I know this topic has been hashed out here in the past and I have even brushed on the topic in relation to various threads here before.. but, I had an experience that made me think more about the topic and how it affects all of us in kilts (affect/effect.. I think I used the right one, correct me if I'm wrong).

I was out in my khaki tan UK neo-trad and I had a woman come up to me to complement me on how nice my kilt looked. She went on to say she knew how much confidence a guy has to have to wear a kilt or skirt in public and she thought it was admirable that I would do it, in spite of ridicule and snickers by the ignorant among us.

She then went on to talk about an ex-boyfriend that I gather she believed was bi-sexual (she did make a point of mentioning he had never admitted to her he was bi-sexual or gay and that she had never seen him even kiss a guy) and that he was also a transvestite.

She said when she found out he was a transvestite; she said she was uncomfortable with it at first, but grew to accept it. She said he rarely went out in public in drag, but that he often went out in long and short skirts and sarongs. I asked her if he ever wore kilts and she said she didn't think so, but she was "sure he would" if given the opportunity. I told her that although I did not know him, in my experience guys that like to dress like girls rarely wear kilts because they are a masculine garment and most feel masculine in them. She said she did not think that was the case (she was of the opinion that "a skirt is a skirt and a kilt is a skirt"). But, I also pointed out to her that just because he was a transvestite, did not mean he was gay. She admitted that she could be wrong about his orientation.

Now, overall, this was a pleasant conversation, but afterward I got to thinking about what she had said and I was unsure what had bothered me most about it.

For those of you that don't know me, I am 100% straight. I have one close friend that is a semi-closeted homosexual and I have a few openly gay acquaintances through him. I have hung out with him and his friends and never had a problem with their orientation. I've brought girls over to his place for parties and BBQs in the past and some got sort of freaked out by seeing guys with guys and they felt compelled to ask me if I was bi, or something. I assured them that although I know guys that claim to be straight but have experimented in the past, etc.. I have not. I just have a gay friend, that's it. Anyhow, I don't know anyone that would consider me a homophobe. I've always been a live-and-let-live kind of person… even more so, after I reached my 30's.

But, for some reason, I just don't appreciate being considered gay and I don't like being compared to a transvestite or homosexual/bi-sexual, just because I wear a kilt. Although I am sure there are gay guys that wear kilts, none of the gay guys I know would wear a kilt and most have stated that plainly.

The converation made me think about the whole "men in skirts" (MIS) and transvestite (TV) movement and how much damage they really do to the Braveheart/kilted straight men "movement." I am comfortable being kilted and I generally find the reactions of others both amusing and enlightening.

Unfortunately, while there are elements of the MIS movement that I agree with, I feel as a whole, the "men in skirts" and TVs really have an agenda that conflicts with ours and is detrimental to public acceptance of straight men in kilts. As I've mentioned here in the past, I don't think the average, mainstream, person out there can really tell us apart. They see a guy in a short (or long) GAP denim skirt, a guy in a tartan or khaki UK kilt and a guy in a flowery summer dress with a wig and heels and they can't really see the difference between them. Maybe I'm wrong.

While I have always been okay with the MIS and TV movement in the past, I think as time goes on and I am starting to realize their efforts, in some ways, are counter to ours and the (somewhat predictable) backlash against them may well be the one biggest obstacles to the success of the kilted men/Braveheart movement.

What do you think?