For real though, prom can be an exclusionary, torturous experience, especially for kids who aren’t cisgender, heterosexual, white, neurotypical, able-bodied, or financially comfortable. In very conservative areas, the rules around who can attend often include stipulations that dates must be opposite genders, and the dress code requires assigned-gender conformation. It’s not unusual for prom to be held at a country club or other establishment with an exclusionary, bigoted past.
Anti-Prom is an effort to make something fun for the kids that those proms leave behind.
My parents told me about how when they were in school the single and gay kids had to form fake couples to attend prom because everyone was required to have a opposite-gender date. All of the fake couples split the moment they got in the door and passed the requirements and that was at least as far as the farce had to go.
I didn’t attent my prom when I was in highschool. My girlfriend at the time couldn’t make it and I didn’t have any other friends right then so I knew it would be boring and I honestly don’t regret it at all
I didn’t go either. Why would I spend $80 of my hard earned money to both be bored and uncomfortable all night on a Friday? I could be doing anything else.
I was under the impression Proms are organized by high schools but I feel like even in the USA the ACLU or something would’ve torn that kind of shit down - are they just privately organized events then?
It’s…complicated. This is one of those Deep South things where after Brown v. Board schools couldn’t formally host segregated proms, so they stopped hosting proms entirely and it became a purely student/parent organized affair (at least in some places). There would be a white prom and then a black prom for the high school. And this is legal because it’s a private party. You can do whatever you want for a private party, including making it racially segregated. There’s a documentary narrated by Morgan Freeman called Prom Night in Mississippi which is about the first integrated prom at a small Mississippi high school. It’s a genuinely fascinating topic in part because of how it makes you think about the fundamental function of prom. I mean, why do proms even exist, what are their functional purposes, cultural antecedents, etc? A lot of how they operate and their purpose is tied to the history of debutante balls, which was a way of “presenting” women into society (which is to say they’re ready to be married off in order to form deeper political and economic ties between wealthy families) but they’ve morphed into a signifier of a sexual “coming of age” of American teenagers. That’s why so many movies have teenage characters trying to lose their virginity by prom, or even on prom night itself. In conclusion, prom represents a confluence of racial, gender, and class signifiers (and the innate prejudice associated with those who don’t fit the expected mold for those things).
If your 16 year old daughter wants to take an alcoholic 28 year old marine corporal to prom though, that’s fine and good. Better get a chauffeur though he lost his driver’s license like 3 DUIs back
Yes, and you get your official golden DARE card!
For real though, prom can be an exclusionary, torturous experience, especially for kids who aren’t cisgender, heterosexual, white, neurotypical, able-bodied, or financially comfortable. In very conservative areas, the rules around who can attend often include stipulations that dates must be opposite genders, and the dress code requires assigned-gender conformation. It’s not unusual for prom to be held at a country club or other establishment with an exclusionary, bigoted past.
Anti-Prom is an effort to make something fun for the kids that those proms leave behind.
My parents told me about how when they were in school the single and gay kids had to form fake couples to attend prom because everyone was required to have a opposite-gender date. All of the fake couples split the moment they got in the door and passed the requirements and that was at least as far as the farce had to go.
I didn’t attent my prom when I was in highschool. My girlfriend at the time couldn’t make it and I didn’t have any other friends right then so I knew it would be boring and I honestly don’t regret it at all
I didn’t go either. Why would I spend $80 of my hard earned money to both be bored and uncomfortable all night on a Friday? I could be doing anything else.
I was under the impression Proms are organized by high schools but I feel like even in the USA the ACLU or something would’ve torn that kind of shit down - are they just privately organized events then?
It’s…complicated. This is one of those Deep South things where after Brown v. Board schools couldn’t formally host segregated proms, so they stopped hosting proms entirely and it became a purely student/parent organized affair (at least in some places). There would be a white prom and then a black prom for the high school. And this is legal because it’s a private party. You can do whatever you want for a private party, including making it racially segregated. There’s a documentary narrated by Morgan Freeman called Prom Night in Mississippi which is about the first integrated prom at a small Mississippi high school. It’s a genuinely fascinating topic in part because of how it makes you think about the fundamental function of prom. I mean, why do proms even exist, what are their functional purposes, cultural antecedents, etc? A lot of how they operate and their purpose is tied to the history of debutante balls, which was a way of “presenting” women into society (which is to say they’re ready to be married off in order to form deeper political and economic ties between wealthy families) but they’ve morphed into a signifier of a sexual “coming of age” of American teenagers. That’s why so many movies have teenage characters trying to lose their virginity by prom, or even on prom night itself. In conclusion, prom represents a confluence of racial, gender, and class signifiers (and the innate prejudice associated with those who don’t fit the expected mold for those things).
Thank you for the insight
If your 16 year old daughter wants to take an alcoholic 28 year old marine corporal to prom though, that’s fine and good. Better get a chauffeur though he lost his driver’s license like 3 DUIs back