Male Un-Bifurcated Garments

A letter-carrier in Washington state is on a mission to change the US Postal Service's dress code to allow him to wear a kilt.

Or, as NPR so amusingly characterized it: a MUG - Male Un-bifurcated Garments. That is, a kilt.

Dean Peterson wants to be able to wear a kilt on his rounds as a USPS Letter Carrier. He says they are more comfortable and allow for more choices in uniforms for male letter carriers. Female letter carriers can wear skirts, of course, but men are limited to trousers and shorts. He owns and wears kilts exclusively when not at work, and wants the option to wear his chosen garment -- in Postal Service Blue -- to work as well.

He's waging a one-man campaign to change the dress code. He spent his own stimulus package check on letters and materials to convince other mail carriers to join him:

"MUGs are worn all over the world, and have been for thousands of years because they are comfortable," he wrote to fellow mailmen. "Unbifurcated Garments are far more comfortable and suitable to male anatomy than trousers or shorts, because they don't confine the legs or cramp the male genitals the way that trousers or shorts do."

He is presenting his proposal to the 66th biennial convention of the National Association of Letter Carriers in Boston. Quite a few of his compatriots aren't terribly supportive. Most don't think it's "manly", or would be embarrassed to wear a "skirt" -- some have suggested that it would be unsafe, or at the very least, immodest (due to climing stairs, etc), although those arguments could just as easily be leveled at women wearing skirts, which is an allowed uniform option.

Good luck to Mr. Peterson! I hope that the Letter Carriers support you!