A timeline and history of men wearing skirts at contra dances

Should you have watched a video of an American contra dance you may have noticed that it is not uncommon to see male dancers wearing skirts, and often in not insubstantial numbers. This caught my attention because there was a period of time within euro-american culture where dress codes were very fixed across all aspects of life, men wore trousers shirts, and suit jackets, and women wore skirts and dresses.

Over the 20th century, women broke out of this mold, and as of writing in 2024, are able to wear pretty much anything without comment. Men’s fashion however has remained within a constrained mold, and the wearing of skirts by men has been subject to ridicule. While men’s skirts are far from uncommon in a historic context, and still widespread in many parts of the world, the only remaining ‘menswear’ skirts in western culture are the Scottish Kilt and and the Greek fustanella, both essentially formal garments.

It was thus surprising to me that in looking up the history of the phenomenon of men dancing in skirts at contra dances, I found little. It has been mentioned in a few academic papers in passing, and the websites of several contra dance groups mention that ‘you may see male dancers in skirts’, but I found no articles summarizing the history of it, either from contra dancers themselves, or researchers academic or independent.

This article is my attempt to piece together that history from mentions that I found in Usenet discussions from the 1990’s, and responses to a post I made on Facebook asking people to share any recollections they had. The few mentions in academic articles have also been used, and all sources can be found at the end of this article.

Early history

It is possible that the wearing of skirts by men goes back a long way, one of the people in a Usenet discussion noting:

-- Peter Barnes - Aug 23, 1996, 8:00:00 AM

I have read with great interest the discussion of the various degrees of crossdressing found in contra dances around the United States. A little known fact, however, is that cross-dressing during contradancing is a New England tradition of great antiquity. Hard as it may be to believe, if one were trying to be truly true to the authentic form of folk-dancing now known colliquially as 'contradancing', cross-dressing among its participants would be even more common than it is today. Trust me. I've researched this all very carefully.

For example, in a New Hampshire diary from 1748 we find this

passage:

"Robert Wrentham then cryed out lets have a dance! Straightaway a number of the men and boys did then put on skirts or dresses and commenced to dance the Hull's Victorie, kicking their legs most gailee (sic) and laughing all the while."

Or this excerpt from the Society News section of the (now defunct) Boston Sun and Tattler, dated 1808:

"The Grand Military Cotillion last Saturday evening was attended by 140 most worthy guests, including Mrs. Abigail Somerset and noted writer Mr. Stephen Talmadge. Many of the male guests and not a few of the ladies *had chosen to make an exchange of garments for the evening, with the gentlemen in petticoats and the ladies in breeches,* (emphasis mine) prompting much merriment and good humour."

Nor did this practice escape the attentions of the moralists of the late 19th century social scene, as evidenced by this passage from a 1886 (Hartford) publication darkly entitled 'Social Sins & Consequences':

"May you, sirs, justly call yourselves gentlemen if, having chosen for pleasure's sake to wear articles of ladies' apparel to a Ball you do not make any effort to look your best in them? Observe the fairer sex, would they suffer such mismatches of colour, such unappealing juxtapositions of style as is evidenced by those few of you who would wear a striped waistcoat with a plaid skirt, or a tattered farmhand's shirt over a taffeta dress?"

...

I of course have no investment in these findings; anyone who knows me knows that I would just as soon let men be men and women be women and leave it at that. But as a scholar I would rather the truth be known, that cross-gendered apparel at a contra-dance is as New

England a phenomenon as pie for breakfast. What you do with these facts is your own business.

One of the commenters on my Facebook mentioned a passage in a book discussing Gladys Tantaquidgeon in the 1920's, though unfortunately they could not remember the name of the book, having only a photograph of the relevant page:

There were amateur nights at the church. Nanu Fowler had a bike shop, and Ed fowler had a dance pevilion. Mother played piano, and father, violin. On Saturday nights at Sussman Hall, the dancing was led by the one-eyed prompter Tommy Wilbur...

There was also square dancing. Sometimes the men dressed up as women at the square dances. One time, one of these "women" asked for a place to stay. The Mohegan woman thought this strange woman seemed to be paying too much attention to the men.

I have not tried to trace the sources of those quotes, and should they be correct, I'd be interested if other sources exist that could demonstrate the motivation behind this, weather they were wearing woman's clothing actively trying to imitate women, or if it was just for the fun of dancing in a skirt or dress.

In more recent history, I found the following video showing a dance from around the 1950’s or 60’s, in which dancers are wearing ‘normal’ clothing for the time, and looks very regimented to my modern eye. More sources would be needed to indicate if any men were wearing skirts at this time:

It may be of interest to some that to me, the dancer’s clothing reads as quite formal, but apparently was normal attire for this period of time. This is a ‘Dudley dance’, who is a caller that was widely regarded, one of the commenters on my Facebook post had this to say:

Phyllis Varga

Dudley Laufman, the caller & accordion player in the video. Very charismatic caller who is thought of as being somewhat responsible for keeping contra dancing alive/revived in New Hampshire in the 60s-70s.

1970’s and early 1980’s

Men were dancing contra in skirts on a small scale around the late 1970’s and 1980’s, for example, some of my sources mention having observed it in the New England region:

-- Joanie Blanton

I danced regularly in Brattleboro and western MA in the late 70s and there were a fair number of men who wore skirts for dancing because it was cooler and more fun. I'd say that it might have been about 10-15% of the guys who did it on a regular basis, in some places the numbers were higher.

-- Read Weaver

people have enjoyed wearing skirts for contra long before a change

in style of dancing, because the older way of dancing allowed a skirt to move enjoyably too. Certainly that was a major reason for why I (male) have worn skirts since I started

contra dancing in the early ‘80s, and lots of people (mostly female) who didn’t usually wear skirts but did for contra said the same.

It seems though that it was not very common, and more of the sources relating to this period mention that men were not wearing skirts:

-- Ruth Evans

When I was dancing a lot in the early '70s (primarily Dudley dances) guys did not wear skirts.

The women leaned toward skirts in the early '70s, but it wasn't universal. We're talking hippie era here, so pretty much anything went, from cutoff jeans to floor length dresses/gowns.

-- Tom Wildman

Tho I didn’t dance folk in the ‘70s. I did come across Contra Dancing around 1974 ish in some New Hampshire bergs. On my mountain hiking/cross-country ski week long camping ventures. Seemed folks were having tons of fun. Not a single man-skirt across three venues. Men dressed up like for church, older dudes in suits…younger dudes in shirt and tie.

-- Sue Mallory

I started contra in the late 1970s in Maine. People who looked male wore pants and females wore skirts. I may have seen an actual kilt on a male in that time.

That male dancers were starting to push boundaries in their clothing at this time is perhaps not surprising, because of the counterculture or ‘hippie’ movement as noted by one of the quotes above, people were broadly challenging established social norms in a host of different ways.

Still, the wearing of skirts by men in the public view at this time does seem to have been subject to a risk of harassment:

-- Sarah Hirsch

Secondhand, my dad told me that when he had started dancing in the late 70s, he wore a skirt to a dance in nyc. That was fine and fun, but on the way walking home, he got hassled by a group of

men. He was pretty huge and strong, which probably discouraged them and nothing happened to him, but it's worth pointing out the obvious -- the broader social context matters a lot, too.

The 1980’s

In the 1980’s the contra dance community had an atmosphere of acceptance and openness to individual expression, and the trend for men to dance in skirts continued at a small scale:

-- Odarka Polanskyj Stockert

Definitely saw this phenomenon in the late 80s early 90s mostly these were outlier although but the contra community was extremely tolerant as I recall so welcomed more diversity in general then other dance communities( as an example saw none of this in other dance forms)

The following quote from a Usenet discussion mentions that they had been dancing in a skirt in the late 1980’s, and has seen others doing so at quite a number of different venues around the american midwest:

-- Phil Good-Elliott, Aug 21, 1996, 8:00:00 AM

I began seeing men in skirts and dresses on the dance floor at Kimmswick Dance Festival in St. Louis, MO, about 9 years ago (I joined in the fray and now almost always keep my swing skirt in my dance bag whenever I go to a dance camp or weekend - it's very freeing to dance in it after having to wear pants all the time...) In addition to Kimmswick, I've seen men in skirts and dresses over the years at Buffalo Gap (Capon Bridge, WV), Sugar Hill (Bloomington, IN), Breaking Up Thanksgiving (Chicago), Balance and Swim (Centerpoint, WV), Augusta Dance Week (Elkins, WV), and the Ann Arbor Dawn Dance (MI). Additionally, I've known men from Wisconsin, Minnestoa, Kentucky, and Tennesee to bring their skirts and dresses to these dances.

So, I've always known it as a "Midwestern thing." In my experience there's almost always been an understanding that the skirts and such will be worn late on Saturday nights. Sometimes the women will organize a "fashion show" for the men to "show off" their attire. It's a real hoot!

Of course, it's gets really crazy when you have two men in skirts/dresses dancing as a couple. I believe I once saw an all men's square in the Cheesecake Squares dance-off contest at Balance and Swim (the winners get to share a Cheesecake baked by Charlotte). All the men were wearing skirts and dresses, hooting and hollering - and everyone in the hall was laughing along uproariously. They didn't win the contest, but certainly won the crowd. *<8*)

Among dancers, the reception was mixed, with many women offering compliments. Male reactions seem to have been largely indifferent, although some men were refusing to dance with other men who were wearing a skirt:

-- Hal Kuhns

I've been dancing in Greenfield MA since the late 80s, and men in skirts were starting to be pretty normal, though not in large numbers, by then. In the early 90s, mostly on a lark, I started wearing a dress (as opposed to a skirt and top) to special dances and festivals. It was fun for sure, and the twirling is so much better. But for me, I think I may have gotten more enjoyment out of my experience with, and observation of, other dancers' reactions to me.

Almost without exception, women were very positive in their responses. With men however, there was a broad mix of reaction - while most were positive or indifferent, there were a noticeable number who would react negatively, often to the extent that they would refuse to make even the minimum contact required even for an alemade.

-- Karen G. Anderson

"Guys in skirts" is one of my favourite dance topics. When I lived in New Haven, we had a guy in a skirt on the dance scene, and now that I live in Seattle, we have two of them. (Oddly, one of them is the guy from New Haven. Hw moved out here a few years after I did.)

The reason I like "guys in skirts" so much is that I get great entertainment from listening to certain of the "guys in pants" get all worked up about the skirts.

A couple years ago I did quite a bit of contra dancing in pants rather than my usual skirts. I found that I moved differently, felt more sure-footed, and preferred the kinetics. However, pants were just too hot in the summer, and I've gone back to skirts.

The 1990’s

While the 70’s and 80’s could be described as a slow progression, the 1990’s seem to have been quite an eventful time for the men wearing skirts in contra dancing with many more people trying it towards the end of the decade. Though it should be noted that this is also when the internet became available, and thus this perspective may simply be because more was recorded in a form that’s accessible to me.

There are many mentions of men dancing contra in skirts within usenet discussions from this time period, and many of those discussions are asking why they are doing so, with some people finding it completely ridiculous:

Jim Newberry - 4/15/1994

I played at a square/contra dance last night. Great fun. However, I finally have to bring this up... Where (and fergodsakes why) did this craze of guys wearing skirts start? Short skirts, long skirts, mostly tacky skirts…

Not kilts; skirts.

Somebody said it started in New England someplace. Sure, you can tell me that it's comfortable, etc. but c'mon… Just trying to make some kind of statement, I'd guess. Seems Ree-diculous to me. And people make jokes about banjo players... Sheesh.

So, why were men wearing skirts? There were actually quite a few reasons given by people at the time ranging from ‘skirts are fun to dance in’ and ‘they are cooler’, with some people noting that it may be a statement:

-- Kiran Wagle - Apr 16, 1994, 10:52:17 AM

I have no idea where it started. Why? Because it's nice to dance in skirts. Especially on a hot day the added air movement does help.

-- Linda Golder - Apr 19, 1994, 10:08:47 PM

Glad to see so many guys posting on this issue! But I'll put in my $.02, too. Obviously, skirts are airy & cool... a hot weather plus. And, with practice, you can make the skirt itself "dance" with you (after a twirl, allow about 2 music beats for a really full skirt to stop turning). Garments are just another dance "toy".

I think that some of the guys are making a statement, too. (Tho they might wish to comment on this themselves). A kilt is definitely a statement. A very sheer, flowery skirt is also a statement.

-- Kathy Fletcher - Apr 19, 1994, 5:28:04 PM

I've only seen it while at hot summer dance camps - I think the guys are being creative, smart (skirts ARE cooler), and very brave.

-- Noemi Ybarra - 20 Sept 1999, 08:00:00

Don't know anything about the history...but I would never, NEVER want to dance for very long in pants. WAY too hot.

Guys might as well be comfortable, too.

- Aron Krasnopoler - Aug 25, 1996, 8:00:00 AM

I agree wholeheartedly with all the reasons listed above as to why men wear skirts. I first saw men dancing in skirts when I danced in Seattle, then at dance camps here in North Carolina. So, I decided to give it a try and I liked it. It's fun to play with as you dance such as hiking it a little bit on a hey-for-four and, of course, the twirl factor. It's also a lot cooler to dance in, even compared to shorts, which is important here in the South. I've gotten many nice compliments at dance weekends and at regular dances. It is a chance to dress up a little,something men rarely get a chance to do.

-- Paul Baker

I started wearing skirts occasionally in the mid 90s, first by borrowing one from Kathryn edderburn, and I found that I enjoyed the way that they moved. I also found that in a hot hall, I didn't need to change my shirt as often when I was wearing a skirt. I have danced in skirts exclusively for more than twenty years, but never wear them outside of dance events.

New England and upstate New York.

There was also widespread discussion as to whether men wearing skirts at dances were ‘crossdressing’, or whether it was something else, and people broadly agreed that it was something different. Cross dressing is often viewed as wearing the clothing assigned to the opposite sex for reasons of wanting to imitate them in some way, while the men dancing in skirts were mostly doing so for reasons such as ‘it is fun’, ‘skirts offer better ventilation’, and such. Some people observed that some of these men were wearing facial hair, which may or may not be a deliberate way of distancing themselves from feminine interpretation.

-- Cynthia M. Van Ness - Aug 23, 1996, 8:00:00 AM

> There have been a lot of posts about observations of this phenomenon, but unless I missed it nobody's commented on *why it's happening. Are the cross-dressers really cross-dressers in the more commonly understood meaning of the term?

Personally, I think that "men in skirts/dresses at dances" is a new phenomenon, one that does not fit into current categories. They are "cross-dressers" only in the sense that they are wearing apparel assigned to the other sex. But if that is the case, so is any woman in a blazer, oxford shirt, and chinos. (I plead guilty to owning these very clothes, and (gasp) wearing them IN PUBLIC.) So the term "cross-dresser" is arbitrary and not especially helpful in this case.

They are not "transvestites," because these are (usually) defined as heterosexual men who put on women's clothing for an erotic thrill, as a fetish, even. Not usually done in public, except in support groups & clubs for transvestites. I think we can agree that most male dancers in skirts don't fit this category.

They are not "drag queens," because these are (usually) defined as gay men who invent an entire female persona, with much effort given to realistic appearance, dress, and manner. Quite often done in public as an art/entertainment form. (Draq queens are pretty big here in Buffalo; I have yet to see any take an interest in folk dance. Though as a dance organizer, I would want them to feel as welcome at my dance as anyone else is.)

They are not "transsexuals," because these are (usually) defined as someone who feels wrong and out of place in their biological sex and wishes very strongly to live (with surgical, hormonal, or only cosmetic alterations) as someone of the other sex. In our delightfully varied world, there must be a few contra dancers who identify as transexuals, but I doubt that these folks are the men who show up in skirts.)

I applaud the development of "men wearing skirts when skirts are appropriate" (such as when dancing) just as I applaud the development of "women wearing slacks when slacks are appropriate" (heavens, when are they *not?*). I might add that "dresses" (o.k., gowns) are required for judges and many clergy(men), so there certainly is precedent for ordinary men to wear them.

- Aron Krasnopoler - Aug 25, 1996, 8:00:00 AM

I don't consider wearing a skirt cross-dressing in the usual sense. I'm not trying to be a woman though I do enjoy dancing the woman's part occasionally. It's especially fun in a skirt because one gets to twirl. So, maybe the two are related. It's just another opportunity to do a little gender-bending.

-- Lisa Gordon

My spouse in Chicago (who has been dancing on and off since the 80s here) observed that the men who wore skirts generally had facial hair. Not what you were asking, but I always thought it was an interesting observation.

At this time, the skirts being worn seem to be mostly thrifted or borrowed from girlfriends / wives and other women that were at dances.

-- Kiran Wagle - Apr 16, 1994, 10:52:17 AM

I once found a black circle skirt with yellow-and-red pansies, one Saturday at a thrift store in Baltimore. Finally decided to buy it (was a ghastly loud thing) and wore it to the Sunday night dance at Glen Echo. Everyone loved it. Monday night my car was broken into in DC, and it and some other equally worthless stuff, including my black circle skirt, was stolen.

-- David Woolf- Apr 19, 1994, 4:44:26 PM

I wore my first skirt at Ashokan Fiddle and Dance camp in 1990. It was dress-up night and I couldn't think of anything dressier than one of my girfriend's skirts. I actually got several complements.

The next time I went to Ashokan, I ended up wearing a skirt most every night, though I took none with me. It turned out that one of the women there found it quite entertaining to loan me whatever

skirt I found appealing. Peter Barnes was particularly appreciative, as he was trying to raise the general sartorial consciousness of the group.

It was also interesting to me to find out that clothing items like skirts and neckties, or arm bands vs bare arms were being used within some contra dance communities in the 1990’s to signify the role one wished to dance.

Contra is traditionally a hetoronornormative courtship dance with strict ‘man’ and ‘woman’ roles. Nowadays these roles have largely been broken down through the use of alternative role names, positional calling, and asking one’s partner ‘which role do you want to dance’, but this is a much more recent development mostly taking hold in the late 2010’s, which will be discussed later. It is of interest to see that movement in this direction existed at a much earlier time.

-- Donaldson - Apr 26, 1996, 8:00:00 AM

We have a blast in Juneau, men dancing women's parts and women dancing men's. We provide ugly ties, skirts and petticoats for folks who wish to designate themselves as another gender. It seems that there are some dances which lend themselves to just being partners, and that gender is not important. Much of the fun is in being a community.

-- Donald VuKovic - Apr 20, 1994, 6:34:11 AM

About 6 years ago, a friend from out of town and I went to the contradance in Boulder, Colorado. It was late and only about 4 guys were left standing out. My friend said 'oh well, lets go'. I said I'll do the the ladies part and he can do the men's part. We entered at the bottom of the line and was working our way up. Along the way I found several men who thought that I was on the wrong side. I said I was a 'woman' and to keep going. Some did, some did not .....

Further up the line a woman friend pulled off her slip and handed it to me. GREAT!! no more confusion. right!!! wrong???

The caller(Gib Gilbert) shouted down at me, saying I was the ugliest woman he had ever seen,( he even fit it into a call) everyone got a good laugh ( so did I ). {later I chased Gid around to give him a kiss, some how he did not want it??? ;-) }

As far as the skirt was concerned I enjoyed it very much. ( next time I'll bring shorts so I can really feel it), but I haven't gone for a long time.

-- Theodore Hodapp - Apr 22, 1994, 11:00:32 PM

I have always enjoyed challenging the preconceptions of dancers as a caller and as a dancer, so wearing a skirt gave me another avenue to force them to think about how they behave or at least treat other people on the dance floor. (I'm not to sure about the effectiveness about this, but I keep trying).

Fashion shows and the ‘flirts in skirts’

By the mid to late 1990’s men wearing skirts at contra dancing was becoming relatively common at dance weekends. There were people making skirts specifically for male dancers, and some festivals started to organise ‘crossdressing nights’ and ‘fashion shows’ around it:

– Dasboyer - Aug 29, 1996, 8:00:00 AM

At the July 6 dance in Valaparaiso, Indiana, I got a group photo of 10 men in skirts. We're blowing it up into a poster. My parents saw the photo, and my mom wanted to know how many of them were "you know." I had to reply "None of them." Many of them were wearing skirts made specifically for male dancers by a female Chicago dancer.

-- me...@ssrl01.slac.stanford.edu - Aug 21, 1996, 8:00:00 AM

"Cross-Dressing Night" at Mendocino English Week (what, you mean all YOUR Campers Nights aren't cross-dressing nights? ;) ) had several men who either had good advice or possessed an excellent color and fashion sense when it came to skirts. In fact, just about every man in a skirt looked pretty good.

And the men in dresses *really* had their act together.

-- Phil Good-Elliott - Aug 23, 1996, 8:00:00 AM

As mentioned before, the women at Kimmswick have thrown "fashion parties" for the men to show off their attire - some of the women even brought extra skirts and dresses for the guys. I remember one evening when there must have been about 15 men on the dance floor at any one time wearing skirts or dresses. With those kinds of numbers, it feels pretty "safe" from homophobic comments and/or violence.

Queen City Country Dancers also had a page about men dancing in skirts on their website. This page is no longer on their current website, but can be viewed via the wayback machine, written in a humorous tone:

- ANNOUNCING: The "Men in Skirts" FAQ! (rec.folk-dancing)

-- Cynthia M. Van Ness - Nov 7, 1998, 8:00:00 AM

Queen City Country Dancers is pleased to host the only "Men in Skirts" FAQ file in cyberspace! Baffled by this growing phenomenon? QCCD explains it all to you. Available only at our modest new homepage, URL below. Not for the humor-impaired.

Men in Skirts" FAQ

In some places the men who danced in skirts were called the ‘flirts in skirts’, and one dance group published a calendar poster also called ‘flirts in skirts’ featuring 23 skirted male dancers, and 2 group photos. I have not been able to find it online, and wonder if anyone still has a copy of this so it can be digitized?

-- Dasboyer Dec 12, 1998, 8:00:00 AM (Usenet posting)

You’ve heard about them, now see them! The first ever Men in Skirts Calendar

Poster.

“Flirts in Skirts--The Men of Contra” is now available by mail order. This unique 18” x 27” full-color poster can be yours for only $10, plus $3 shipping.

Featuring 23 “models” from 13 states plus 2 group photos and a 12-month calendar. All proceeds benefit the Valparaiso (Indiana) Barn Dance Company. Each poster comes with a brief biography of the individual models and a history of the Valparaiso Barn Dance, A Labor of Love. All but a few photos were shot at dance events, which are also listed so you know where to find the Flirts in Skirts. This is a joint effort of Jo Mortland of Chicago and myself of Indianapolis.

Remember, a calendar is the perfect gift for all your contra friends, but especially the ladies. Can you say beefcake? But, seriously, no, not really, this poster is fun. We have already sold out of our first printing of 100 and have printed another 100. But that’s it! Limited edition. Get your poster now.

For ordering information, please drop me an e-mail line. If you would like to know more about the Valpo Dance, access their web site at:

website of the Valpo Dance group

And, if you’re a skirt-wearing guy who is not featured, sorry! Jo and I have been working on this project since last spring and captured the flirts we could. Hope your feelings aren’t hurt. Maybe you’ll get your chance to model for the 2000 edition.

-- Leesa Wickham Eason (facebook)

Meaghan Spencer-Catlett here in KY back in the late 20th century the men in Louisville were referred to as "flirts in skirts". I always heard the skirts were cooler, fun to twirl it made the experience more enjoyable. One of our dancers always wore a tie skirt. It didn't designate anything besides an interesting skirt and again fun to twirl. Louisville even had a paper calendar with men in skirts. It was coined "flirts in skirts".

The take off in the 2000’s

Men wearing skirts at dances was becoming so common by the early 2000’s that someone felt the need to mention it to people that they were taking to dances, so they wouldn’t be surprised:

-- James Morgan

My contra journey began in the mid 90s and I don’t remember many men in skirts at our local dances at that time but they were beginning to emerge at dance weekends. Began my own collection of dance skirts in the 00s, mostly for wearing at weekends, but there were enough at local dances by then that I would give new dancers that we were bringing a heads up so that they wouldn’t be surprised or think there was some sexual messaging attached.

Another person posting about an event that they were putting on which was intended to be somewhat historically accurate in clothing, felt it necessary to mention that men should wear trousers, and ladies wear skirts:

-- Michael Bergman Oct 5, 2001, 10:07:41 PM (rec.folk-dancing)

The Tea Dances are NOT fancy dress-up affairs; they are intended to focus on practice and instruction in the dances of the era. The only dress code is 'please -- no shorts, no T-shirts'. I suppose I could add 'no sweat suits', but I think you get the idea. Except in the case of Scotsmen, I prefer that the *men* wear trousers and the *ladies* wear skirts...

…

For those of you with a historical bent, the term 'Tea Dance" appears to have first come into use for this sort of event in 1914, making its use for a 19th century event a bit of an anachronism. This is all the apology you get…

And another person responding to my facebook post notes that:

-- Sarah Hirsch

In the 90s in RI and MA (when I was a young child) I remember some men in skirts. Then, to echo what others have said [in comments on my facebook post], I remember an increase in popularity by the 2000s and 10s, with my peer age group experimenting more fluidly.

Many of these friends were straight, but I felt at the time that the skirt wearing socially signalled a mix of [flexible, fun, feminist, playful]. Some friends exclusively wore skirts as part of their dance 'outfit' that they consistently wore every time-- but never in other contexts where they would've had very different reception.

Something about the 00's contra zeitgeist of "we are welcoming, dammit" telegraphed that it was a safe space for play -- interestingly though, I don't remember very many openly queer dancers around the same time, and even as a cis-het young woman I was often chided for role swapping. Maybe the straight men getting to play a little helped pave the way? It's fascinating.

This time period also sees the first mention of men dancing contra in skirts within academia, being mentioned in an article called 'Deciphering Folk Costume: Dress Codes among Contra Dancers' published in The Journal of American Folklore. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4137718

The article discusses how people choose clothing for dancing, and notes how the attire of contra dancers is normal casual clothing, and yet also selected with a focus on the activity, not simply being the same as the clothing these people would wear day to day. For example, the article notes that at the time many women no longer regularly wear skirts or dresses, but do for dancing:

Page 430:

Some women observe that they have one set of skirts and dresses for work and occasional special events and another set of skirts selected and worn exclusively for dancing. Other women are different: Elizabeth E., who is recognized for the elegance of her dance attire, owns a few dresses she can wear for dancing or for presenting workshops to teachers. Nevertheless, these women typically own no other casual skirts and do not wear skirts for any other casual activity.

There is a whole section of the paper that focuses specifically on the phenomenon of men dancing in skirts and corroborates the views previously observed that men dancing in skirts isn’t ‘crossdressing’ in the traditional sense, and observes that the skirt has lost its feminine association among contra dancers.

Page 431 - 432

In some contra venues, men, as well as women, wear skirts while dancing ... The men who wear skirts for dancing are sometimes casually described as crossdressers, but this behavior is technically something quite different .... Men who wear skirts for dancing do not wear other "feminine" garments or accessories; they merely substitute a skirt for pants.

Page 432

Among contra dancers, the meaning of a skirt has become more open; a skirt is one of a number of clothing options for male and female dancers. For an outsider, however, a skirt signifies femininity.

The points raised by the article align with those mentioned previously, noting that “Dancers select dresses and skirts for the swirl factor", and that once someone discovers that skirts are both fun to dance in, provide a tactile experience with the feeling of fabric moving around the body, and offer good ventilation, they do not go back to shorts or trousers.

It also notes how skirts can act as a form of communication between dancers, and that they dance with men in skirts differently, noting that “People will twirl me. If I were wearing pants, I think it'd be much less likely that ladies would twirl me."

There are many other aspects noted regarding how clothing choices can act as signals between dancers, and I’d recommend reading it if you have the ability to.

By the late 2000’s, men wearing skirts at contra dances seems to have become accepted, and there’s less discussion of it that can be found, mostly that people were advertising dance events with a focus on universal wearing of skirts:

-- Alan Winston - SSRL Central Computing Aug 20, 2007, 1:03:03 PM (rec.folk-dancing)

This is the Bay Area Country Dance Society schedule for the week of Monday, August 20, 2007.

…

Special August theme: "Real Men Wear Skirts"! Gents: give skirts a whirl. Lightly used skirts will be available for purchase at the dance. Women, donate any "manly" skirts for the cause!

The 2010’s, men’s skirts are becoming normal?

By the 2010’s, men wearing skirts at contra dances seems to have become pretty widespread and accepted. I can’t find discussions of it online, and it is easy to find youtube videos of dances from this time period showing a notable number of male dancers wearing skirts, such as this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xyhl89yGMFA

A Masters Thesis by Kathryn E. Young published in 2011 notes that men wearing skirts at dance festivals isn’t uncommon to see, and mentions that skirts are fun to dance in, and provide an interesting spectacle to any onlookers:

2011 Masters Thesis DU Kathryn E. Young p. 126-127 excerpt:

"Clothing can also become a part of the aesthetic experience. In contra dance, dancers often wear long flowing skirts, some of which are made of bright or multicolored fabrics. The aesthetic purpose of this trend is for a number of reasons, many of which I have learned firsthand through dancing at festivals. The flowing skirt will not only move with ease during spinning maneuvers and create a visually pleasing sight, but will also feel great for the dancer because it allows the body to cool and for air to circulate.

In most cases these dancers are women; however, at larger dance festivals it is not uncommon for a male dancer to wear a skirt or sarong so that they too may have the enjoyment of wearing flowing fabric during a swing or twirl. For a non-dancing onlooker, the scene of twirling multi-colored skirts and dresses is beautiful, as the patterns of color and shapes synchronize and flow with the music on the dance floor. The wide range of aesthetics that can be associated with contra dance reflects the many ways

that different individuals attribute value and meaning to the dance."

Quotation source:

Living Culture Embodied: Constructing Meaning in the Contra Dance Community

It is also interesting to note that the late 2010’s has seen a shift in contra dancing communities towards removal of the traditional gendering within the dance, as discussed within a paper Contraculture: Bird Names and the Degendering of Contra Dance - 2019:

Page 197

Dancing for fun, comfort, and recreation rather than heritage, contra dancers sport colourful, casual clothing, with a particular fondness for skirts to twirl. Indeed it is common in the most mainstream of contra communities to see men dancing in skirts, usually not as an expression of cross-dressing or trans identity, but rather as a mark of an experienced male dancer who likes to twirl.

Page 201

The organisers brought certain elements from other dances, such as the “skirt table,” from which any one can borrow a skirt to dance in, which has been an element since the beginning of the dance [at a dance event called 'circle left'].

Page 201

The skirt table is an example of an element that a newcomer might assume to be a queer innovation on a folk dance. Instead, it is an amplification of a pre-existing element in post-revival contra dance.

Page 201

Laura Gorrin notes how in contra dance the skirt loses its gender association: “I actually don’t wear skirts ever, period, except at contra, and the reason I feel comfortable wearing skirts at contra is because it isn’t gendered in ways that it is in the rest of the world. It means ‘I like twirling’ more than ‘I am female.’”

The state of things today (2024)

Today the wearing of skirts by men at contra dances seems to be widely accepted. It seems to be most widespread at multiple day dance festival / camp events, and there are plentiful videos on YouTube showing these.

The tendency for more men to wear skirts at festivals than regular dances is possibly logistical because most men probably don’t own skirts, and I suspect that it would be most probable that one would be willing to source one for a dance festival, as more serious dancers would go to them.

An interesting point raised by one of my sources is if universal skirt wearing is becoming less common due to the increased cultural awareness of LGBTQ people:

-- Maia McCormick -- 3:46 p.m.

Here's another question to throw in the mix: ENTIRELY ANECDOTALLY, I feel like lately (last few years, maybe post-lockdown?) I've been seeing *fewer* men* in skirts than I did before. Does anyone else perceive that shift? Anyone have theories about what's going on here?

-- Julian Blechner - 12 Sep 2024 11:04 a.m.

Maia,

Anecdotally, I've observed similar-ish.

Typically more queer dances have more men-passing people in skirts, but I suspect strongly it's just that these are gender non-conforming men and nonbinary people wearing skirts and dresses because they're queer and comfortable in them in day to day life.

Contrast this with "men in skirts at contra" which seems to me to be more about "I wear this clothing _only_ at dances."

So, I agree, I wonder if cishet men are wearing skirts at contras now less frequently. I wonder if the increase in queer-coded femme-y fashion on men / male-passing people has somehow changed the context and cishet men who used to dance in skirts aren't any more partly because of this?

-- Angela DeCarlis - 12 Sep 2024 8:06 a.m.

…

I can't speak to Maia's notion that maybe skirts are less popular now OTHER than to add my own anecdata: I've stopped wearing skirts to dances largely for gender reasons. I'm a nonbinary person who dances the left-hand and right-hand roles at my dance equally, and have found that folks' perception of me goes better when I wear pants. Maybe there are other AFAB folks who are queer-coding more by wearing skirts and dresses less?

Ang (they/them)

Such gender discussions are far outside of my own understanding as of writing, and I don’t want to comment further, besides to say that I hope is that things will continue along the trend of skirts becoming disconnected from their feminine cultural association, being an option available for all dancers who would want to wear them.

Universal skirt wearing in contra dance in the UK

Being personally based in the UK, I wanted to share that this practice seems to have spread outside of the United States. My initial exposure to it, and what ultimately lead to this article being written, was seeing a notable number of male dancers wearing skirts at the Bristol monthly contra dance.

A more involved study would be required to establish the history, but I often see many male dancers in skirts at the Bristol monthly contra dance. It does seem though that this practice is isolated to dances with younger attendees.

Unlike in the USA, it also does not appear to extend to weekend dances or folk festivals from what I’ve seen in person. I was at the Stegastomp dance weekend in 2024, and there were few ‘male born’ people dancing in skirts.

From what I’ve seen in videos, the IVFDF festival also seems to be largely devoid of men in skirts. There were a number of dancers at the Sidmouth folk festival, though making up a very small percentage of total attendees.

Closing notes

I feel it important that we continue to document the history of cultural phenomena like this, because in the case of oral traditions like folk dance, the knowledge is mostly contained within the memories of people who have observed the phenomenons in person, and which will be lost if not recorded.

Someone noted in the 90’s the importance of recording history and produced a film on it, as well as noting the importance of preserving artifacts like the "Men in Skirts" calendar poster, which I don’t know if any have survived.

-- gremore figa elizabeth h

-- Dec 23, 1998, 8:00:00 AM

As part of a class on videoethnography, I made a 20 minute video entitled The Dance Gypsies: Contra Dancing in East Central Illinois which depicts through interviews, images and music a contra dance weekend held in late fall 1997 and some history about our local dance community. I hope to expand this project in the future based on lengthy interviews I did with

two midwestern callers (Jonathan Sivier and Martha Tyner, who are featured in the video) to examine the culture of callers and calling in contra dance. I'd be glad to make a copy of The Dance Gypsies for anyone for the cost of a blank video and mailing. (Approximately $5.00.) I have made the video available to dance libraries across the country via the dance librarian's discussion group. A copy is available in the CDSS Archives which are located at the University of New Hampshire. If you are interested in a copy, you may email me at gre...@uiuc.edu to make the (very informal) arrangements.

I agree that now is the time to capture more of our dance history. The recent deaths of renowned dancer/callers brings forth my own interests in oral history as a research method and the need to collect and preserve history from among ourselves -- books, newsletters, stories, and images in multiple platforms. The recent "Men in Skirts" calendar is a prime example of an artifact of our culture that should somehow be preserved. I think new awareness of this need to preserve the history of contra dance in this century is important. Based on my own reading and study, this dance form and culture is changing and evolving and documentation of it is

most certainly worthy of our attention.

Elizabeth

There’s probably a great deal of fun stories that can be gleaned from such study of this topic, as well as other aspects of contra dancing culture. A point that would require a lot more data to establish is how the practice spread geographically over time and if it started in one place, or multiple simultaneously.

More detailed research into the history of this phenomenon might also look for photographs of dances, and someone noted that the CDSS has archives of photographs from dance weekends over many years:

-- Odarka Polanskyj Stockert

Photos might be most accurate representation of this although I imagine some people would not photograph this either intention. Definitely saw this phenomenon in the late 80s early 90s mostly these were outlier although but the contra community was extremely tolerant as I recall so welcomed more diversity in general then other dance communities( as an example saw none of this in other dance forms)

-- David Chandler

-- 6:29 p.m.

I started dancing in NY/NJ in the 1970's, and called contra and English until mid-80's - and then had about a 15 year hiatus. Before my break I only remember one male (to judge from facial and body hair) who regularly wore dresses or skirts to dances. After I returned to dancing, there was a gradual increase, though in the beginning it seemed some men chose kilts as a way to mute the statement.

I should note that my memory is not known for being accurate, so this is just an observation, not a definitive statement. A source for more extensive information would be CDSS, which has pictures from camps for many years; and the Pinewoods archives also have many pictures. If one lives near the U. of New Hampshire, the CDSS archives are there and should be a useful source.

David

Although the following person notes that there was a desire among dance organizers to avoid showing men in skirts in pictures, and so photographic evidence may not be entirely representative:

-- Kathy Fletcher - Apr 19, 1994, 5:28:04 PM

My boyfriend takes photos for the Augusta Workshops catalog. He said it was always a challenge to take Dance Week (usually around the first week of August) photos - the staff did not want pics of men in skirts in the catalog.

I am surprised that this phenomenon has not been more widely noted among academics studying folk communities, but also people studying fashion and its relation to gender more broadly because the contra community does seem to have, within some dance communities, effectively disconnected the skirt from its traditional feminine association. Louise notes:

-- Louise Siddons

For me, all-gender contra skirts are interesting partly because they appear to separate the garment from its gendered connotations quite successfully — I don’t think most contra dancers these days would look at a male-bodied dancer wearing a skirt and say “ah, they are being effeminate”.

I hope that skirts continue to become detached from their traditional feminine association, and become viewed as an option that any dancer can opt to wear if they feel like it. In order for skirts to continue to grow as an option for every dancer, I feel that the following points need to be addressed:

How to find skirts that dance well, as many men don't have the years of practical experience to know how to identify skirts that are fun to dance in. It was for this reason that I co-wrote the article A gender neutral guide to twirly skirts for contra dance.
How to choose and style skirts that look good on male dancers. This is somewhat more complex than it may seem, as the widely available styling advice for skirts is rooted in ideologies that look good on women's bodies, and don’t directly carry over to men.
For the universal wearing of skirts to feel normal and safe. Dance communities need to show that anyone is free to wear skirts, through signaling at dances such as a 'skirt table', and written messaging needs to avoid tying skirts to women. Eventually people will get used to it.

But whatever happens, I would thoroughly recommend that anyone and everyone who enjoys contra dancing give a skirt a twirl, because they really are a lot of fun.