Kenneth's+Final+Project

A) Proposal  I. For my final project, I have chosen to research and discuss the concept of the development of prom and the current roles of boys and girls in prom. I realized I wanted to research this topic around the time junior prom tickets were going on sale. While I am not a junior myself, I noticed the tension among my junior friends as they struggled to find the perfect prom date. Boys worried about who to ask and how the question delivered. Girls worried about who would ask them or if they would be asked at all. The problem became so severe that it reached other grades as juniors began to invite seniors and sophomores to prom. I have also personally felt this internal struggle when I was a junior and I will soon have to deal with our senior prom. As prom approaches, I am interested to know more about it, and I hope to discover a solution to one of high school’s greatest dilemmas.  II. How has prom developed over the past century and what is the current role of each gender in the prom experience?  III. To gain a better understanding of this topic, I will primarily be researching the history of prom to see how it originated and how it has changed. I will discuss how proms were held when they were a new idea and how they may have gradually transformed into one of the biggest events of high school. I will also research what the roles of men and women were when prom originated and how these roles have changed. In addition to my research, I will take a survey among people at Iolani to see what the general idea about what the current roles of men and women are in the prom experience. I will need to continue to think about who would be considered an "expert" about prom so that I could interview him or her. I will also need to think about what kind of "product" I could produce that is related to my issue.
 * ** Project Component ** ||  ** Due Date **  ||
 * Research, Survey || March 15-May15  ||
 * Product Description || April 1  ||
 * Expert Source Identified || April 8  ||
 * Annotated Work Cited Draft || April 28  ||
 * Project Update || May 12  ||
 * Final Annotated Work Cited || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">May 19  ||
 * <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">Presentation || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">May 20-26  ||

<span style="background: white; display: block; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"> B) Prom Problems <span style="background: white; display: block; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> For decades, prom has been prominent in high schools all over America. However, the nature of this event has always been changing. Currently, prom is essentially a pre-graduation for high school seniors. While the real graduation is exciting, it is primarily held for the parents to recognize their children's hard work over the years. On the other hand, prom is just for the students to enjoy. It is held towards the end of the school year and represents the closure of the high school chapter of their lives as teenagers as they progress towards adulthood. Traditionally, the men pay for all the expenses involved in prom aside from the dress. From pictures to flowers to limousines, the boys gather all their financial resources for that one special night. While the girls also receive great social pressures to dress up like a princess and have a dream-like experience, their responsibilities fall short of what boys are expected to do. Therefore, prom has begun to creates greater pressures for male students going through a critical period of their lives. <span style="background: white; display: block; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> While the roles of men have traditionally been that of the protector and provider, women have continually been taking steps towards equality between genders. These steps have taken women to new heights as more of them become doctors, lawyers, and entrepreneurs. But when it comes to prom, some girls feel that it continues to be the duty of the boys to pay. Some claim their dresses are so expensive that they should be exempt from paying. This creates a huge financial burden for the boys as prom has almost become like an industry. Due to social pressures, simply driving to prom is no longer classy enough. As a result, teenagers begin to rent limousines for themselves and their dates. Additionally, the entire event must be properly documented, so students take various professional pictures while at prom. These pictures are costly as well, and may not even turn out well. Therefore, the truly enthusiastic prom goers practice their pose beforehand. Along with limousines and pictures, boys also need to buy girls a bouquet that will be used for about five minutes during the picture before being left on the table for the rest of the event. After prom, the bouquet lasts only for a few days before it is thrown away. Why such a poor investment is made by thousands of students every year is incomprehensible. <span style="background: white; display: block; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> While a few girls do aid in the distressing process of finding a date, most boys are left to fend for themselves during this time. As Amy Best says in her book //Prom Night//, during prom season, "boys are the decision makers" are bear the responsibility of making sure prom goes well. Once prom season comes around, the tension of who is going to ask who suddenly fills the air as everyone has prom on their mind. The lucky couples who have been dating long before prom escape these worries, while their friends ponder over who they can bring to prom. As proms have been going on for years, the creative, romantic ways a boy can invite a girl have quickly been dwindling. Along with how to ask their date, boys also need to worry about who to ask. Some of the primary concerns about who to ask involve looking for someone who is good looking, fun to be around, and easy to talk to. As prom has become such a huge deal, students generally hope to go with someone special to truly make the experience dream-like. <span style="background: white; display: block; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> This critical decision also needs to be made during a very inconvenient period. Prom season also happens to be the period preceding exams and around the time seniors need to decide on which college they will be attending next year. With so many things going on, students hardly have time to rest, let alone stress over what to do about prom. <span style="background: white; display: block; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> As society seems to demand that boys pay for all expenses related to prom for the sake of their female partner, boys receive a large financial burden. To pay for the "ideal prom," boys must pay for a limousine, pictures, a suit, a bouquet, and possibly an after party. The girls on the other hand are just expected to dress up and have a good time. While girls do have to worry about making sure prom goes smoothly, boys have the greater burden of finding the perfect date and convincing her that he is the perfect date as well. Because of the complexities involved in properly inviting a girl to prom, boys become stressed as they balance this process with imminent exams and deciding which college they should attend. Thus, boys are forced to go through a great deal of trouble in hopes of creating one perfect night. <span style="background: white; display: block; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"> Work Cited <span style="background: white; color: black; line-height: 24pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;">Best, Amy L. //Prom Night: Youth, Schools, and Popular Culture//. New York: Routledge, 2000. Print.

<span style="background: white; display: block; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"> C) Progression of Prom <span style="background: white; display: block; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> For decades, prom has been prominent in high schools all over America. The term "prom" is short for promenade, the formal introduction of guests at a party. The origins of prom can be traced back to banquets held in the 1800s for the graduating class at American universities (www.time.com). These original proms started off with the boys having all the responsibilities and the power in the prom experience. Due to modern feminist movements, women have been taking on more roles in society. Likewise, in a modern prom, girls play a greater role in the whole experience. Thus, the social phenomenons of each era influence the gender roles of proms taking place during those times, causing each gender to share more of the burdens and the excitement of prom. <span style="display: block; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> The first proms that were held at universities were most likely modeled after the formal cotillions and debutante balls held by America’s rich and famous for their children (www.promworks.com). While the first proms were held for graduating university students, the proms we see today are generally for high school students. As the teenage culture developed, proms were held for younger and younger age groups, and by the 1940s the event had become the adolescent dance we know today (www.time.com). Influenced by the economy of the nation and the teenagers of each era, prom has essentially become a pre-graduation for high school seniors. While the real graduation is exciting, it is primarily held for the parents to recognize their children's hard work over the years. On the other hand, prom is just for the students to enjoy. It is held towards the end of the school year and represents the closure of the high school chapter of their lives as teenagers as they progress towards adulthood (Calo, 2006). <span style="display: block; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> The first proms were most likely chaperoned senior-class balls held at the end of each school year and restricted to the members of the senior class. One of the goals of these affairs was to help develop social skills and etiquette in the students. The balls or proms were really quite plain as very few students would purchase special clothes for the evening’s festivities (www.promworks.com). As the economy of the United States began to improve after the depression years, students began to have access to automobiles and enjoyed the freedom they brought to adolescents. While the early proms of the 1920’s often featured a social tea and dancing, the proms of the 1930’s and 1940’s more resembled an annual senior class banquet where the participants dressed in party clothes and danced (http://glitzgowns.blogspot.com). <span style="display: block; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> During the post-World War II economic boom of the late 1940’s and 1950’s, the prom began to be increasingly recognized as one of the most important social events of the year. It was during this era that attending the prom with the “right date” began to take on special significance. Additionally, female students began giving more thought and attention to clothing for the prom, often shopping for a special dress just for the event (www.promworks.com). The location of the proms also began to change during the post-war boom years. In previous decades, proms and school dances were held in the school gym or cafeteria. As the 1950’s came to a close, a shift was seen from school venues to more sophisticated locations such as hotel ballrooms and country clubs. In the 1970’s and 1980’s, as Amy Best, the author of // Prom Night: Youth, Schools, and Popular Culture //, says, the high school prom "began to take on an almost iconic status as a rite of passage from high school into adulthood." As the first formal event in their lives, the prom became the "ultimate coming-of-age party" for high school juniors and seniors. <span style="display: block; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> The proms of today have become much more elaborate and expensive. Off-campus locations have become normal, with schools in coastal cities even booking cruise ships as prom locations. The ultimate venue for holding a prom to date, however, still has to be when President Ford’s daughter's senior prom was held in the White House in 1975 (www.time.com). The typical prom couple spends hundreds of dollars buying or renting formal clothing, getting hair and makeup done, flowers, prom tickets, photographs, and limousine rentals (Best, 2007). Other things have changed as well. While traditional etiquette calls for the boy to ask the girl to the prom, girls have become more assertive and some will ask a boy to be their prom date. However, some things remain the same. Many high school students feel that prom will bethe most romantic night of their lives. As such, the search for the right date will always be intense (Calo, 2006). <span style="display: block; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> While some girls do try to take the initiative to ask a boy to prom, the large majority of boys are still the ones doing the asking. According to a survey I took from 168 people who have or are going to prom, even among the girls who asked a boy to prom, 93% of them wish he could have been the one to ask instead. Additionally, about 66% of all the survey takers felt that the importance of prom ranked 7 out of 10. The significance of prom creates a great tension during prom season as boys and girls alike worry who they will be going with to the most significant event of high school. 56% of female survey-takers felt that their date was the most important part of prom and 76% of male survey-takers felt this way. The difference in these percentages could be that girls generally believe their prom dress to be nearly as important as their date. However, when asked about what was most important about their date, no girls claimed that it was good-looks. On the other hand, 32% of boys thought otherwise. The general consensus of the most important trait about the prom date was that he or she be able to keep the conversation going. When asked a "would you rather" question, most girls felt that it would be better to go dateless to prom rather than settling for someone who they would not be excited to go with. However, most boys felt that bringing "someone you don't really talk to" would be better. A possible reason for this could be that girls would happily group together at prom anyway and dance together. Boys on the other hand are more directly paired up with their date while at the dance. <span style="display: block; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> Once the incredible task of finding the right date has been completed, students then need to determine who will be paying for what. While girls have been stepping up recently, only 31% of the girls who took my survey will be paying for themselves and 20% will be paying for their date. Along with paying for tickets, which range from about $40 to over a $100, flowers, suits or dresses, pictures, limousines, and makeup and hair must be done or bought or rented. The sum of the costs of flowers ($50), a suit ($140), a dress (hundreds to thousands of dollars), pictures ($60), a limousine ($160 per hour), and makeup and hair ($100) comes out to a staggering $850 or much much more depending on the dress. All this is invested into one night by teenagers in hopes of making it magical. <span style="display: block; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> Once at the prom, tensions may peak as students anxiously take their perfect prom picture and eat their dinner while attempting to make conversation with their date. After dinner, the prom committee announces the prom court and the rest of the students watch in awe as their friends are crowned and dance. After this, a few games may be played and then everyone begins to dance. This goes on for a few hours until the end of prom and people quickly begin to disperse. After prom, a small minority of students will head home for a good night's rest. The rest of the students will head out to various alcohol-induced parties, non-alcoholic parties, sleepovers, and midnight snacks. These after parties could be considered the main event of prom despite not being an actual part of prom and are the conclusion to what every teenager hopes will be the best night of their lives. <span style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> Annotated Bibliography <span style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> "A Short History of Prom in the United States." //PromWorks//. 2008. Web. <http://www.promworks.com/promhistory.php>. <span style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> The site that this article was posted on, // PromWorks //, is focused solely on prom and everyone that is involved in it. Because it is so specific, an article about the history of prom on this site would be accurate and provide in-depth information. The article provides a thorough overview of the history of prom. The article begins from the very first mentions of prom to modern prom. Throughout the article, it talks about the major aspects of prom and how they have changed. The article also discusses how social phenomena affect prom. <span style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> <span style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> Best, Amy L. "Prom Interview." E-mail interview. 8 May 2011. <span style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> After I found her book, I emailed Amy Best asking if she could help me with my project, and I sent her a few questions about prom and how it came to become such a huge social event. She is a reliable source for an interview because she has written a book about prom and how it affects and is affected by high schoolers and society. Best is Associate Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at George Mason University. She earned her Ph.D. in Sociology in 1998. Her research focuses on the study of youth, culture and social inequalities. <span style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> <span style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> Best, Amy L. //Prom Night: Youth, Schools, and Popular Culture//. New York: Routledge, 2000. Print. <span style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> This book was based on research the author began as a graduate student. She began working on it first in Ithaca College and continued to work on it at Syracuse University. She received help and support from her thesis advisor, whose lifelong work as a feminist scholar helped the author to be institutionally supported. The Popular Culture Institute at Syracuse University also provided her with critical insights toward the book. The sociology department at San Jose State University was also supportive as she worked to finish the book and especially during the last period of her work on this book. The many educational institutions that have contributed toward the book make it a reliable source of information. I used this source to support the points I made bout prom. <span style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> <span style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> Best, Amy L. //Representing Youth: Methodological Issues in Critical Youth Studies//. New York: New York UP, 2007. Print. <span style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> This book covers a broader range of issues related to youth than just prom. However, many of these issues are very pertinent to prom and some sections of the book do discuss prom. This book also includes the support of several universities, including the Sociology Department at San Jose State University, where it began, and the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at George Mason University, where it was finished. <span style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> <span style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> Calo, Richard G. //American Prom//. Nashville, TN: Cumberland House, 2006. Print. <span style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> This book focuses more on the meaning of prom, such as what teenagers use it for, what parents believe about it, why it is so important to teenagers, and the role it plays in the shift from childhood into adulthood. The book includes hundreds of stories from teenagers about their prom. The book views prom as less of a one-night event and more of a cultural phenomenon. It discusses the coming of age of teenagers. This book is a reliable source as it takes real-life examples and uses them to discuss the complexities involved with the event. <span style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> <span style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> Suddath, Claire. "Brief History: The Prom." //Time//. 17 May 2010. Web. <http://www.time.com/ <span style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> time/magazine/article/0,9171,1987594,00.html>. <span style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> This article was posted on the // Time // website, making it a reputable source. // Time // magazine is a widely read and accepted magazine that provides information to people all over the nation. Time is also in partnership with CNN which is also a good source of information. The article provides a brief overview of the history of prom. It starts from its origins as an event for graduating university students and continues up to more modern proms where the issue of same-sex couples attending prom together is discussed. <span style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> <span style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> "The History of Prom." //Glitz!// 25 Jan. 2011. Web. <http://glitzgowns.blogspot.com/2011/01/ <span style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> history-of-prom.html>. <span style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> This article was posted on the // Glitz! // website which also specializes in prom related issues. This website actually consists of blogs about prom. Many of the blogs involve actual prom experiences and is generally for females as it talks about preparations for prom involving details about hair and makeup. This article also discusses the history of prom. It starts from the very first types of proms to modern day proms. It also discusses how prom has become such an important high school event for students and the significance of the event.

<span style="display: block; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> <span style="background: white; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">D) Product <span style="display: block; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> <span style="background: white; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">E) Final Thoughts/Conclusion