Spring is an exciting time for everybody, but it’s an especially exciting time for teens looking forward to the romance and ritual of a traditional high school prom. And now, it’s an even more exciting time for those completely terrified by the prospect of finding a date or renting a fancy outfit that corresponds to the gender one was assigned at birth. Because while 2015 was a milestone year for the queering of prom, mainstream acceptance of same-sex dates and transgender royals is an uphill battle. This most recent step in the right direction is the work of Lena Dunham and Chris Gethard, who this week will host the very first “Under the Sea Themed Gender Fluid Poly Prom.” The prom will go down on The Chris Gethard Show this week, with They Might Be Giants providing a live soundtrack.
“Maybe you’re too riddled with anxiety to ask anyone out,” Gethard says on his website. “Maybe you don’t feel great about how you look, maybe you think you’re too skinny or too fat or too this or too that. Maybe you’re sorting out your own sexuality and the traditions of prom heighten that sometimes stressful process to the maximum. Maybe you’re in love with more than one person and it’s crushing to figure out who to actually ask.”
The prom is open to teens prepping for/freaking out about their own upcoming prom, and fully grown adults still scarred from their own prom experiences. However there is a special tangent planned for actual high school students: Gethard and Dunham will be taking Skype calls throughout the night in order to wingman/wingwoman for those looking to prompose to a very specific someone.
As Gethard notes, there’s a chance that the event will be a “total disaster.” But at least it will be all his fault and not your mom’s for insisting on picking you up from outside the venue at exactly 9.45pm. Though aren’t disasters what prom is really all about anyway?
Credits
Text Hannah Ongley
Still from Mean Girls