Alan Cumming in a gold kilt

Reader Brian sent me a link last week to a new broadway show called Bacchae'.  It stars Alan Cumming, who sports a charming gold lame kilt.  You can read about the Bacchae' here.

Comments

[Diane Meier]

Aside from the fact that in this get-up, Alan Cumming looks scarily like my father's sister (not, perhaps, the chicest fashion icon to emulate), I wonder how many folks found themselves wondering whether, in this get-up, Alan should have shaved his legs!

What worries me is that this Blog is designed to help men on the fence about kilt wearing to see that it's not scary or even so very edgy. When you know how to wear them, its a great, smart, look that suggests a kind of independence of thought and style in a world that allows men very little expression of personal style.

The Alan Cummings image is just the kind of thing I fear will throw the fellows who are 'on the fence' - over to the timid side of trying to make it work.

The line between kilts and Drag is not one that often occurs to me but I realize, as I look at this picture, that it must be a primary reason so many men won't even give kilts a try. For those of you who don't know Alan Cumming's work, let me assure you, his whole schtick is Drag: gender, gay politics and in-your-face dual-sexuality. He means us to be talking about the Drag side of kilts because he wants us to be talking about the Drag elements of the culture. Don't confuse this with actual kilt wearing.

We are very kilt positive at The New American Wedding. We see kilts as a strong masculine choice for self-expression through apparel. The details and accessories ( Paladian boots, chunky sweaters, attitude tee shirts, jackets with the right proportion to carry the look of the kilt) that Ben has been offering up to those of you who care enough to check in with some regularity, are designed to help you navigate a new proportion within your own masculine style.

But when we get into the realm of gold lame and Shirley Temple hair do's, Cummings is speaking directly to the fear most men have about the whole issue - that they will try for Sean Connery and come out more like Lana Turner.

Don't be turned off. Alan Cumming is also wearing a vest. You're not afraid of vests now, are you?

[Atagahi]

Diane Meier: Your homophobia is showing beneath your wedding gown. Was it designed by Miss Haversham?

In this case to attribute the gold kilt to Cumming as part of a "drag agenda" is inappropriate. He is wearing a costume and makeup as part of a play.

He didn't choose the fabric or the kilt or the makeup or the wig. The wardrobe person, makeup person and the director did to highlight the character of Dionysus, a Greek god, as part of the larger remaking of "Bacchae" into a Scots version of the Greek tragedy. Perhaps your anti-gay vitriol is better directed at them, instead of Cumming.

I suspect that, more likely, what keeps men from wearing kilts are people like you who accuse Scotsmen who wear kilts of having a "drag agenda".

Gosh, I know I feel so much better knowing that "The New American Wedding" is kilt-positive, gay-negative and anthropologically incorrect.

I'll be sure to tell all my gay friends in California to be sure to give your website the go-by when planning their weddings.

[Atagahi]

One more thing. I wasn't going to mention it and highlight Diane's ignorance more, but it turns out that I am that trifling.

Dionysus is the Greek god of wine, who is described as "man-womanish". He represents freedom to be oneself and has attributes of both woman and man.

In short, Diane, he would have been the god of drag queens had there been such a concept in ancient Greece.

Perhaps we need more Greek gods with gender fluidity to remind us that we are all human and worthy of respect and acceptance.

[Diane Meier]

Ahhh -- This is the joy of Internet debate!

What I believe I said - what I hoped to say clearly - was - This IS THEATER. It IS designed to make us think about drag and gender. And one should not confuse the idea that the wearing of a kilt is going to make all folks think about drag and gender when YOU wear a kilt.

No one could be less homophobic or more supportive of folks of all stripes wearing kilts (even gold costume kilts) for any and all self expression. Theatrical or otherwise.

But - I've also watched a number of guys - straight AND gay - turn away from the idea of wearing kilts because they feared that this garment would create comment on their masculinity.

We can all say that's kind of nuts. But we've seen it happen too often to pretend that it's not an issue for some guys. And since the traditional kilts and so many of the options shown on this blog are anything but femme, it lent support to the idea that guys who were timid about giving kilts a try were really seeing demons in the ink blots.

And then a picture like this surfaces and you can see the timid guys shrink back into their fears again.

My point, if you know much about Alan Cumming, is that he invites us to think about and discuss the line between genders. The drag aspect of his 'act' - and his life - is a mischievous play of flirting with gender and sexuality. Brilliant for Alan Cumming. I am a true fan. But - no doubt - scary for a lot of men - straight and gay. And that's also what makes what Cumming has to say and the way he says it, so edgy and so valuable. Hitting a nerve in theater or thought is what art is for. But hitting a nerve in "apparel" is kind of dumb.

No censorship is intended on my part - only comment - which is what a blog is so v good at; to let us make some points as ideas hit us.

The inkling that this particular image (not Cumming's talent, nor his life, nor his stage work, nor this play, nor even the rational intent of this costume in context) might suggest to some men the very thing that is keeping them from trying on a darned kilt in the first place -- gave me - what I hoped to be - a chance to try and correct that impulse.

That is neither a gay message nor a straight message. It's not anti-gay. It's not pro-masculine - straight or otherwise. It just recognizes one of the stumbling blocks we've seen and tries to clarify the difference between a reasonable concern and an unreasonable response.

Which would seem to hold true in blogs as well!