This whole thing that gets brought up about 'do you want your son's wearing skirts" got me to thinking. So I went and looked online and found some interesting and fun things about skirts. Here are a few things just from one of the sites.
"Even some men who wear skirts are very insistent that they aren't wearing a skirt, despite the obvious fact that they are. I mean, if you're walking around with a turtle on your head and someone asks you why you have a turtle on your head, then to say, "It isn't a turtle, it's a tortoise.", isn't useful. You haven't made any real distinction or answered the question of the inquirer. But, if it makes you feel better, then go right ahead and play the semantics game. Don't call it a skirt. Call it a loincloth if you have to. If you don't like loincloth, there are many other words to choose from. Here is a list:
dirndl
loincloth
kilt
midi
muumuu
pannier
sarong
pareo
pareau
pakome (Thailand)
lava-lava (Samoa)
sulu (Fiji)
canga (Brazil)
tupenu (Tonga)
ki-koi (Kenya)
lunghi
robe
kimono
toga
tunic
alb
dhoti
So what did men wear before the development of pants?
ancient Egyptians wore dresses and skirts
Alexander the Great conquered the whole world while wearing a skirt. The Greeks wore togas, and the Chinese wore dresses (yes, men too).
"What would Jesus do?"
Specifically, what did Jesus wear? Well, he wore a tunic or Alb
Jesus was rather comfortable with himself, as evidenced from
John 13:4, 5 "He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded." Jesus was comfortable using a towel as a skirt. I don't think that anyone assumes that Jesus was a cross dresser.
What about the prophets? What did the prophets wear? Traditionally, sleeveless cloaks - just like the alb above - and the Priests all wore them too. If you read
Isaiah 20, you can see that Isaiah prophesied for three years while completely naked, but that was rather unusual. Maybe it's a bad example to use here...
Here are a few quick references.
1 Samuel 15:27 Samuel wore a skirt.
Psalm 133:2 Aaron, the High Priest, wore a skirt.
Haggai 2:12 You shouldn't use your skirt for eating.
Zechariah 8:23 Jews wear skirts. (Hey! I'm part Jewish!)
When some dim-wit hits me with, "Dude! Are you wearing a dress!?", I just tell them, "No, I'm wearing a skirt.", and then take the opportunity to educate them. Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, Alexander the Great, Plato, all the Roman Legions, Vikings, Scots, Indians, Orientals, Arabs, Arians, Negroes, and indeed all of human kind wore skirts or skirt-like garments up until about the 1700s. The vast majority of people - men and women alike - still do.
Of course, in the course of doing anything unusual, I have several ready responses.
Things like:
It's wash day, and I figured, 'What the hey?' (edited)
Why, yes, it is a skirt, and you can't have it either!
Why, yes, it is a skirt. Where's yours?
Don't you know those pants can make you sterile?
The voices told me to wear it.
Of course, my favorite is, "It is in accordance with the prophecy." YMMV."
All I did was type in men in skirts in my google browser and this was the first site to pop up. The guy is actually pretty funny.
Now for myself, I don't really care. I am so over worrying about what others wear. If they and God can work it out then so be it.
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