With dance season rapidly approaching North Polk High School (NPHS), students begin to plan outfits, group outings and possibly who they may be taking as a date to share a slow dance with.
While one of the three main dances at NPHS, Homecoming, does not fall into the second semester along with Winter Formal and Prom, the Homecoming dance is much more casual than the glamorous spring dances.
A poll posted to the North Polk Communications Instagram questioned whether or not there was a pressure on students to have a date to said dances. The results showed a 63-37 percent disparity between the answers, with ‘yes’ being the minority.
Freshman Brianna Maserek expressed that while she is going to Winter Formal with her friends, she believes there is a pressure among students to have a date. She believes that this pressure is a stem of the pop-culture that has been consumed over the years, stating “in movies you always see the girl get the guy or the guy get the girl.”
Sharing the same sentiment, senior Hannah Drent explained that she believed the pressure came from both peers, as well as the normalization and/or pushing the narrative that one has to have a date for said dances.
Drent further added that even if one chooses to take a friend to a dance there may be assumptions of romantic interest either way.
“I feel like there is always a pressure whether it be from friends and or the movies that we grew up watching, but honestly I don’t think you need a date as long as you have friends, you will have a good time,” concluded Drent.
No matter the age group at the high school, it seems that there is a majority agreement of the stress placed on bringing a date to dances. With this pressure, though, there is also the understanding that even if one does not have a date per se, one is still able to have a good time at Winter Formal and/or Prom.
