Oh prom...Some of us think of it as the best night of our high school lives, some of us just try to forget.
One thing that eternally lives in our memory is the stress of looking your best for the occasion. All the shirts, ties, lace and satin end up being strewn about the dance floor, jumbled together in a mess reminiscent of discarded Christmas wrapping paper. There are the conservative girls with traditional dresses, and then the ... other girls with as much skin showing as possible. The boys are all in suits, chromatically ranging from ebony to ivory. The problem is that some schools have actually made this clothing required based on gender.
Lebanon High School in Indiana recently denied a lesbian girl's request to wear a suit to prom. Their dress code for the occasion requires her to wear a dress to the dance. In her opinion, it is extremely discriminatory. She has actually taken legal action against the school board because of the rule, and says that wearing the suit is a part of her "sexual identity" and therefore should be allowed.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) supports her case however. They are actually claiming, and have evidence to prove, that the dress code is unconstitutional. It is, according to them, "creating a disparity in the treatment of male and female students." Clearly they are willing to make a point of their stance on the issue, and I would be very surprised if the unnamed girl does not get her request granted.
The United States (and the world for that matter) is a different place now than it was fifteen years ago. Individuality in many avenues is now openly encouraged and accepted. My question is if the government is going to keep up with the changes, or if they are even willing to.
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