Willow Harrington: Women wear pants all the time, why can't a man wear a skirt?

To The Daily Sun,

Men have worn skirts and dresses throughout history, yet only now is it a laughing matter when a man dons an A-line or pleated skirt.

Women nowadays wear suits to the office daily, yet the second a man sports a dress, it’s strange and controversial. Men can wear what they want, just like we have deemed possible for women, and society should get over it.

When I was younger, back in second grade, I went to class with a boy who wore a skirt. He was not ashamed of his outfit, even though my classmates laughed at him and called him a girl. We thought it was funny for a man to dress differently than “normal.” We were not more than 7 years old.

I once went to a summer camp in which the camp counselor’s son often wore dresses and skirts. When he showed up to camp each day, people laughed and mocked him for his attire. We were maybe 13 years old.

At my current school, if a man wears a dress, it's usually an attempt to make his friends laugh. I wonder, what if that is how they want to dress?

How would you feel if you wore an outfit you were proud of, only for the people you consider some of your closest friends to laugh at you?

We are now students in our late teen years, laughing at people who are expressing themselves in a way that doesn't damage anyone.

It's time to mature.

Most men claim skirts and dresses, traditionally viewed as “women’s clothes,” to be feminine, and can't get past that illogical barrier built so long ago. Clothes are just pieces of fabric that we use to adorn our bodies.

Women wear pants all the time, why can't a man wear a skirt?

Willow Harrington

Gilford