the blog 06/16/2015 11:41 am et | updated dress code? spandex · child wanted to come in pajamas,...

4
EDITION US NEWS POLITICS ENTERTAINMENT LIFESTYLE IMPACT VOICES VIDEO ALL SECTIONS THE BLOG 06/16/2015 11:41 am ET | Updated Jun 16, 2016 Dress Code? Spandex By Pia de Jong — Illustration by Eliane Gerrits Hairdressers and limousines, tuxedos and evening gowns, proud fathers and crying mothers, meetings with lawyers. A wedding? No, it’s the primal source of stress in American life: the high school prom. Here are clumsy 18-year-olds pretending to be loving couples, photographed in front of magnolias and azaleas, defenseless targets of the romantic projections of their parents. But if high school can be hell, luckily there is the purgatory of middle school. In this hormone-free zone for two blinks are children between 11 and 14, still in their wonder years. The playful atmospherics of middle school are a kind of soft introduction to the rigors of high school. Here kids learn the chemical reactions of photosynthesis by singing a happy song. Or the history of Mesopotamia becomes a friendly travel guide. They still draw and paint and play with clay. My daughter and her friends lose themselves in art projects that introduce them gingerly to the challenging material that lies ahead. In the Netherlands, my sons at the same age were thrown into the deep end right away, dispatched on a real survival trip into a rugged wilderness or told to bicycle through Amsterdam at midnight. In America, my dear daughter copes

Upload: others

Post on 22-Sep-2020

0 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: THE BLOG 06/16/2015 11:41 am ET | Updated Dress Code? Spandex · child wanted to come in pajamas, that was fine. “Pajamas?” asks my daughter, “What are they thinking?” Of

E D I T I O N

US

NEWS POLITICS ENTERTAINMENT LIFESTYLE IMPACT VOICES VIDEO ALL SECTIONS

T H E B LO G 06/16/2015 11:41 am ET | Updated Jun 16, 2016

Dress Code? SpandexBy Pia de Jong

— Illustration by Eliane Gerrits

Hairdressers and limousines, tuxedos and evening gowns, proud fathers and crying mothers, meetings with lawyers. A

wedding? No, it’s the primal source of stress in American life: the high school prom. Here are clumsy 18-year-olds

pretending to be loving couples, photographed in front of magnolias and azaleas, defenseless targets of the romantic

projections of their parents.

But if high school can be hell, luckily there is the purgatory of middle school. In this hormone-free zone for two blinks

are children between 11 and 14, still in their wonder years. The playful atmospherics of middle school are a kind of soft

introduction to the rigors of high school. Here kids learn the chemical reactions of photosynthesis by singing a happy

song. Or the history of Mesopotamia becomes a friendly travel guide. They still draw and paint and play with clay. My

daughter and her friends lose themselves in art projects that introduce them gingerly to the challenging material that

lies ahead.

In the Netherlands, my sons at the same age were thrown into the deep end right away, dispatched on a real survival

trip into a rugged wilderness or told to bicycle through Amsterdam at midnight. In America, my dear daughter copes

Page 2: THE BLOG 06/16/2015 11:41 am ET | Updated Dress Code? Spandex · child wanted to come in pajamas, that was fine. “Pajamas?” asks my daughter, “What are they thinking?” Of

with the threats of impending puberty with the protection of nurturing teachers and an occasional hug.

But the end of this stress-free idyll is already in sight. The transition to high school announced itself with a hard knock in

the form of the middle school prom. Fourteen-year-olds take this rite of premature passage very seriously. Boys make a

clumsy and excessive “promposal,” for example by risking their lives to hang a flag on the roof of the school. Girls come

home crying because they are either not asked—or asked by four guys at the same time. Guys get anxiety attacks over

the idea that they have to ask a girl, and girls shyly accept or not accept them. Parents find themselves suddenly writing

extortionate checks for dresses and corsages for little kids who still have bruises on their knees. In short, all the misery

of adult life is compressed into a single evening.

Last week, the school board happily solved it all. We got a letter saying that students should not worry so much. Having

an escort was not necessary, everyone could come, and it did not have to bankrupt the parents. On the contrary. If a

child wanted to come in pajamas, that was fine. “Pajamas?” asks my daughter, “What are they thinking?” Of course not.

She wants a party dress, preferably as short as possible.

A few days before the prom comes another letter from the school, this time with a new heading: Revised Dress Code. It

is now required to wear Spandex. I had never heard of Spandex. But I now know it means if you look under a skirt, you

see not much of a bottom or much of anything else compromising, for that matter.

The night of the prom, my daughter and her friends stand before the mirror, modeling their dresses for each other and

making quite a dent in my makeup drawer. Then, giggling, they pull on their Spandex pants. But the mystery to me is

still ...Why Spandex?

It’s 7 P.M., time for the party. The first date of my daughter’s life is standing on the sidewalk. A shy boy wearing a tie and

holding a bouquet of flowers. An hour later, my daughter sends a selfie from the prom. Along with the other 14-year-

olds, she is on an inflatable Bouncy Room in the gymnasium. High in the sky, somewhere in that elusive moment

between childhood and adulthood, between heaven and earth, they float in their too-short dresses. Or, rather, in their

Spandex underpants.

Pia de JongNovelist and columnist

MORE:

High School Prom Spandex Dress Code School Dress Code Middle School

You May Like by Taboola Sponsored Links

Truthfinder People Search Subscr ipt ionTruthfinder People Search Subscr ipt ion

Credit .com Credit Card OffersCredit .com Credit Card Offers

Just Type in Your Name, Wait 10 Seconds, Then Brace YourselfJust Type in Your Name, Wait 10 Seconds, Then Brace Yourself

Top-Rated Cash Back Card Gives You Mind-Blowing EarningsTop-Rated Cash Back Card Gives You Mind-Blowing Earnings

Chicago: This Meal Service is Cheaper Than Your Local StoreChicago: This Meal Service is Cheaper Than Your Local Store

Page 3: THE BLOG 06/16/2015 11:41 am ET | Updated Dress Code? Spandex · child wanted to come in pajamas, that was fine. “Pajamas?” asks my daughter, “What are they thinking?” Of

SUGGESTED FOR YOU

Report: Michael FlynnAsked For Immunity InExchange For TestifyingOn Trump’s Russia Ties

This Supreme CourtFight Is MakingSenators Sad At WhoThey Have Become

Sean Spicer GivesBizarre Non-Denial OfNews Story That SaidWhite House SourcesHelped Devin Nunes

Trump Threatens To‘Fight’ Freedom CaucusIn Midterms If TheyDon’t Fall In Line

Mike Pence BreaksSenate Tie To AllowStates To DefundPlanned Parenthood

WHAT’S HOT

Donald Trump Aces KeithOlbermann’s Screening TestFor Psychopaths

Watch Dr. Pimple PopperRemove ‘Onions’ From A Guy’sBack (Gross)

Italy’s Paid Menstrual-LeaveBill Would Come With A BigCost To Women

Muslim Activist Reminds MenThat The Quran CommandsThem To Observe Hijab, Too

3-Year-Old Boy Hugs PoliceOfficer Eating Alone And It’sThe Sweetest Thing

The One Thing You ShouldAlways Do To Your DenimJacket

Trump’s Plan To Gut Legal AidWould Do The Most Damage InStates That Supported Him

Sean Spicer Makes Odd QuipAbout Russian Dressing,Twitter Claps Back

Home ChefHome Chef

Vogue | Ever laneVogue | Ever lane

QuickbooksQuickbooks

Scr ibolScr ibol

Angelina Jolie’s New Go-To Travel Shoe Is Surprisingly AffordableAngelina Jolie’s New Go-To Travel Shoe Is Surprisingly Affordable

Quiz: What’s Your Accounting Style?Quiz: What’s Your Accounting Style?

After This Old Man Drops His Groceries, Mom Cries When She Realizes It’s A TrickAfter This Old Man Drops His Groceries, Mom Cries When She Realizes It’s A Trick