Rebekka Fulton

About the Author 

The high school prom, considered “a rite of passage” by many, is not relatively new but not long-standing either. Despite it only existing since the 20th century, prom has become a cultural phenomenon and an essential part of the teenage experience. Even if most people do not want to go, it is seen as a necessary event. Below is a student’s recount of the prom:

“It was May 27 and I still couldn’t believe the long-awaited day was finally here. When we arrived we took more pictures. We walked into the dining area where we were given the most grotesque food ever imaginable. Somehow the food wasn’t even important. Too many things were going on at the time. Friends were socializing, camera flashes were being shot and excitement saturated the air. We all danced the night away. The entire night seemed to breeze by like it was only one hour if that long. I couldn’t believe the night was gone. I knew in my heart that although it was gone, the memories of my friends, boyfriends, and classmates would stay with me forever.” (1)

This account encapsulates the mystique and the dim reality of the prom. It is an important event for many teenagers in America but it is not always magical. The prom was not always a social rite or even the most important event in a teenager’s life. Cultural shifts contributed to the waxing and waning mystique of the prom night.  Its origins come from the debutante balls from the 18th and 19th centuries (2) and have now evolved into what it is today: a fun night to spend with friends. Many historical factors contributed to the evolution of prom from World War 2(3), shifts in dating culture(4), the rise of consumerism(5), progressive social movements(6), and other things such as fashion trends and coming-of-age movies(7). The prom used to be a determining factor in one’s eligibility for marriage and a predictor for how they would fare in adulthood. Now, youth are keener to subvert expectations and reject the prom’s traditions. These historical shifts have made prom a more accepting event, but it has lost its purpose and importance for today's American youth. I will explore the changing functions of prom, such as it being a tool for adult control, a performance of heterosexuality, and the rituals that make the prom so important but I will also explore how youth have found freedom in the prom night despite its limitations. 

Prom served as a functional model of heterosexual conventions and relationships in the mid-20th century and surprisingly has not moved as quickly to accept homosexuality as other American practices. The shift in the conventions for prom coincided with the rise of consumer culture in the 1950s. As stated before, schools and parents tried to gain more control over youth as they were exposed to more avenues of self-expression that veered away from traditional gender roles and social expectations. To combat the rise of youth rebellion, the prom became an emphasis of its origins, the debutante balls that signified a young women’s eligibility for marriage. This allowed the middle class to participate in the tradition and perform the conventions of heterosexuality and the practice aligned with the pervasiveness of marriage in American culture at the time since young women were more likely to marry after their high school graduation. The conventions of heterosexuality are deeply rooted in stark gender roles. Youth were not the only ones bound by the rising heteronormative culture in America post World War 2. Dating in general evolved from the debutante era, where a relationship between a man and woman was controlled mostly by the woman’s family to a dating scene where the man in the relationship led the progression of the relationship. (17) The prom reflected those new dating conventions, especially for young girls. To have a date for prom validated a woman’s worth and potential for a marriage down the line and this sentiment echoed throughout the 20th century. The prom was even regarded as the “Super Bowl of all Dates” in a 1999 article that explored the spectacle of the prom night.(18) In interviews with girls in 2003 many young high school girls tied their self-worth and attractiveness to whether they scored a date. High schooler Agelina, stated: “It's like you must be ugly if you can't get a date for prom.” (19) A lot of the other girls interviewed stated that attending prom with a date is expected and would not even consider the ramifications of attending alone. (20)  The need for a date has become less of an expectation in the 21st century, where it’s more normal to go with a group of friends or if one goes on a date, it is not explicitly romantic. This can be seen in the 2011 episode of Glee, “Prom Queen”, where a group of glee members goes as a group in protest of the conventional expectations of prom. (21) The 21st century was also revolutionary in deconstructing the heteronormative nature of prom as more same-sex couples attended prom together, however, it came with pushback. For example, in 1993, a male student was banned from attending the prom for “cross-dressing” (22), and even in 2023, a non-binary student was barred from their prom for wearing a suit. (23) Many queer people feel like the prom rite of passage was lost because they could not go and be out of the closet. There is a spark of “gay proms” for adults who missed out on the experience. (24) The evolution of the heteronormativity of prom is slowly phasing out to a more progressive event for American youth, however, with that progression, prom loses its importance and purpose as a ritual for teenagers today. 

The prom is established as a rite of passage for American youth and with it comes many rituals that define the “prom night”. One ritual that has evolved is the prom picture, along with that is prom fashion. When the prom used to just be a “senior banquet”, students would typically wear their Sunday best and there was not much variety in style. (25) Today, many teens are influenced by celebrities and social media trends,  with prom fashion being the main spectacle of the night. The search for the prom dress emulates a young woman’s likely future of searching for a wedding dress. Many prom dress magazines are owned by wedding dress publications signaling the prom’s roots as a preparation for marriage. (26) Prom fashion used to be modest, modeling the social conventions of the early 20th century. Here is an account of a prom dress in 1910: “Her evening dress was elaborately tucked and ruffled, with feather stitching between the tucks, and her skirts swept the floor. Rosebuds and ribbons ornamented her bodice, which was a modestly high neckline. A gown cut “too low” was built up with a bit of tulle demurely into the bodice to preclude any glimpse of the divide.” (27) This reflects the 19th and early 20th-century beauty standards. It was much less common for girls to be heavily invested in their appearance as markers for marriage were geared more towards character and values. (28)With the rise of consumerism, growing subcultures, and fictional depictions of teenage girls, prom fashion became more important. As America shifted into a highly individualistic culture, the prom dress became an opportunity to be seen whether it be as feminine, attractive, or even as one’s perceived identity. For example, writer Catharine Derry detailed the struggle she faced in finding the perfect prom dress. She wanted to wear a dress that represented her punk rock subculture while her mother thought it best to wear a standard pink prom dress. She felt the pressure to be feminine and present herself as the “right” kind of young woman even though she felt more suited towards a less traditional dress. (29) Her sentiment reflects the growing pressure for young women to conform to beauty standards as marketing and advertising became ever-present in American culture. The prom dress also started to become more original in the late 20th century. Mark Ellen Mark’s photography book Prom, is a collection of pictures of prom couples in the late 90s and early 00s. The couples dawned many unconventional prom outfits and showed the diversion from traditional social standards that the prom was founded on. In the pictures below, we see prom couples taking advantage of the more accepting cultural climate, where one can wear dresses that divert from the standard of modest dressing. The evolution of prom fashion aligns with the decline of dating and social conventions of the early 20th century, however, young women are still faced with the pressures of femininity despite having more options to express that femininity. 

Although prom is a relatively new tradition in American society, it has been a space for youth to challenge societal norms, explore their identities and reclaim their autonomy, despite authoritative pushback. As the need for youth to marry and establish independent lives for themselves lessened over time, the prom has lost its purpose which was to model respectable heterosexual norms. One aspect of the prom that reflects the adolescent need for autonomy is the prom after party where teens can be found losing their virginities, drinking alcohol for the first time, and are exposed to a different aspect of adult life. The 1999 film American Pie, is about a group of high school seniors who vow to lose their virginities on prom night. The prom in the film itself is the climax for the main characters, confronting the social pressures to have sex, and the main character, Jim, rejects the pressure to have sex and submit to the expectations of a teenage boy. However, the film does culminate in the post-prom party, one filled with drinking and all the main characters eventually losing their virginities. The film represents the importance of prom in the late 20th century and how it shifted into an event that the teenager makes despite adult pushback. Since the purpose of “democratic assimilation” became less prominent as time progressed, teenagers are able to reclaim the importance of the prom night. We see this in the prom after parties, where teenagers can make memories and establish their independence and freedom, usually by having sex or trying alcohol or drugs.  This tradition is one that persists today, with one high schooler describing in her post-prom experience saying she left the party, “pretty fucked up” and stated there was “alcohol everywhere.” (30) Teenagers have reclaimed the night as an opportunity for total freedom rather than a predictor or an indicator of the future. 

The prom is an elusive and uniquely important event for American youth despite its function and traditions changing over time. It found its origins in the debutante ball, an event typically for young upper-class women who were available for marriage. When the event shifted to something more accessible for middle-class students, to prepare them for marriage and society, it was mainly an adult-controlled concept. Schools and parents feared the threat of rebellion, homosexuality, and the loss of the American family. Prom’s foundations are built on the need to model heterosexual relationships and gender roles. This can be seen in traditions such as prom attire, the prom queen and king, and in coming-of-age movies. However, despite the need for adult control in the event, teenagers have found a way to express themselves and their freedoms, ultimately subverting the original purpose of the prom itself. Teenagers fought to attend prom with same-sex partners, go as an interracial couple, and even made it more normal to go with a group of friends or swap suits for dresses and vice versa. As historical changes have forced the prom to divert from its origins, it has lost its purpose for American youth but teenagers today are finding political and cultural voice through the prom while subverting expectations. 

Works Cited

Best, Amy L.. 2000. Prom Night: Youth, Schools and Popular Culture. London: Taylor & Francis Group. Accessed March 22, 2023. ProQuest Ebook Central.

Zlatunich. (2009). Prom Dreams and Prom Reality: Girls Negotiating "Perfection" at the High School Prom. Sociological Inquiry, 79(3), 351–375. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-682X.2009.00294.x

Anderson, Ann. High School Prom: Marketing, Morals, and the American Teen. McFarland & Co., 2012.

Brennan, Ian. “Glee/Prom Queen.” Episode. 2, no. 20, 2011.

Mark, Mary Ellen. Prom. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2012.

Smith, Pamela K. “CHAPTER 11: The Prom as a Spectacle of Heteronormativity.” Counterpoints 392 (2011): 156–70. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42981024.

Myrick, Susan. “Whatever Became of the Prom Party?” The Georgia Review 22, no. 3 (1968): 354–59. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41396478.

Derry, Catherine. “CHAPTER 5: ‘I’ll Never Find a Dress": Shopping for the Prom.” Counterpoints 220 (2004): 45–55. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42978289.

Hegland, Jane Elizabeth. "The High School Prom: A Case Study of Expectations and Dress for an American Ritual." Order No. 9541323, University of Minnesota, 1995, https://ezproxy.bu.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fdissertations-theses%2Fhigh-school-prom-case-study-expectations-dress%2Fdocview%2F304202683%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D9676 (accessed May 5, 2023).

Weitz, Paul, American Pie, Universal Pictures, 1999. 95 minutes.

Iscove, Robert. She’s All That, Miramax Films. 1999. 97 minutes.

Diaz, Jaclyn. “A Nashville Senior Was Banned from Prom for a Suit, so a Local Business Stepped In.” NPR. NPR, April 25, 2023. https://www.npr.org/2023/04/25/1171695996/nashville-senior-banned-from-prom-suit-dress.

“Inside Queer Proms, Where LGBTQ Adults Get a High School Redo.” The Washington Post. WP Company, May 24, 2022. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/05/21/queer-proms-lgbtq-inclusive/.

Footnotes

1. Best, Amy L.. 2000. Prom Night: Youth, Schools and Popular Culture, 28

2. Ibid, 7

3. Ibid,7,

4. Class Lecture-Dating

5. Best, Amy L.. 2000. , 7

6. Hegland, Jane Elizabeth. 1995, "The High School Prom: A Case Study of Expectations and Dress for an American Ritual." 185

7. Best, Amy L.. 2000. , 21

8. Ibid,7

9. Ibid,7

10. Class Lecture- Childhood/Play

11. Myrick, Susan. 1968 “Whatever Became of the Prom Party?” , 354

12. Best, Amy L.. 2000. , 7

13. Ibid, 8

14. Ibid, 8

15. Ibid, 21

16. Ibid, 100

17. Class Lecture- Dating

18. Zlatunich. (2009). Prom Dreams and Prom Reality: Girls Negotiating "Perfection" at the High School Prom, 354

19. Ibid, 361

20. Ibid,361

21. Brennan, Ian. “Glee/Prom Queen.” Episode. 2, no. 20, 2011.

22. Hegland, Jane Elizabeth. 1995  "The High School Prom: A Case Study of Expectations and Dress for an American Ritual.", 179

23. Diaz, Jaclyn. “A Nashville Senior Was Banned from Prom for a Suit, so a Local Business Stepped In.” NPR. NPR, April 25, 2023. 

24. “Inside Queer Proms, Where LGBTQ Adults Get a High School Redo.” The Washington Post. WP Company, May 24, 2022. 

25. Myrick, Susan. 1968 “Whatever Became of the Prom Party?” , 354

26. Best, Amy L.. 2000. , 4

27. Myrick, Susan. 1968 , 354

28. Class Lecture-Dating

29. Derry, Catherine. “CHAPTER 5: ‘I’ll Never Find a Dress": Shopping for the Prom.” Counterpoints 220 (2004): 45–55.

30. latunich. (2009). Prom Dreams and Prom Reality: Girls Negotiating "Perfection" at the High School Prom, 368