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.
