As for his comments about wearing his kilt to prom and the reaction - it was in the 1980s and he went to school in Peoria, IL.

Peoria is in the middle of the farm country in the southern part of Illinois. It is more of a farm town with more conservative leanings and attitudes than in Chicago to its north. The current population is around 110K according to Wikipedia.

You'll recall the saying, "Will it play in Peoria?" because Peoria came to represent middle American taste and values.

If I'd worn a kilt to my prom in Kansas in 1981, I'd have been more than ridiculed. It might not be the same today, but, honestly, it probably would be. Prejudices about people who act differently change slowly in small town America, in my experience.

In fact, I wore my kilt at home in rural Kansas to my father's house a year or so ago. He was so happy -- that I didn't stop in town so his friends would see me in it. (His side of the family is the Scottish side, mind you.) I stopped at the gas station on the way out of town, just because I'm that kind of ornery.

I recall reading a fairly recent article somewhere where his date to the prom mentioned that he wore a "skirt" to the prom. Even she wasn't thrilled about his desire to honor his Scottish heritage two decades later.

So don't give Barrowman too much crap for his attitude about small rural Midwestern American towns. He came by it honestly. He earned it the old fashioned way.