Editing Prom (section)

==Controversies==
Proms have been the source of many controversies, many of which involve [[LGBT]] students.
* According to Jackie Blount, during the [[McCarthyism|McCarthy era]] "schools implemented curricula intended to keep youth sexually straight. In effect, schools became fundamentally important agencies in the [[Lavender Scare|nationwide campaign]] to fight [[homosexuality]]." This attitude further promoted heteronormative practices such as naming a prom king and prom queen, requiring strict gender [[conformity]] in dress, etc.<ref>{{cite book |title=Fit to Teach: Same-Sex Desire, Gender, and School Work in the Twentieth Century |url=https://archive.org/details/fittoteachsamese0000blou |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/fittoteachsamese0000blou/page/81 81] |date=2005 |author=Jackie Blount}}</ref>
* In 2002, gay teenager Marc Hall was prohibited from taking his male date to his high school's dance; Hall [[Marc Hall v. Durham Catholic School Board|sued the school board]] and won.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/gay-teen-wins-fight-over-catholic-prom-1.348831 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061118065753/http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2002/05/10/hall_020510.html |url-status=live |archive-date=November 18, 2006 |title=CBC News&nbsp;– Gay teen wins fight over Catholic prom |publisher=Cbc.ca |date=2002-05-22 |access-date=2010-03-29}}</ref>
* In 2009, Tyler Frost was suspended for attending his girlfriend's prom, because his Christian high school disallowed dancing.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna30669405 |title=Teen suspended for going to girlfriend's prom |publisher=NBC News |date=2009-05-11 |access-date=2010-03-29}}</ref> Although the principal at Frost's school signed a paper allowing Frost to attend the prom, he said Frost would be suspended if he went, but Frost did so anyway.
* In a [[2010 Itawamba County School District prom controversy]], lesbian high school senior Constance McMillen requested to take her girlfriend to the prom at [[Itawamba Agricultural High School]] in Fulton, Mississippi, where they were both students. The principal denied her request and prohibited her from wearing a tuxedo. When McMillen challenged the school's policy, the prom was canceled, leading McMillen to sue the school.<ref>{{cite news|last=Joyner |first=Chris |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-03-20-gay-mississippi-teen_N.htm |title=Lesbian gets day in court over nixed prom |publisher=Usatoday.Com |date=2010-03-22 |access-date=2010-03-29}}</ref> Following a court decision forcing the school to hold the prom, local parents organized a second prom in secret, leaving Constance, her girlfriend and only 5 other students at the official prom.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/04/05/ACLU_Investigating_Fake_Prom/ |title=McMillen: I Was Sent to Fake Prom |publisher=Advocate.Com |date=2010-04-05 |access-date=2010-04-06}}</ref>
* In 2014, student Katie Bialy from [[Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School (St. Catharines)|Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School]], St. Catharines, Ontario, with the genetic condition [[Ehlers–Danlos syndrome]] (EDS) was not allowed to go to prom by her school principal Denice Robertson because her grades were not as good as required and she could not graduate.<ref>{{cite web|title='It wasn't fair': Why an Ontario school isn't letting a sick girl go to prom|url=http://globalnews.ca/news/1308050/it-wasnt-fair-why-an-ontario-school-isnt-letting-a-sick-girl-go-to-prom/|publisher=Global News|first=Cindy|last=Pom}}</ref> Her condition had impaired her ability to do schoolwork and she asked the principal if she could go as a guest, but the principal refused her the option. This incident has resulted in public support for Bialy in social media and also increased awareness of her condition.