Reflection Essay On Prom

I witnessed this mindset in my prom date during my senior year of high school, someone who does listen to this kind of music. All my friends, including my date, and I danced the night away, and I understood it to be an enjoyable night. However, the week following prom was filled with anger and bitterness towards me from my prom date. Apparently, he had thought I did not spend enough time with him the night of prom, and was resentful that we had not engaged in anything more after the dance. He made me feel as if I had owed him for buying my prom ticket, that he deserved something from me in return. And when I did not give him what he expected, he became irritated and offended, and made me seem like the one in the wrong. He still holds onto that …show more content…
Reflecting on my reaction to my prom experience, I noticed a change within my own mindset. If I had been in this situation with my previous mindset, I would probably have felt guilty and thought he was right, that maybe I did not give him enough. But now, I know that I did not owe him anything. Accepting his prom proposal does not mean that I need to engage in any “implied” activities after the dance. It does not mean that I agreed to fulfill all his wishes and fantasies of how prom night would go. It merely means that I would be his date at the dance, which I was. I feel that I am able to think this way now because more attention is being brought upon inequality and discrimination, especially with the feminist movement being mobilized once again. Girls are being taught not to accept this idealized view of women by men, and to not be submissive. The way we see ourselves and our roles in society are changing. And this is in large part due to the progressive messages contemporary media is portraying about …show more content…
In Parks and Recreation, the protagonist, Leslie Knope, is a very strong, independent woman who proudly calls herself a feminist and constantly shatters traditional gender norms. She serves as a figure of empowerment for female viewers in her intolerance for gender discrimination and fight for more female representation in politics. This kind of mentality transfers onto her husband, Ben Wyatt, who, when nominated for the same government position as Leslie, stepped down because he believed she would do a better job. In Modern Family, Claire Dunphy assumes the dominant role as she tends to get her way in the house, and Phil Dunphy, her husband, tends to submit to her views and parenting style, straying from the “Guy Code.” We can also see contemporary media attempting to change men’s gender norms as well by allowing them to let more of their emotions show. Many movies, such as Les Miserables and The Maze Runner, now incorporate scenes in which the leading men become very emotional, whether it be from confusion of self-identity or over a loved one’s death. These emotional men are still seen as highly masculine, demonstrating that men are allowed to be emotional as well. Contemporary media attempts to extend and complicate our society’s gender norms in