So you’d never wear a skirt in public? Men, you don’t know what you’re missing

‘You’ll easily find more panache in the skirts section of M&S than in its entire menswear department.’ Phineas Harper in one of his many skirts. Photograph: Alberte Lauriden

My sister has three questions she asks men who say they’re feminists. It only takes one “yes” to pass her test, and yet few do. The questions are: if you get married to a woman, would you (and any kids) take her surname? If you had children with a woman, would you step back from your career to be their primary carer? And, simplest of all, would you wear a skirt in public?

The questions are lighthearted, and not intended to truly cut to the heart of feminist issues, but it’s interesting to see how many men sheepishly give three “no” answers nonetheless. Despite much apparent progress towards gender equity, some conventions around how men feel they must act and dress differently to women are stubbornly persistent, from family to fashion.