One of the most exciting nights that students look forward to in high school is prom.
Girls look forward to dressing up in a beautiful long dress, wearing (potentially) expensive high heels and the shiniest jewelry you would find at the store; it all seems so elegant and idyllic. Not to mention getting all the minor details down, such as nails, hair, and maybe even a spray tan. The dance soon can easily become a week-long affair in preparation for the event of the year. Your inner 5-year-old’s dream of wearing a princess dress is finally going to come true.
There is one thing that will always make the girls uneasy the day of, and that is wondering where her Prince Charming is. Will he be late to pick me up? Is he actually going to remember his ticket? Or the best one, where is he often the day of the dance? Most likely he slept in past noon, and is now running late after taking a half hour to throw on his rented suit, putting a little extra gel in his hair, shaving, and putting on deodorant. This is why prom is sometimes seen as more of a ‘girl thing.’ Girls typically spend much more time planning their special day in advance with a plethora of appointments both the day of and even weeks before, while guys will maybe put the most effort into picking up their tuxedo.
As a girl who has spent years thinking about prom, I am planning to cut out my whole day to get ready for prom. Getting my hair, nails, and makeup done alone is going to take hours. That doesn’t include the time it took to pick out a dress, shoes, and accessories. Not to mention, the alterations to even the most precise details. On the contrast, most guys on average only take about an hour to get ready. How is that even doable?
Along with that, there are few things that are done specifically for guys at prom. The guy is supposed to ask the girl to go with him with a huge poster or gesture that he worked hard on, better known as a ‘promposal,’ but the guys almost never get asked to prom by girls. One thing that can be considered ‘for guys’ at prom is the boutonniere they wear on their tux; but at the same time, the guy is also generally expected to get a corsage for the girl. Plus, the guys will sometimes even buy a bouquet of flowers for a girl, but have you ever seen a guy receive flowers before a dance?
There is also the matching aspect of prom, which can be seen as one of the most important small details of the dance. Girls spend days, or even might make a day-long appointment searching for the perfect dress in whatever color they think they look best in, but then the guy is just expected to just match their accessories and tie to the girl and do whatever she wants. Even though prom is set up to be an amazing experience for everyone, the whole experience is set up to be more geared toward girls.