Scottish Blog

Tartanry is the term coined for the stereotypes of Scottish culture portrayed to the world.

The ideas behind Tartanry have made Scotland a country which is perceived to have a readily identifiable culture throughout the minds of many in the world. Unfortunately, these same ideas are often misinterpreted or even invented facts.

In essence Tartanry refers to the numerous clicked and even “kitsch” elements of Scottish culture which have been emphasized and portrayed to the rest of the world as a means of promoting Scotland or any ideas associated with it. Generally this involves imagery of tartans (thus the term Tartanry), although it is not limited to these, with kilts and bagpipes.

There are arguments both in support and opposition of Tartanry. Those against it take offense at the whole of Scottish culture and history being represented by a pseudo 17th century image of the Scottish Highlands, which while in elements might be accurate it does in no way go far enough to explain all of Scottish culture.

While on the other hand, Tartanry is also said to be a positive element for Scotland as without wholly alienating anyone, the Scottish tourism industry and Hollywood film industry is instantly able to draw recognition from any person in the world. Further it has been argued that certain elements of Tartanry have been responsible for returning many people to their Scottish roots, to appreciate the culture, history and clan system that they might have otherwise ignored.