who wear kilts because they are comfortable, and are struggling with the mainstream society for acceptance. To put it out there, here is Utilikilts mission statement, as seen on their website: www.utilikilts.com.
Mission Statement:
We are committed to pioneering a comfortable alternative to trousers by producing "Men's Unbifurcated Garments" (MUG's). Our patented utility design reflects the company's high standards and integrity. Utilikilts seeks to set a global example, defining "business with a conscience" and channeling company gains and resources back into the community.
1. The UK company does not accept preconceived limitations as our own.
2. Utilikilts Co. will only be publicly represented by actual and proven Utilikiltarians.
3. The management of the company will not exploit cultures, peoples or environments to achieve capital gains.
4. The company will only grow, act, and react at the speed our customer base demands.
5. "Form Follows Function" is our modus operandi.
We welcome the ideas, resources and opinions of our customers and other like-minded business owners.
Or perhaps this quote from Freedom Kilts (www.freedomkilts.com): “CRY FREEDOM! and let slip the legs of woe.”
The fact that I can name off half a dozen kilt makers, or suppliers shows that there is indeed a market for the garment. The market would not exist without people willing to support it. It is just that we are all spread out and relatively small in number where we are found. Thanks to this exercise, I think I am going to start wearing my kilts more often, just because I can. Perhaps more people will become interested, and I can point them to a few places for information, and products.
One could also theoretically take a symbolic interactionist approach. Most of the people who had positive things to say, gave cause for conversation. Interest alone is enough to start getting people to accept something. A couple of the people I chatted to about kilts and what not were also of Scottish decent. I am sure it’s a safe guess, that if someone is of Scottish decent (ok, marked Scottish decent), and they see a kilt, they’d likely say something, which would spur a conversation. You know made a connection to someone who shares a similar heritage. If it is one thing that people like to do, it’s congregate with “their own kind.” Which lends itself to the “salad dressing” theory of sociology; there is a number of small cultural pockets, coated with the American culture. One would imagine that is how you get Chinatown, or Little Tokyo, Little Italy, Little Edinburgh etc.