Controversies Related to Proms
Written on April 24, 2012 – 5:39 pm | by admin
The high school prom should be a night of lasting memories and great fun for all involved but unfortunately this joyous occasion can become shrouded in controversies and issues. Many of the issues and problems afflicting proms are fairly recent phenomena, perhaps reaching back to the 80’s at the earliest. Although there have been issues in the past, the most recent controversies surrounding proms is the participation of gay, lesbian, and transgendered students who may follow alternative lifestyles. Under the U.S. constitution and British rules they are perfectly welcome and allowed to arrive in tuxedos or cheap prom dresses but sometimes student couples feel ousted in their own prom environment. Because of this it is not uncommon to see anti-proms or alternative proms taking place either on the same night of the official prom or in the weeks leading up to prom.
Another recent controversy at school proms is dirty dancing, also known as grinding. Dance styles go in and out of style but there are certain standards of conduct schools must adhere to when governing teenagers at a prom. Backlash has come from students as they proclaim they should be allowed to express themselves as they see fit at their own prom as they sometimes have to pay to even be admitted and have to rent or buy their own tuxedos and cheap prom dresses. A rather odd controversy which has recently arisen over prom is the case of Conner Cordova, an American student who asked an adult celebrity model to go to prom with him. For the most part, these controversies have not hindered proms as much as one may think; high school students still revere their prom as they have in the past and arrive wearing fashionable apparel and beautiful cheap prom dresses.