Sunday, September 5, 2010

Skirts are for girls - Gender-based textile conformation confusion

I have a 2 year old.  Pants are superfluous.  Really, really superfluous.  Without pants, our toddler uses the toilet on his own.  With pants, things are more complicated....and messy.  The cultural expectation for boys (and men) not to wear skirts is ridiculous.  In the subculture of our home, friends, and family, unless there is a need to protect toddler knees or daddy from power-tool flotsam, we will wear skirts.  And on some days, we won't wear pants, skirt, or kilt.  Wearing pants for the sake of wearing pants is stupid and clearly a cultural anachronism.


My technical name for the problem: gender-based textile conformation confusion


Stereotypical Presentations (as cultural misconceptions):
  • Skirts and dresses are for women
  • Men in skirts aren't tolerated in the workplace
  • Straight men in skirts are gender confused 
Primary Symptom: Lack of clothing options for the male sex resulting in prodigious clothing-related limitations and health issues

Epidemiology: Widespread across European and Western cultures with many notable exceptions. 

Cure: Wear a skirt proudly and smartly.  Tell others about the benefits.  Fight cultural anachronism.

Health and Societal Benefits: 
There are a number of benefits of remission or cure of this cultural anachronism: 
  • Less constricted movement
  • Easier toilet training for toddlers
  • Ease of access overall
  • No more bulging male parts in pants
  • Fewer male fungal and related body-odor problems 
  • Easier to design and less expensive clothing
  • Ready availability of male styled skirts and dresses
  • Reclaim a lost freedom
  • Demonstrate gender equality
  • Diminish artificial gender differences
Textile Conformation Confusion is an artifact of culture.  Proof can be found in the numerous non-bifurcated textile conformations worn by men in other cultures, namely: 

Some links:
Some definitions: 
  • bifurcation: to split
  • conformation: an arrangement
  • anachronism: something misplaced in history; occurring at the wrong time
  • cultural artifact: a consequence (thing, idea, practice) which represents an arbitrary choice by a particular  culture


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