Use BBC.com or the new BBC App to listen to BBC podcasts, Radio 4 and the World Service outside the UK.

Find out how to listen to other BBC stations

Episode details

World Service,11 Dec 2015,17 mins

Why Do We Wear Skirts?

The Why Factor

Available for over a year

It’s a simple item of dress but one that says much about the societies in which we live. Mike Williams looks at this most basic form of dress the skirt. A rectangle cloth which throughout centuries has been associated with great meaning including women’s liberation and their oppression, politics & gender. The programme includes an interview with Jung Chang, author of the bestselling “Wild Swans”, who describes how the skirt was a dangerous thing to wear during the cultural revolution. Produced by Smita Patel (Photo: Woman wears a polkadot skirt on a green background. Credit: Shutterstock). Credit: Shutterstock)

Programme Website
More episodes