All reactions tend to be based on context (that is the place I'm wearing it) tempered with the experiences of the individual.
Since we have quite a lot of parades down here, and three pipe bands in Baton Rouge alone, many know what the kilt is--but assume that I play the pipes. (That's usually the question I get in a non-event kilted appearance.)
There is also a racial discrepancy in as much as acceptance of the kilt. My students (100% of whom are black) at first usually make fun of me when they hear about it or see a picture of me in a kilt. When I taught at a private school with more diversity between white, black, asian, and arab populations, it was more accepted (I guess *** for diversity promoting acceptance)? But by the end of the year, my students were interested in the kilt and all my "Scottish stuff."
At an International Heritage celebration, I was approached by a Nigerian woman who asked if wearing the kilt made me feel as though I lost my masculinity. I was very taken aback by this, as I've never thought of the kilt that way, seeing my dad, grandfather, brothers, and many of their friends wear the kilt often. But I guess that this view is there for those who aren't used to it.
I'm trying to get my friend into a kilt as well, and he seems less than enthusiastic about it. One of our dancers does not feel comfortable wearing the kilt he's borrowed from our instructor. Neither grew up seeing the kilt prominently worn. So they have to overcome their initial inclination to see it as skirt-like. But in general, I think there is a fascination with the kilt... but it becomes a different ball game when you move from curiosity to getting someone to wear it.