+
upworthy
More

6 folks ignored traditional prom dress codes, with stellar results.

They sure know how to work it.

A lot of high school proms have dress codes. But what if they didn't?

MTV asked 12 different folks to dress up for prom and ignore any of the "rules" out there for what they should wear. Here are six of them.

There's Jacob in a glam dress.


"I love wearing fun, gorgeous gowns like this because I feel like I'm expressing myself authentically, and I feel like I'm living my truth, and owning who I am, and sharing that with the world."
— Jacob Tobia

There's Alok with an awesome Prom Queen look.

"What you are, what you feel, how you dress is totally legitimate, and you shouldn't ever have to feel like you have to be something you're not."
— Alok Vaid-Menon

Or Renee's elegant get-up.

"If prom is supposed to be this quintessential high school experience that all young people are supposed to be able to have, what are they doing to make them feel included?"
— Renee Reopell

And Tyler's color-infused beauty.

"I just didn't wanna wear anything that had like gender attached to it."
— Tyler Ford

Harry and Alex have it going on just as well.

"When I get dressed, I want to feel powerful. I love the strong lines, and silhouettes, and the embellishments that were such an integral part of the '80s fashion."
— Harry Hanson

"This is pretty much what I wore to prom, so it was kind of weird to go back and put this on. That's what I was supposed to look like seven years ago."
— Alex Yates

They are all awesome and beautiful in their own way, don't you think?

In a lot of states, high schools have strict gendered dress codes on what people can wear to prom, often policing people's gender expressions and identities. It's sad, and it's limiting.

What MTV and the six people in the video did was show us how beautiful a world without these gender restrictions can be.

Because really, what's more beautiful than seeing people be themselves?


Time travel back to 1905.

Back in 1905, a book called "The Apples of New York" was published by the New York State Department of Agriculture. It featured hundreds of apple varieties of all shapes, colors, and sizes, including Thomas Jefferson's personal favorite, the Esopus Spitzenburg.






Keep ReadingShow less

Joey Grundl, Milwaukee pizza guy.

Joey Grundl, a pizza delivery driver for a Domino's Pizza in Waldo, Wisconsin, is being hailed as a hero for noticing a kidnapped woman's subtle cry for help.

The delivery man was sent to a woman's house to deliver a pie when her ex-boyfriend, Dean Hoffman, opened the door. Grundl looked over his shoulder and saw a middle-aged woman with a black eye standing behind Hoffman. She appeared to be mouthing the words: "Call the police."

Keep ReadingShow less
Photo by Katerina Holmes|Canva

Mom in tears after another parent calls about daughter's lunch


People say having children is like having your heart walk around outside of your body. You send them off to school, practices or playdates and hope that the world treats them kindly because when they hurt, you hurt. Inevitably there will be times when your child's feelings are hurt so you do your best to prepare for that day.

But what prepares you for when the child you love so much winds up accidentally healing your inner child. A mom on TikTok, who goes by Soogia posted a video explaining a phone call she received from a parent in her daughter's classroom. The mom called to inform Soogia that their kids had been sharing lunch with each other.

Soogia wasn't prepared for what came next. The classmate's mother informed her that her son loves the food Soogia's daughter brings to school and wanted to learn how to cook it too.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pop Culture

Listen to this organ in Croatia that uses the sea to make hauntingly beautiful music

It's a 230-foot-long organ that turns the rhythm of the waves into actual music.


In 2005, a Croatian architect designed a 230-foot-long organ that turns the rhythm of the waves into actual music.

Nope, not nonsensical bellows or chaotic tones. Real, actual, music.

Keep ReadingShow less
Modern Families

A comic from The Oatmeal illustrates how we're missing the mark on happiness.

I do the things that are meaningful to me, even if they don't make me "happy."

By Matthew Inman/The Oatmeal. Used with permission.

How to Be Perfectly Happy


Matthew Inman is the Eisner Award-winning author of The Oatmeal. He's published six books, including New York Times Best-Sellers such as "How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You"and "The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances."He enjoys running marathons, writing comics, and eating cake.

You can read more of Matthew's comics here.

Keep ReadingShow less
Health

Sweeping UN study finds that 9 out of 10 people worldwide are biased against women

In other words, 9 out of 10 people worldwide—both men and women—are biased against women in vital areas that impact the world in major ways.

Photo by Joe Gardner on Unsplash

As the U.S. ramps into an all-too-familiar presidential election cycle where the only viable candidates left on the ballot are men, the UN announces a study that may—at least partially—explain why.

The Gender Social Norms Index released yesterday by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) offers a look at gender equality as measured by people's personal gender bias. The data, which was collected from 75 countries covering 81% of the world's population, found that 91% of men and 86% of women show at least one clear bias against women in the areas of politics, economics, education, and physical integrity.

In other words, 9 out of 10 people worldwide—both men and women—are biased against women in vital areas that impact the world in major ways. Splendid.

Keep ReadingShow less