Proms have long been a highlight of the American high school experience, one that Hollywood has utilized in coming-of-age movies for decades. But proms have changed significantly since iconic ’80s movies such as Pretty in Pink. Two AMSA faculty members, history teacher Jessica Bowen, a member of Gen X, and English teacher Jordan Hill, a Millennial, weighed in on their prom experiences and what changes they have noticed throughout the years.
Mr. Hill went to high school in Connecticut and attended proms in 2004 and 2005. He recalled that his proms were more traditional, and most people tried to go with a date.
“You tried to get a date, and if you couldn’t, then sometimes people would go alone or in big groups,” he said.
Mrs. Bowen, who went to prom in Massachusetts in 1988 and 1989, remembered that it was really rare for people to attend prom alone.
“We would call it going stag, like just going either by yourself or going with a group of friends,” she said. “That would have been seen as weird or even loser-ish.”
These days, it is not uncommon for students to go to prom with large groups or alone. Change isn’t always negative.
“It’s not good that people should feel like if I am not paired up, I am a loser,” she said. “It’s nice that people feel free to just like kind of go with their friends.”
Mr. Hill , however, has mixed feelings about students going to prom in large groups.
“I’m a romantic,” he said. “I like tradition. I like the aesthetics. I like to see a fancy ball where kids ask the person they really want to go with.”
One trend that has taken off in recent years is “promposals,” in which one student asks another to the prom in an often elaborate and staged manner that many times is filmed. Promposals were something the two teachers disagreed about.
“I like big gestures,” Mr. Hill said, agreeing with the trend. “I think these little things that we do make life special.”
Mrs. Bowen approached it from a different angle.
“It’s just so much pressure,” she said. “Everybody’s trying to outdo each other.”
Addressing another huge change over the past quarter century, Mrs. Bowen touched on the acceptance of gay couples at prom.
“When I went to high school, no one was openly gay,” Mrs. Bowen said. “It seemed so brave to me the first time I saw a student go to prom openly gay. Now, that wouldn’t be seen as a big deal.”
The dynamics of proms may have changed, particularly in terms of who goes with whom and how people ask others to go, but the biggest change is that prom is now more about just attending and having fun, whether it be with a date or your close friends.
Party on.
