And for the high school seniors, it's almost graduation time :)
But before that, it's time for the prom!
Some are excited! The party they're looking forward to all their life is almost here!
Some are nervous because there's all this pressure to have an escort of the opposite sex to go with you! Nobody wants to be the guy who "went by himself".
(That was almost the case for me, but luckily someone did a last-minute hook-up for me.)
And all this stuff for the prom (tuxedos, dresses, etc) --EXPENSIVE! It could easily leave out those living below the poverty line.
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There is now new trends for proms.
In some schools, it no longer matters if you got an escort (or "date" to be politically correct), just come as you are!
In other schools, it has become more socially acceptable to have a same-gender escort.
But the most bizzare one I have known about is these single-gender proms for ultra-conservative Muslim-Americans.
Yep, an all-girls prom! Kinda miss the whole point of proms in the 1st place.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/02/us/hamtramck-high-holds-all-girl-prom.html
As organizer of Hamtramck High School’s first all-girl prom, which conforms to religious beliefs forbidding dating, dancing with boys or appearing without a head scarf in front of males, Tharima, 17, was forging a new rite of passage for every teenage Muslim girl who had ever spent prom night at home, wistfully watching the limousines roll by.
(skipped paragraphs)
But at the all-girl prom, there were double double-takes, as some of Tharima’s classmates, normally concealed in a chrysalis of hijab and abaya, the traditional Muslim cloak, literally let their hair down in public for the first time.
Eman Ashabi, a Yemeni-American who helped organize the event, arrived in a ruffled pink gown, her black hair falling in perfect waves, thanks to a curling iron. Like many here, she stunned her friends.
“It’s ‘Oh my god!’ ” said Simone Alhagri, a Yemeni-American junior who was wearing a tight shirred dress. “This is how you look underneath!”
The dance was the denouement of seven months of feverish planning in which a committee raised $2,500, mostly through bake sales. Ignoring the naysayers who could not imagine anyone coming to a prom without boys, Tharima and her friends approached their task systematically, taking a survey of all the girls at Hamtramck High. They found that 65 percent were not able to attend the coed prom because of cultural and religious beliefs. After discussion, the school supported the student-driven alternative.
The first reaction most of us would have to a single-gender prom is "isn't that gay?"
And so ironic that the some Muslim-Americans promote something that "sounds so gay" when their religions encourages anti-gay discrimination!
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I'm all for appreciate diversity and all this stuff!
I dont judge on race! I got love for everyone --Latinos, Native Americans, Europeans, Africans, Middle Eastern, Asians, Pacific Islanders, Inuits, Aborigines, and whoever else I forgot to mention!
But if the Mormons, the Bapists, Jehovah Witness or any other ultra-conservativeChristian groups tried to have a single-gender prom, Liberal comedians would never stop making jokes about it!
But the anti-Muslim hate crimes have made many liberals hesitant to criticize when Muslim have single-gender proms when they would LOSE ALL HESITATION to mock Christians had they tried the same thing!
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My point is this --- many religions started in ancient societies in which they are the majority. They're not flexible in adjusting to modern societies!
This idea of "you can't dance with the boys", "you can't date while in high school",blah, blah, blah " is STUPID!
And I don't care if it's Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus or atheists making such stupid rules!
Look, part of adolescence is interacting and flirting with the opposite gender. That's nature, that's evolution in action!
That doesn't mean we just encourage people to make babies when they're not ready for it!
But we don't ban rough play for kids, we give them helmets, jock straps, coaches and martial art senseis to channel rough play in a more positive direction.
Same should be for dating! The solution is not "dont interact or dance with boys/girls"
It shall be going over the guidelines of safety and precautions of dating, to reduce possible problems. That means going over abstinence, birth control, rape prevention, and ALSO ways to ENJOY the adolescent dating life in a safe manner!
It also means supervised dances in which kids can practice partying skills and playing with the other opposite gender in a safe atmosphere. With the right guidance, kids can enjoying dancing with each other without the drama :) :) :)
You can't shelter your kids forever. Those who do are just wussifying their kids! Let the kids have an adventure! Let them have fun! Let them have a childhood! Let them have an adolescence!
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As for proms, if I was to start a school system from scratch, I wouldn't have school parties that pressure students to pay for expensive clothes (not everyone is rich) or have a date!
I'll just have parties in which students come as they are (without the colored bandanas or shirts with negative messages), make jokes with their friends, flirt with the opposite (or same) gender, and PARTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No one-gender parties, because no one is excluded, unless they have behavior problems.
And the big party is not some overly luxurious banquet, but just a post-graduation party (we call them Project Grads in Hawaii) in there's still supervision. No expensive pressures, no pressures to ask for an escort, just come as you are, proud of graduating and PARTY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
