- No Going Solo to This High School Prom
- Posted by Cafe MichelleP
on 4/24/12 at 12:54pm -
School Bans Girls Without Dates From Going to Prom
Posted by Jeanne Sager
Pop quiz time! Amanda Dougherty is 17 years old, and she just got dumped by her prom date. But her school has told her she can't go stag, because young ladies need a male escort in order to go to prom.Now for the quiz part. Is Amanda Dougherty a 17-year-old in 1950? Or 2012? What? You said 2012? Let me tell you what you've won!
Your prize is to live in a world where the "war on women" that Fox is busy pretending doesn't exist is being waged against teenage girls, and their parents' attempts to teach them that there are more important things in this world than teenage boys!
Dougherty is a junior at the Archbishop John Carroll High School in the Philadelphia area, and the school is holding firm on its rules that girls need a male (come on, it's a religious school, that kind of goes without saying) date to prom. Fortunately for her, this 17-year-old girl has what every teenage girl needs: a father who understands that this type of patriarchal thinking puts girls back six decades. Jack Dougherty is fighting tooth and nail to get his little girl access to prom with the rest of her friends and without a guy on her arm. Yay Dad!
But I'm still floored that he has to fight this battle with any school, much less a religious one. And the way the school has referred to the prom as a "special social event" with this type of rules makes it clear that the school defines a students' worth based on their ability to couple up rather than something useful like, oh, I don't know ... their educational prowess, their behavior, their humanity?
Essentially, what a rule like this one does is undo all the work parents put into teaching their kids that there is much more to life than the approval of the opposite sex. Dating is fine in the teen years; I did it. I see nothing wrong with it. But we want to teach our kids -- both girls and boys -- that there is nothing wrong with being unattached, that their worth is in no way tied to whether or not they are home on Friday night or out parking.
I'd rather my daughter never have a boyfriend than date a guy because that's what society -- or backward school administrators -- are telling her she "has" to do. She's a person; her worth should be based on her, not who she dates (or doesn't). And the same goes for Amanda Dougherty.
What does this rule say to you? What would you tell your daughter if her school had this attitude?
- Posted by fantasticfour
on 4/24/12 at 1:02pmHow about her Dad takes her if they don't get anywhere? Are boys allowed to go stag?
- Posted by drfink
on 4/24/12 at 1:06pm (1 like)Archaic ya cause a girls worth is based on how she can attract a guy.I would be angry.
- Posted by atlmom2
on 4/24/12 at 1:28pm (1 like)Absurd. That was like when we were in school. No one went without dates. I love that now "most" school allow this. Heck, my oldest dd went without a date her junior year and had the best time ever!!!
- Posted by MB13
on 4/24/12 at 1:42pm (1 like)Our Catholic school allows singles, but they charge more for a single ticket than half of a couples ticket. I thought that this was giving a bad message.
- Posted by MB13
on 4/24/12 at 1:44pm (1 like)I'd go find the "trashiest bad boy" that I could find to be the escort! LOL
- Posted by MrsBLB
on 4/24/12 at 2:15pm (1 like)This is ridiculous...
- Posted by FindersKeepers
on 4/24/12 at 2:44pm (2 likes)It's a stupid policy that would not apply to any other 'grown up' situation ever. Only teaching someone to be self-conscious about being single.
Will students be able to attend their re-unions if they are single, or will those also be 'couples only'?
Any outing, dinner, wedding, funeral, event.... should be open to couples and singles. And in this case they are requiring a MALE escort... so I suppose a gay couple could go, but not lesbians.
- Posted by atlmom2
on 4/24/12 at 3:16pmOur school only sells single tickets. Everyone buys one. They go up $10 in price the 2nd week they are sold.
Quoting MB13:
Our Catholic school allows singles, but they charge more for a single ticket than half of a couples ticket. I thought that this was giving a bad message.
- Posted by DAHLONEGAMOMMY
on 4/24/12 at 3:30pm (1 like)Would someone please tell these people that it is 2012 and women are allowed to go anywhere they damn well please without an escort, male or otherwise. Furthermore, the chances of a girl going without a male escort getting knocked up on prom night are a lot less than one with a date. I think this is absurd. This is nothing but a ploy to prevent same sex couples from attending the prom. This is not about girl and boy couples. This is about same sex couples. Girls cannot attend without a mail escort and I bet guys cant attend without a female escort. Why dont they just admit that its gay prejudice? Its infuriating. This child has enough self esteem to actually go to the prom without a date and someone has to find fault with it. Go dad for saying no! Its ridiculous!
- Posted by 02nana07
on 4/24/12 at 3:35pmI would be furious if it were my daughter why should she depend on a guy to have a good time and enjoy prom it should be her choice if she wants to go alone.