Anti-prom
Encyclopedia
Anti-prom and morp is a social event often staged by high school
student
s as a protest
against, or boycott
of, their school's official prom
, as an alternative celebration. Other times, it may be an unofficial prom, planned by the students themselves so that it is not under the control of the school.
Some of the more common reasons for the creation of an anti-prom include the desire to curb the large cost of a traditional prom, to listen to music other than that expected to be played at the official prom, to have a smaller, more personal get-together, ones that cannot find a date or have been rejected for a prom date, don't like the food, or have looser and less strict rules than the school's. Another common anti-prom is an unofficial dance set up by freshmen and sophomores as they cannot go to prom without a junior or senior.
The attendees of an anti-prom usually disagree with the values of the high school in-crowd
who, stereotypically, organize the prom from the preparatory stages to the after-parties. In particular, anti-prom attendees protest what they regard as the vanity
, excess, and conformity that the prom culture expects from students. Anti-proms do not follow any prescribed format, catering instead to the varied tastes of the large spectrum of students who feel dissociated from prom culture. Nevertheless, anti-prom participants are generally concerned with arranging social activities that are not only fun and enjoyable, but which also serve as an assertion of solidarity and of the legitimacy of social difference.
Sexual orientation
and gender identity
sometimes plays a role in leading students to form and attend an anti-prom: lesbian
, gay
, bisexual, transgender
, queer
, and questioning (sexuality) (LGBTQQ) students who feel that attending their school's traditional prom with a same-sex partner or not identifying in traditional gender identity fashion would be problematic might choose to hold their own gathering. Students with disabilities such as ADHD or Asperger Syndrome
who don't have the required social skills to find a date or participate in the activity tends to go with this event as well, along with members that are not at the dominate culture, such as a certain ethnic minority.
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
student
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
s as a protest
Protest
A protest is an expression of objection, by words or by actions, to particular events, policies or situations. Protests can take many different forms, from individual statements to mass demonstrations...
against, or boycott
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
of, their school's official prom
Prom
In the United States and Canada, a prom, short for promenade, is a formal dance, or gathering of high school students. It is typically held near the end of the senior year. It figures greatly in popular culture and is a major event among high school students...
, as an alternative celebration. Other times, it may be an unofficial prom, planned by the students themselves so that it is not under the control of the school.
Some of the more common reasons for the creation of an anti-prom include the desire to curb the large cost of a traditional prom, to listen to music other than that expected to be played at the official prom, to have a smaller, more personal get-together, ones that cannot find a date or have been rejected for a prom date, don't like the food, or have looser and less strict rules than the school's. Another common anti-prom is an unofficial dance set up by freshmen and sophomores as they cannot go to prom without a junior or senior.
The attendees of an anti-prom usually disagree with the values of the high school in-crowd
Youth subculture
A youth subculture is a youth-based subculture with distinct styles, behaviors, and interests. Youth subcultures offer participants an identity outside of that ascribed by social institutions such as family, work, home and school...
who, stereotypically, organize the prom from the preparatory stages to the after-parties. In particular, anti-prom attendees protest what they regard as the vanity
Vanity
In conventional parlance, vanity is the excessive belief in one's own abilities or attractiveness to others. Prior to the 14th century it did not have such narcissistic undertones, and merely meant futility. The related term vainglory is now often seen as an archaic synonym for vanity, but...
, excess, and conformity that the prom culture expects from students. Anti-proms do not follow any prescribed format, catering instead to the varied tastes of the large spectrum of students who feel dissociated from prom culture. Nevertheless, anti-prom participants are generally concerned with arranging social activities that are not only fun and enjoyable, but which also serve as an assertion of solidarity and of the legitimacy of social difference.
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
and gender identity
Gender identity
A gender identity is the way in which an individual self-identifies with a gender category, for example, as being either a man or a woman, or in some cases being neither, which can be distinct from biological sex. Basic gender identity is usually formed by age three and is extremely difficult to...
sometimes plays a role in leading students to form and attend an anti-prom: lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, bisexual, transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
, queer
Queer
Queer is an umbrella term for sexual minorities that are not heterosexual, heteronormative, or gender-binary. In the context of Western identity politics the term also acts as a label setting queer-identifying people apart from discourse, ideologies, and lifestyles that typify mainstream LGBT ...
, and questioning (sexuality) (LGBTQQ) students who feel that attending their school's traditional prom with a same-sex partner or not identifying in traditional gender identity fashion would be problematic might choose to hold their own gathering. Students with disabilities such as ADHD or Asperger Syndrome
Asperger syndrome
Asperger's syndrome that is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction, alongside restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. It differs from other autism spectrum disorders by its relative preservation of linguistic and cognitive development...
who don't have the required social skills to find a date or participate in the activity tends to go with this event as well, along with members that are not at the dominate culture, such as a certain ethnic minority.