Prom is still nearly a month away and I feel as though the "prom drama" is already in full swing. It's hard to walk three steps without hearing some discussion of prom, and I know the "real" drama (however "real" any issues concerning prom can actually be) hasn't even kicked in yet. People are gloating about the cute way their dates asked them, lamenting that they haven't been asked yet, beginning diets and cleanses, hastily scouring stores for a unique yet stunning dress, planning their limo group and fighting about who is going to be left out, and of course probing other girls to find out what gossip they've missed out on. You'd think that the Oscars were rapidly approaching within our community given the amount of discussion prom is receiving.
Cattiness is slowly growing, as it always seems to do around this time of year. I'm not sure why that happens around big events, but girls seem nearly incapable of human tactfulness once a certain day hits. "So-and-so is going to be left without a date," I've head girls whisper about others, with an evil yet sickeningly pleased glimmer in their eye.
However, the most common snide comment that I hear is about the dresses. One senior girl started a Facebook group for all upperclassmen to post photos of their dresses so that nobody buys the same dress as another girl. I've seen similar groups with other schools and my friends in different cities, yet I still think there's something a little bit pointless about it. I've yet to hear a positive comment about a single dress posted in the group. Girls don't point out when other girls have selected a gorgeous gown, but are quick to point out the tacky dresses and the ones that are going to be unflattering. Wolf states that this could be because "beauty thinking urges women to approach one another as possible adversaries until they know they are friends" (Wolf 75).
Another thing that comes with prom is incessant spending of money. Girls put down hundreds of dollars on dresses yet it's still a lose-lose situation. Girls are looked down upon if they don't spend enough on a dress ("It's cheap, tacky, classless") but are also ridiculed for overspending ("what a snob, it's not even that pretty"). Also, prom preparation is costly. Although it's unclear who they are trying to impress, the girls, the boys, or their audience of Facebook stalkers, girls spend hours primping and pay to get their hair and nails (and sometimes even makeup) professionally done. The ticket itself is the equivalent of about 150 dollars too.
"Somehow, somewhere, someone must have figured out that they will buy more things if they are kept in the self-hating, ever-failing, hungry, and sexually insecure state of being aspiring beauties" Wolf says, however what she doesn't mention is that it isn't just advertisers and men who are causing this mindset, but other women, and even high school girls are just as guilty (Wolf 66).
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