In countries all around the world students who are graduating from their
upper-secondary schools have their own graduating rituals to
celebrate the "end of an era", the transition from school into continuing
education or working life. Many of these rituals are highly traditional,
and include procedures and expectations that last year after year. Yet
there are also changes over the years, especially in the modern era of
media globalization, when new ideas can easily be acquired from other
cultures and adapted to one's own.
This paper examines two similar upper-secondary school rituals, the
American senior prom and the Finnish senior dance. These two events are
similar in that they are both formal dances, with decades-long traditions
in their respective cultures. However, the rituals also have their
differences, especially in their substance and objectives, as well as the
"level" of students participating. There are also differences in how the
events are treated in the media: while the American high school prom has
been featured in countless films and television series, and is therefore
also internationally recognized, not many people outside Finland will know
about the Finnish senior dance.
Throughout the world, young people want to be "modern"; they frequently
adapt aspects of similar rituals from other countries into their own if
the "other" cultures seem more exciting, trendy or fashionable than their
own (for an illustration of such influence on another topic, see Sanna
Hakulinen's paper on Wedding Traditions in
Finland and the United States). Has this happened with the Finnish
senior dance?
What is the tradition of the Finnish "senior dance"? What is the
American "senior prom", and how does it differ from the Finnish senior
dance? Have Finnish students been influenced by media images of
American proms, and adapted some of their practices into their Finnish
dance? Is the image of the senior prom portrayed by U.S popular media
realistic?
This paper addresses all these questions via reviews of both the
Finnish and U.S rituals and an analysis of answers to April 2010 web
questionnaires on their respective dances from both Finnish and American
students.
Overview of the Finnish Senior Dance
Although the name suggests otherwise, the Finnish senior dance is in fact
not an event for the graduating seniors of the Finnish upper secondary
school, lukio. Instead, the senior dance is actually an event arranged by
and for the second-graders of lukio — usually, students aged
seventeen to eighteen. The name senior comes from the fact that when the
graduating seniors — usually third-graders of the lukio
— leave the school mid-February in order to prepare for their
matriculation examination in March, the second-graders become the oldest
students of the school — seniors. In the Finnish lukio it is
a tradition for second-graders to celebrate their new position via the
senior dance.
History of the Finnish Senior Dance
The senior dance has been researched only a little, and it is not
quite clear how the tradition of the senior dance was first born.
According to an article by Eino Leino for the newspaper Kirkko &
Kaupunki, the tradition was apparently born in the 1920's or 1930's in
lukios in Helsinki. The first senior dances bore little resemblance to the
senior dances of today — in fact, for the first two decades the event
apparently didn't even involve dancing. According to Leino's article in
the beginning the senior dances were held only occasionally and only in a
few schools. The tradition began to spread in the 1950's, when dancing
also entered the picture. Up until the 1980's the dances were relatively
simple events. Students would wear old-fashioned clothes borrowed from
their parents or grandparents, and dance together such dances as waltz,
tango and polka. The dance took place in the afternoon in the middle of an
otherwise ordinary school day, and only lasted for an hour. After school
students would go for a cup of coffee with their friends to celebrate
their new position as school "seniors". In some schools senior dances
were not held at all, or avoided by the students as "snobbish" events.
In the 1980's the senior dance became more popular. According to
Tuulikki Alsta in Lukion Perinnejuhlat, a study from 1985 showed
that over 85% of the schools held the senior dance in some form. It was
also in the 1980's when the nature of the senior dance began to change
into what it is today. Instead of dancing traditional Finnish dances
together with their teachers and then going out for a cup of coffee after
school, students would rehearse old salon dances such as the Cicapo and
Polonese. The dances were then performed in front of an audience —
usually parents and other relatives — in a dignified manner.
Since the tradition of the senior dance is only about 50 years old, it
has not undergone great change over the years, apart from becoming more
lavish and expensive.
Today's Finnish Senior Dance
The senior dance of today is held annually in mid-February, when the
graduating seniors leave the lukio. Nevertheless, in lukios of today
preparations for the event begin as early as in November, when the
students who want to participate in the event attend a special senior
dance course, which is held by the schools. The course is a part of the
school curriculum and students are given credits for participating.
Participating in the senior dance or the senior dance course is voluntary,
yet every year most of the student population decides to attend.
During the senior dance course students are taught such traditional
dances as Pas D'Espagne, Viennese Waltz, Polonese and different
variations of tango. Also old American folk dances, such as the Salty
Dog Rag and Jiffy Mixer are very popular in the senior dances
of today, perhaps because they are easy and fun to dance. Students are
first taught a wide variety of different dances, out of which they later
choose the dances they like the most and want to perform in front of their
audience(s). Many of these dances are quite complicated, and the steps are
carefully honed. As the main idea of the senior dance is to act in a
dignified, grown-up manner, in addition to dancing students are also
taught such things as politeness and common courtesy — skills one would
traditionally have needed in a salon or a fancy ball.
Most students will already have a dance partner before attending the
senior dance course, although this would depend on the traditions of the
school — sometimes the students are paired as dance partners by the
teacher of the course. The emphasis of the senior dance is not on
socializing, but in the performance the participants wish to give to their
relatives and the members of the school. Therefore, most students do not
really place too much emphasis on who their dance partner is, so they
might simply ask their friends or classmates.
The dances are practiced for months before the senior dance. The day
of the senior dance is usually Friday, the day after the graduating
seniors have left the school, though some schools might decide to hold the
senior dance on two separate days: on Thursday evening with the parents
and other relatives as an audience, and then on Friday morning for the
members of the school. Depending on school there might be multiple
performances, for example for day care children or the elderly in old
people's homes. The dance performance usually lasts for about an hour, and
includes eight to ten different dances. In addition to dancing, the
students might also perform some songs. Traditionally these are old
Finnish folk and pop songs.
When the dance part of the senior day is over, it is time for
socializing. The customs vary between different schools, yet in most
schools students go out for a dinner in a nice restaurant that has been
booked beforehand. In the evening the might be an informal after-party.
These parties are arranged by the students themselves, and are not part of
the "official" senior dance. They are not supervised by teachers or other
adults. In fact, adults often disapprove of these parties as they usually
involve minors drinking alcohol.
Dress Code for the Senior Dance
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A typical dress for today's senior dance bears much resemblance
to a typical dress for the American prom.
Photo source:
Zazabella (vanhojentanssipuvut)
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The students wear formal clothes for the senior dance. When the
tradition of the senior dances became established in the 1950's, the dress
code for the event was "old-fashioned". In the original senior dances
students did their best to look like "seniors" — that is, "old
people" — and would borrow old-fashioned, sometimes even comical
clothes from their relatives.
However, the tradition has changed over the decades, and in today's senior
dances the aim is to look as "grown-up", elegant and dignified as
possible. For boys this usually means wearing a suit or a frock coat,
though the latter is much less common. Some boys may also wear
their regional costume.
1 For girls the dress code is
usually a full-length dress. Apart from that, designs vary greatly.
Ten years ago most dresses had long sleeves, but today that would be a
rarity. Instead, most dresses are sleeveless or strapless and are worn
with long satin gloves.
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Regional costumes can also be worn at the senior dance. These are the
costumes of the Kuopio region in Eastern Finland.
Image(s) source: Kansallispuvut.fi
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The early senior dances were very simple and cheap events. Clothes
were borrowed from relatives; there was no need for make-up or expensive
hairdos. The senior dances of today, however, are a different matter.
According to an article from 2007 in the website of
Kuningaskuluttaja (a television programme produced by the Finnish
Broadcasting Company, YLE), a girl's dress alone can cost from 200
to 700 euros. Renting a dress is not much cheaper; it, too, usually costs
around 250 euros. The costs for boy's suit were estimated to be 200 to 300
euros.
The results of a 2007 survey conducted in the Ounasvaara lukio in
Rovaniemi told that the overall costs for the senior dance might be even
500 euros per student (Kuningaskuluttaja). Naturally this depends
on each individual's choices. Should one be willing to borrow a dress from
a relative, for example, and ask a friend to do one's hair and make-up,
the costs could be even as low as 20 euros.
Background of the American Senior Proms
American senior proms have apparently not been widely researched eiher.
Therefore, the information available on senior proms in the web is mostly
"common knowledge" or information based on newspaper articles or
commercial websites. In the article published in the website of
Time magazine, Claire Suddath recaps the history of the prom,
telling the word "prom" is actually short for "promenade", meaning "the
formal, introductory parading of guests at a party." According to Suddath,
the prom has it roots in the simple co-ed banquets held in American
universities in the 19th century for each year's graduating class.
However, some commercial websites have also suggested that the origins of
the prom would lie in the debutant proms of the rich, the purpose of which
was originally to present a daughter of marriable age to society in order
to find her a husband.
The first mention of proms can be found in high school yearbooks in
the 1930's and 1940's. According to Claire Suddath, proms came into high
schools gradually between the 1930's and the 1940's due to a growing
teenage culture. At first proms were relatively simple, but in the 1950's
the nature of the event began to change due to a thriving postwar economy,
when students were increasingly wealthy enough to change the prom location
from school gymnasiums to more lavish and expensive places, such as hotels
and country clubs. Over the decades proms have become more and more
expensive, and are today often pictured in the popular media as the "most
important event in the life of a high school student".
Overview of Today's Senior Prom
The concept of the modern-day prom is quite established in the United
States. The senior proms are usually held in May or June before
graduation, although sometimes proms can be held also earlier in the
spring. Senior proms are usually arranged by the high school juniors for
the outgoing seniors. Traditionally proms take place in the school
gymnasium, but modern-day proms may also be held in a hotel ballroom or a
country club.
Traditionally the senior prom has been attended by couples. According
to Claire Suddath, in the past attending the senior prom without a date
was a "social suicide", but today proms can be attended by groups of
friends as well as couples. The "schedule" of the prom night is quite
simple. Usually senior proms include dancing, socializing and the crowning
of a Prom Court, although traditions may vary between different high
schools.
Although the prom itself is not a "formal" event, students are often
dressed in formal clothes for the event. For boys, typical attires would
include a dark suit, a light dinner jacket, a sport coat or a tuxedo. As
for the female students, possible dress styles would include a formal
gown, a cocktail dress or a party dress.
Senior proms can be very expensive events. Many high school students,
as well as their parents, seem to consider their senior prom as a
once-in-a-lifetime event that should be made memorable, no matter the
cost. The article Prom Night With All The Glitz, But Every Dollar
Squeezed in the website of the New York Times in May 2009 told
that many families are willing to give their children the perfect — and
expensive — prom night, even if the ongoing recession has weakened their
financial situation. Indeed, it was reported that many families chose to
cut back elsewhere in order to be able to pay for their children's prom
night.
In May 2009 the article New York Students Figure Out Ways to Cut
Prom Costs in the website of the NY Daily News estimated that
the overall costs of a senior prom for a single person can rise up to even
1,000 dollars. Of course, not every student will spend this much. Some
students choose to reduce the costs willingly, for example borrowin g
their parent's car instead of renting a limo, or renting a cheaper suit
instead of an expensive tuxedo. Prom costs depend greatly on the choices
of each individual student, as well as on one's high school.
An outline of the costs for a prom was provided in April 2004 by
USA Today. In their calculations transportation costs alone varied
between 90 and 1,500 dollars depending on one's willingness to spend. The
price for prom tickets could vary between 10 and 125 dollars depending on
the high school. The average cost for a boy's attire was 70-250 dollars,
whereas the price for a girl's dress could rise up to 500 dollars. Add
accessories, a fancy hairdo, a manicure, a pedicure, a dinner in a nice
restaurant, and it's no miracle that proms cost as much as they do.
Although prom night is supposed to be the night of great fun, for some
it can also be a night of great stress. Drinking alcohol in the prom is
forbidden. Nevertheless in many high school students feel peer pressure to
drink alcohol, try drugs or have sex on prom night. Prom night is often
described as a passage rite to adulthood, which may well be the reason why
students feel compelled to try drugs, sex or alcohol. According to a study
conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in March
2003, alcohol-related fatalities increase between the middle of April and
the middle of June — a time period also known as the "prom and
graduation season". However, there are many other possible reasons for
this increase in alcohol-related fatalities, one of them being the spring
season itself.
American Senior Proms in the Popular Media
Unless one has actually spent time in the United States or has
acquaintances there, the knowledge the average Finnish person has of
senior proms in the United States is most likely based on popular media,
such as films, books and television shows. Senior proms are portrayed in
countless films and television series, yet the picture of the prom they
convey is rather one-sided. Prom-related films, such as Mean Girls,
Never been Kissed and Ten Things I Hate About You, as well as
many others, have portrayed a rather dramatic picture of proms.
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In Mean Girls, Katy (Lindsay Lohan) reflects the importance of getting
elected to Prom Court.
Photo source: BBC
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One aspect of the prom that films and television series tend to
especially emphasize is the importance of being crowned Prom King and
Queen. Especially the crowning of the Prom Queen is often presented as a
matter of life and death. Young girls are shown arguing and plotting
against one another as they compete over the crown of the Prom Queen. The
message these films and television series seem to convey is that everybody
wants to be crowned Prom King and Queen. Getting elected to the Prom Court
is also often presented as a measure of popularity in high school.
In many films proms are shown as an event where everything culminates:
one's problems are solved and one manages to find one's source of
happiness as well as one's true love. Films, books and television
programmes also emphasize — perhaps exaggerate — the importance of finding
the "perfect" date for the prom. In popular media senior proms are often
portrayed as the ultimate "romantic" event, often to the point where it is
no longer realistic.
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In the film Never Been Kissed, Josie (Drew Barrymore), gets elected Prom
Queen, and finds her true love at the prom.
Photo source: Internet Movie
Database
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Apart from the importance of being elected to the Prom Court and
finding the perfect date, popular media also places great emphasis on the
material aspect of the prom. Especially commercial websites and teen
magazines picture proms as the most important event in a life of a high
school student — a night when everything should be perfect, no
matter the cost. These magazines and websites often promote the importance
of having the perfect prom dress, hairdo and make up — to the point
where, in the eyes of an outside looker, it seems that appearance is all
that matters at one's senior prom. Films and television series also
support this view by conveying stories about "ugly" people who on their
prom night magically change into spectacular beauties.
Popular media also portray senior proms as expensive and lavish
events. In films and television series, as well as teen magazines, proms
are shown to be held in hotel ballrooms and country clubs more often than
in "ordinary" school gyms. In these fictional stories high school students
also always ride a rented limo to the prom, as well as wear expensive
clothes.
In many films and books proms are also shown as a coming-of-age party
of sorts, including the presence of alcohol and sometimes drugs. Fictional
proms have also portrayed couples having sex for the very first time on
prom night, or teenagers (mostly girls) feeling pressured to have sex on
prom night. Websites and teen magazines also write about these matters,
encouraging teenagers to think twice before drinking or having sex on prom
night.
It can be questioned to what extent this image of the senior prom
presented by the U.S popular media is realistic, and to what extent it
has been exaggerated or "dramatized" to make a fictional story more
entertaining.
Influences of the U.S Prom Apparently Taken into the Finnish Senior
Dance
It has been argued that the Finnish senior dance of today has adapted
aspects of the rituals of the American prom. In Leino's article on the
history of the senior dance researcher Jere Jäppinen states that today's
Finnish senior dance has been influenced by images of the American prom
from U.S. television series. Jäppinen is not the only one to make this
claim. The apparent influence of the American prom — or the image of
the American prom as it has been pictured by U.S popular media — is
brought into discussion every year, with adults often critizing today's
senior dance as increasingly resembling to its American counterpart than
the original Finnish dance. While this is most likely exaggeration, it
does seem like some traditions of the American prom have been adapted to
the Finnish senior dance.
One American prom tradition that clearly seems to have influenced the
Finnish senior dance would be the dresses. While the aim of the senior
dance originally was to look truly "old", and also slightly comical, it
seems that the tradition has been replaced with the aim to look as
beautiful and elegant as possible. Students no longer wear old-fashioned
clothes to their senior dance, but instead wear suits and evening gowns
worth gala events. Especially the dresses of the girls look very similar
to those worn by girls at the U.S proms.
According to the Kuningaskuluttaja article appearances have
become an increasingly important part of the senior dance — perhaps
sometimes even more important than the tradition itself. In the early
senior dances girls were not as concerned over their make-up and hairdos,
but times have changed. Today many female students want a professional to
do their hair as well as their make-up. In addition to that, many students
also want to have a manicure and pedicure before the senior dance. Some
even go as far as going to a solarium in order to have a "perfect tan".
Although it cannot be proved for certain where this habit has its
roots, it has often been argued that this, too, is a sign of the influence
of the U.S senior prom. In the U.S proms presented in the popular media
students attending the prom are often overly concerned about finding the
perfect dress and looking spectacular on their prom night. Popular media
— mainly films and television series — also show the students
attending the prom looking like models straight from the catwalk, which
might also be a source from which Finnish students have got their
inspiration.
It can also be questioned whether the willingness to spend money on the
senior dance has been influenced by the U.S senior prom. The early senior
dances were simple and cheap events, but today many students - as well as
their parents — seem to be willing to pay great sums of money in
order to have the "perfect" senior dance experience. Some have criticized
the senior dance, saying it is turning into a tradition of unrestrained
consumerism. It has been suggested that this willingness to spend
originates from the media portrayal of the American prom.
The proms pictured in different films, television series and books are
often "expensive" proms that are held in hotel ballrooms or country clubs.
Students often ride a limo to these lavish proms, and wear
expensive-looking clothes that few real-life students could afford. It is
possible that this image has affected the Finnish senior dance, turning it
into a more expensive event. One indication of this would be in a February
2009 article in the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat where it was
reported that the latest craze among lukio students in Helsinki is to rent
a limo for the senior dance — just like popular media suggests it's
done on prom night in the United States!
Overview of Research Conducted for the Paper
In order to find current information on both the Finnish senior dance and
the American senior prom, two separate surveys were conducted in April
2010. The survey concerning the Finnish senior dance was aimed at Finnish
lukio students, both current and former, who had participated in the
senior dance. The survey concerning the American senior prom was aimed at
Americans who were either currently studying in high school or had
recently graduated. Both of these surveys were online from April 15th to
April 24th.
The respondents of the Finnish survey were gathered from three
different web sources: webforum Vuotava Noidankattila,
Facebook and Vuodatus, a server that hosts blogs. These
three were chosen due to their popularity and broad age structure of the
users. The link to the Finnish survey, as well as a request to participate
in the survey, was posted to these three sites. The American respondents
were contacted by the professor supervising the paper, who sent requests
to participate to present and past high school students who had also been
invited to respond to a survey conducted two weeks earlier by Rosamaaria
Perttola on Images of Popularity in U.S. High
School Movies.
The aim of the Finnish survey was to gather information on the senior
dance of today. What are the senior dances of today like? How important is
it for students to participate? What do students wear for the senior
dance? How much does the senior dance cost? How much did these Finnish
respondents know about the American senior prom? The survey was conducted
to find answers for these questions.
The survey, with thirteen questions to be answered anonymously, was
open to all Finns who had participated in a past senior dance, or were
planning to do so in the future. However, the respondents were asked about
their age and the year they had participated in the senior dance. The
survey was responded to by 52 Finns (with the assumption that all were
Finns being made on the grounds that both the questions and the responses
were in Finnish). All respondents had already participated in the senior
dance in the past. The respondents were from different lukios from all
parts of Finland.
The purpose of the American survey was twofold. Firstly, the aim of
the survey was to find out whether the image of the American senior
prom projected by the popular media is realistic. Secondly, should one
assume that this image is not realistic, then what is the reality? The
survey was written in English and included 20 questions. The respondents
were asked about their gender, their high school class (or, alternatively,
their year of graduation), and their feeling about the importance of
attending their senior prom, as well as questions about what the prom
included in their high school. There were 17 respondents to the survey, of
whom 16 (from the same school in California) had not yet attended their
senior prom. The other response (who had attended her prom) was from
Missouri. All answers were anonymous.
Survey of the Finnish Senior Dance
Question 1: Gender
The purpose of this question was to show the gender distribution of
the survey group, as well as to have a possibility to compare the answers
between the two genders.
Out of the 52 respondents, 10 were male and 42 were female. Although
the female respondents were clearly a majority, it is not likely that this
result is an indicator of the gender structure of the students who attend
the senior dance; usually the numbers of male and female students
participating the senior dance are very close to each other.
Question 2: Year of Participation
The respondents were asked which year had they taken part in the
senior dance. This question was asked in order to be able to determine
which "trends" of the senior dance are current and which are older.
All of the 52 respondents had participated the senior dance between
the years 2002 and 2010. Only 2 of the respondents participated the senior
dance in the year 2002, none participated in 2003, 5 participated in 2004,
2 participated in 2005, none participated in 2006, 6 took part in 2007, 9
respondents in 2008, 10 in 2009 and the majority of 18 respondents in
2010.
Assuming all of the respondents had taken part in the senior dance on
their second grade in lukio, the age of the respondents would be between
18 and 26 years. Therefore the survey could only provide information about
the recent senior dances. Based on the results of the survey it was not
possible to estimate how the "trends" of the senior dance have changed
over the years.
Question 3: Importance of Participating
The respondents were asked to estimate how important it was to them to
attend the senior dance on the scale of "very important", "important",
"not important, but I still attended". When asked to estimate this, the
majority of the respondents (28 respondents) answered "important", 11
respondents answered "very important" and the remaining 13 respondents
answered "not important, but I still attended". This would indicate that
for the most respondents participating the senior dance is at least
somewhat important.
There was a clear breakdown by the gender; the female respondents were
clearly more eager to participate. Nevertheless, it should be noted here
that the percentage of the female respondents was much larger than that of
the male respondents, which may have influenced the results. There was no
clear difference in the results between different years of participating.
When asked to give reasons for why participating the senior dance was
or was not important to them, many of the respondents told they took part
in their senior dance, because it was a chance to spend time and have fun
with one's peers. However, the majority (30 of 52 respondents) also
mentioned "the chance to look beautiful" and "the chance to stand at the
spotlight" as one of their main reasons for participating.
Notably many of the female respondents regarded their senior dance as
their one chance to wear a spectacular dress, look dignified and
beautiful, and to be admired by other people. This would be clearly a
change from the original senior dance, where the idea was to look truly
old instead of beautiful. Secondly, this would also indicate a difference
between the male respondents and the female respondents, as the male
respondents did not mention looks as their reason for participating.
Question 4: What Did One Wear at the Senior Dance?
The respondents were asked what kind of attire they had worn at their
senior dance. They were also asked whether they would describe
their choice of attire as more "old-fashioned" or "modern". This was asked
in order to be able to determine the dress code of today's senior dances.
Of the 10 male respondents who participated in the survey, 9 said that
they wore a dark suit, with only 1 respondent having worn a frock coat.
This would support the view presented by the articles cited in this paper
that a dark suit is the most common choice of attire for boys, whereas a
frock coat would be more of a rarity, and regional costumes would only
seldom be seen. However, since the number of the male respondents was low,
the results of this question cannot be generalized to the whole
population. None of the male respondents described their choice of attire
either as "old-fashioned" or "modern".
A vast majority of the female respondents (39 of 42) described the
dress they wore at the senior dance as "modern" or "quite modern". Only 3
of the respondents described their dress as either "old-fashioned" or
"quite old-fashioned". All 42 respondents said they wore a full-length
dress at their senior dance. This, too, would support the view that
especially girls' dresses at the senior dance are becoming more and more
modern as the years go by. It is possible that this aspect has been
influenced by the image of the U.S senior prom.
Question 5: Type of Transportation Used For the Senior Dance
The respondents were asked what kind of transportation they had used
for their senior dance. The options were "one's own car or a car borrowed
from one's parents or friends", "a bus", "a limo" and "other". If the
respondents had chosen "other", they were asked to specify what kind of
transportation it was.
Out of the 52 respondents, a majority of 44 stated they had taken a
bus at their senior dance.2 Six of the respondents told
they had rented a limo for the senior dance, and two of the respondents
told they had driven their own car or someone else's car.
Since the majority of the students who participate in the senior dance
are 17 years old and therefore do not yet have a driver's license (in
Finland people under 18 years old are not allowed to drive a car), driving
one's own car at the senior dance would be a rarity. However, it would
seem that Helsingin Sanomat was at least partially right when
reporting about lukio students who rent a limo for their senior dance.
According to Helsingin Sanomat this tradition is rather new and is
mostly done by students living in the city of Helsinki.
Question 6: The Importance of the Dance Partner
How important is it for lukio students to have the "right" dance
partner at the senior dance? The respondents were asked to determine this
on the scale of "important", "not important" and "somewhere in between".
The answers were divided quite evenly. A small majority of 20
respondents were between "important" and "not important" with regards to
the importance of having the "right" dance partner. Sixteen of the
respondents felt that choosing the dance partner was "important", and the
remaining sixteen felt it was "not important".
The respondents were also asked on what basis they had chosen their
dance partner. Most of the respondents (35 of 52) said they either
asked or were asked by a good friend or a classmate, five
said they danced with a current boyfriend/girlfriend, eight had simply
asked someone who did not yet have a dance partner, and the remaining two
said that in their lukio students were paired into dance partners
by the teacher of the senior dance course. Many people explained their
choice of dance partner by saying they wanted to dance with someone they
felt comfortable with and could talk to. Some female respondents also
told they wanted to find a dance partner who would be taller than them.3
The survey indicates that the Finnish senior dance is not seen as a
"romantic" event by the lukio students. Although the American senior proms
are often presented as a night of ultimate romance by many popular media,
at least this aspect does not seem to have influenced the Finnish senior
dance.
Question 7: The Costs of the Senior Dance
According to the newspaper articles cited in this paper, the costs
of today's senior dances can be high. In order to confirm the accuracy of
these articles, the respondents were asked to estimate the overall cost of
their senior dance experience.
The biggest estimates provided by the respondents were as large as
1,000 euros. However, amounts this large were provided only by 3
respondents. The average costs were considerably lower; a majority of 30
respondents told their senior dance experience had cost from 300 to 400
euros. Four of the respondents estimated their senior dance had cost from
500 to 600 euros, 9 of the respondents said they had spent 200 to 300
euros on their senior dance experience, and 6 respondents said that their
senior dance experience had cost less than 100 euros.
The results would indicate that the amounts of money spent on the
senior dance do indeed vary a lot depending on each individual's choices.
However, it should also be noted that the sums presented are considerably
large when compared to the costs of the original senior dance in the
1950's, the costs of which were usually nonexistent. Therefore it would
seem that the newspaper articles were indeed correct when reporting the
high costs of the senior dance.
Question 8: Knowledge About the American Senior Prom
At the end of the survey the respondents were asked to estimate how
much they knew about the American senior prom. They were also asked to
state what they felt their knowledge was based on.
According to the survey, 50 out of the 52 respondents felt that they
had little to no knowledge about the American senior proms, and the
remaining 2 respondents felt they knew in their own words "some things"
about the senior prom in the United States, yet still did not have a whole
picture of the event.
When asked how they perceived the American senior prom, 16 respondents
described the event as "expensive". Many respondents also described the
event as "dramatic", apparently based on the dramas linked to the senior
prom in different films and television series. Most (15) of the
respondents who answered this question also knew that proms include
dancing and the crowning of a Prom King and Queen, which was seen as perhaps
the most important event of the prom night. Especially the election of the
Prom Queen was seen as a dramatic event, and in many answers it was
pointed out that girls seem to really argue over the crown.
Other than that, 9 respondents described the senior prom as a rather
informal event, where one can have fun with one's peers. One respondent,
who had acquaintances who had attended a prom, also pointed out that the
students attending the prom seem to get a lot attention from the media.
Out of the 52 respondents, only 20 described the senior prom in some way.
Therefore it would seem that the respondents did not know very much about
American senior proms.
When asked what their picture of the senior prom was based on, all of
the 52 respondents referred to popular media, e.g. films, television
series and books. Five out of 52 also mentioned teen magazines, such as
Seventeen, as their source of information.4 Based on this it would seem that the image
these respondents had on the American senior prom was indeed based on the
popular media instead of the reality.
The American Survey
Question 1: Gender
Similarly to the Finnish survey, the 17 people who responded to the
American survey were also asked about their gender. Six of the 17
were male and 11 were female. The one who had actually attended her senior
prom was female.
Question 2: Level of Studies
The respondents were asked to determine whether they were high school
freshmen, sophomores, juniors or seniors. If the respondent was no longer
a high school student, he was asked to fill in the year of his graduation.
This was asked to be able to determine the age group of the respondents,
as well as to be able to compare the answers between current high school
students, recent high school graduates and those, who perhaps graduated
from high school a longer time ago.
The vast majority of the respondents (16 out of 17) were currently high
school seniors and at the time of the survey had not yet attended their
senior prom. Only one respondent had already graduated from high school
(in 1975), and had attended her prom.
Question 3: High School Location
The purpose of this question was to be able to compare prom traditions
between different high schools and states, as well as prom traditions in
metropolitan areas versus small towns.
Apart from one respondent, however, all 16 respondents studied in the
same high school in Cupertino, California. The high school of the
remaining respondent was in Boonville, Missouri.
Since the number of respondents was so low, and nearly all of the
respondents were from the same high school, it was impossible to compare
prom traditions between different high schools.
Question 4: Prom Location
In nearly all prom-related films and television series senior proms
are held in hotel ballrooms, country clubs and other expensive locations.
In order to be able to determine whether this picture is realistic the
respondents were asked about where their senior prom was held or was going
to be held.
The 16 respondents from the California high school said their senior
prom was to be held in a country club, referred to by some respondents as
an "Athletic Club". The respondent from Missouri said her prom had been
held in school gymnasium.
Question 5: The Importance of Attending the Prom
The respondents were asked to estimate how important it is/was to them to
attend their senior prom on the scale of "very important", "important",
"not important, but they still attended / were going to attend" and
"didn't / weren't going to attend".
Out of the 17 people who took part in the survey, 2 respondents told
they either had not attended their senior prom or were not going to
attend. When asked how important it was to attend to those who had either
done so or planned to do so, 7 respondents described attending as "very
important", 3 respondents as "important" and 5 people as "not important"
(yet they had still attended or were going to do so). The one respondent
who had already graduated stated she had found attending "very important".
The respondents were also asked why attending or not attending the
prom was important them. Many of the respondents felt that the prom is a
once-in-a-lifetime-event, and therefore one should make the most of it.
Some respondents also felt that the prom heightened class unity, since
almost everyone would attend. Some respondents also siad that, for them,
the prom was a "chance to have fun with one's friends" and "a chance to
dress up and dance". There were also 3 respondents who felt that attending
the prom was not at all important to them, but they had decided to attend
anyway, so they would not later on regret their decision not to.
The one respondent who had already graduated said attending had been
something students back then had looked forward to for years, for it was
the first "real grown up thing" in the 1970's.
Question 6: What Does One Wear at Prom?
The respondents were asked to describe what males and females
typically wore at the prom in their high school. The choices for males'
clothes were "dark suit", "sport coat", "tuxedo", "dinner jacket" and
"other". The options for females' dresses were "formal gown", "cocktail
dress", "party dress" and "other". If the respondents had answered
"other", they were asked to specify what the choice of clothes was.
As for male students, a vast majority of 15 respondents siad that a
tuxedo would be the most typical choice of attire for boys in their high
school. Only 2 of the respondents chose "dark suit" as the most usual
choice of clothes. The respondent who had participated in the senior prom
in 1975 stated that also back then a tuxedo would have been the most
typical choice of clothes for boys at prom.
When asked what females usually wore for the senior prom in their high
school, a small majority of 9 respondents chose "formal gown" with 7
respondents choosing "party dress" and one respondent choosing "cocktail
dress". The one respondent who had already graduated said a formal gown
was most common type of dress in her high school in the 1970's.
Question 7: Transportation Used on Prom Night
In senior proms presented in popular media high school students
usually rent a limo for their senior prom. In order to find out how
realistic this image is the respondents were asked about the means of
transportation they had used or were planning to use on prom night. The
choices were "one's own or one's parents' or a friend's car", "rented
limo" and "other, what?"
Out of the 17 respondents, a clear majority of 14 respondents told
they either had rented or were planning to rent a limo for their prom,
whereas only 2 of the respondents told they had used or were planning to
use their own car or someone else's car. The one respondent who had
already attended the prom said she had used her parents' or a
friend's car on prom night. One respondent did not specify what kind of
transportation he or she was planning to use.
It should be borne in mind with the above responses that the majority
of the respondents were from a high school in California's affluent
Silicon Valley region, and therefore would perhaps be more easily able to
rent a limo for the prom than the students of an "average" American high
school.
Question 8: Prom Dates
Is it common for singles to attend proms these days? The respondents
were asked whether they thought this would be common in their high school.
In addition to this, it was also asked whether the respondents did have a
date for their senior prom.
A majority of 11 respondents felt it would be normal for singles to
attend the prom in their high school, whereas 6 of the respondents felt
this would not be common. When asked whether they did have a date for the
senior prom, 10 of the respondents answered yes, whereas the rest of the 7
respondents told they didn't. This would indeed support the view that in
the senior prom of today it is normal for students to attend the prom
without a date, event if the majority of the students would have dates.
Also, it should again be noted here that the majority of the respondents
were from one high school, and therefore the results of the survey cannot
be generalised for the whole population.
Question 9: Prom Court
The respondents were asked whether a Prom Court was chosen in their
high school. If a Prom Court was chosen, they were also asked to tell how
the members of the Court were chosen. In many films and television series
getting elected to the Prom Court is presented as a sign of supreme
popularity in high school. Therefore the respondents were also asked
whether they felt that getting elected to the Prom Court would be a
measure of overall popularity in their high school.
The 16 respondents from the high school in California told that in
their high school no Prom Court was chosen at the prom. The respondent
from the high school in Missouri said that when she had attended the prom
in 1975, there had been no Prom Court, but in the senior prom of today
there is one, the members of which are elected by the student body.
When asked whether they felt that getting elected to the Prom Court
would be a measure of popularity, 2 of the respondents answered "yes",
whereas 3 of the respondents answered "no". However, the majority of 12
respondents did not have an opinion on the matter, but merely stated that
no Prom Court was chosen in their high school.
Question 10: Prom Night Peer Pressure
In order to determine whether students are indeed pressured to try
alcohol, drugs or have sex on prom night, the respondents were asked to
give their opinion on whether they felt that sex, drinking or drugs would
be common or "expected" in their high school or in nearby schools.
Out of the 17 respondents who answered the survey a majority (11) felt
that prom pressure did not exist in their high school or in nearby
schools. However, 6 of the respondents, among them the one respondent who
had already attended the prom, did feel that students would be expected to
try alcohol or drugs or have sex on prom night, which would indicate that
prom pressure does indeed exist at least to some extent. All 6 respondents
who felt that prom pressure did exist were females. Therefore it would
seem that female students might be more likely to feel prom night peer
pressure than male students.
Question 11: Prom Costs
In popular media senior proms are often presented as very expensive
events, and the large costs of the senior prom are often reported in
different newspapers during the prom and graduation season. The
respondents of the survey were asked to estimate the overall cost of their
senior prom experience.
A clear majority of 11 respondents estimated the overall costs of
their prom night to be 150 to 300 dollars. Four of the respondents
estimated the overall costs to be even under 150 dollars, whereas only two
of the respondents estimated their senior prom would cost more than 300
dollars. Therefore it would seem that popular media has exaggerated the
high costs of the senior prom.
Analysis of the Results of the Two Surveys:
Conclusions from the Finnish Survey
The aim of the Finnish survey was to gather information on the Finnish
senior dance of today, and find out which aspects of the senior dance have
changed since the original senior dance in the 1950's. The results of the
survey would indicate that the senior dance has indeed undergone a lot of
change over the years. Whereas the original senior dance was a casual
event in the middle of the school day that was deemed "fun" yet not very
important in the eyes of the students, the senior dance of today is an
event that many students seem to highly anticipate
The majority of the survey respondents felt that participating in
the senior dance was at least somewhat important to them. Also the reasons
for participating seem to have changed over the years. The majority of the
respondents mentioned "the chance to look beautiful" and "the chance to
stand in the spotlight" as their main reasons for participating in the
senior dance. These reasons did not exist in the 1950's, when the main
idea of the senior dance was to have fun and pretend to be an "old person"
instead of a lukio student.
It could be argued that the senior dance has become more superficial,
which would be a clear change over the years. This change can be seen in
the dresses worn by the students. A vast majority of the respondents said
that the clothes they had worn at the senior dance were more modern than
old-fashioned. Many of the female respondents expressed concern over
finding the perfect dress for the dance, and looking as nice as possible
for the event. It is probable that this aspect has been influenced by the
U.S senior prom, for according to the surveys especially the dresses worn
by Finnish females at their senior dance were very similar to those worn
by American females at their senior prom.
An Interesting Finding With the Comparison of Costs
It is clear that the Finnish senior dance has become much more
expensive than the original event used to be. Many of the respondents told
their senior dance experience had cost many hundred euros, with the
highest costs rising even up to 1,000 euros.
It was interesting that when asked to describe what they knew
about the American proms, so many Finnish respondents described proms as
"expensive", although according to the two surveys the costs of the
Finnish senior dance tend to be higher than the costs of the American
senior prom, especially if one compares the income levels, taxation and
costs of living between the U.S. and Finland (the U.S. has higher income
levels, lower taxation and a lower cost of living than Finland, so the
same expenditure would be proportionately more 'expensive' in Finland than
in the U.S.), as well as the value of the euro versus the dollar (e.g. the
€1,000 costs reported in the paragraph above would have been ca.
$1,500 at the exchange rates prevalent for the costs cited in this paper).
Limos vs Cars (with a caveat); Influence of Popular Media
Although the majority of the respondents told they had used either a
bus or their own car or someone else's car as a means of transportation to
their senior dance, some respondents had indeed rented a limo, as
newspapers have reported. This is one tradition that has possibly been
adapted from the U.S proms to the Finnish senior dance, for in proms
portrayed by the popular media students do indeed often ride a rented limo
to the prom.
When asked how much they knew about the American senior prom, most
respondents felt they knew very little. The knowledge they did have was
mostly superficial and concentrated on the events of the evening, the
dresses and the "dramatic" side of the prom, as portrayed by popular
media. The respondents referred to films, books, magazines and television
series as their source of knowledge, which would indicate that if the
American prom has indeed influenced the Finnish senior dance, the
influence is based on the images conveyed by U.S popular media, not on
reality.
Conclusions from the American Survey:
Similarities With Media Portrayal, Yet Inadequate Data to Draw Valid
Conclusions
The results of the American survey would indicate that there are some
similarities between real-life proms and the proms displayed in different
films and television series. However, the results of the American survey
cannot be generalized to the whole population considering the very low
number of survey responses, and the fact that the responses came from only
two high schools in two states, with 16 of the 17 respondents not yet
having attended a prom.
More research would be needed to be able to acquire representative
information on the reality of American proms. At face value, the results
of the American survey for this paper would be highly misleading. For
example, when asked where their senior prom had been held or was going to
be held, all sixteen respondents of the California high school stated
their prom was going to be held in a country club, also known as an
"Athletic Club", whereas only one respondent told her senior prom had been
held in school gymnasium. While this may be be similar to the picture
often portrayed by popular media, it is cannot be considered
representative of the whole American — or even the whole Californian
— population. One suspects that having one's prom in the high
school gymnasium, as reported by the lone respondent from Missouri, would
be closer to the reality for the U.S. at large.
When asked about what one wore at their proms, the majority of the
respondents said that the most typical attire for male students would be a
tuxedo, and for a female student a formal gown, although the answers
concerning females' dresses included more variation.
The majority of the respondents stated they had either rented or were
planning to rent a limo for the prom, which again would correspond to the
image often conveyed by popular media. Again with this point, the data is
primarily from a single location that itself is not representative of the
entire U.S.
Singles vs Couples; Proms as 'Romantic' and 'Luxurious' Events
The majority of the respondents felt that it would common for students in
their high school to attend the prom without a date. Although the majority
of the respondents also said they did — or would — have a date
for their senior prom, the majority was rather small — 7 out of 17
respondents said told they did not or would not have a date for the prom.
This would seem to indicate that the popular media is exaggerating when it
describes the prom as a night of ultimate "romance". Also, when asked why
was attending the prom important to them, none of the respondents referred
to the event as a chance to have a romantic evening, but rather as a
chance to have fun with one's peers.
On the other hand, the one respondent who had actually attended a prom,
a 1975 graduate from Boonville, Missouri, said (see Appendices) that "my senior prom date is now my
husband" [of 32 years], which would certainly match how many popular films
have portrayed the 'romantic' significance of the prom.
As for the "expensive" and "luxurious" proms presented by different
films and television series, it would seem that this image has been
exaggerated as well. Although newspapers have reported about the large
sums of money proms have cost, the survey conducted for this paper would
indicate that the proms are not that expensive at all — the vast majority
of the respondents told the overall costs of their prom to be only between
150 dollars and 300 dollars. Thus it would seem that the media reports
only the "exceptional" costs of the senior prom.
Problematics of the Two Surveys
Both surveys were hindered by the small number of responses, especially
the American survey, and inadequate regional and chronological variation.
The main problem of the Finnish survey was the age structure of the
respondents. All of the respondents had participated their senior dance
between 2002 and 2010. Although the responses represented well the
participants of the senior dances of today, they did not provide any
information on the senior dances of earlier decades. Thus the survey did
not provide adequate data to compare present-day senior dances with those
of past decades, although the data did provide useful knowledge on today's
senior dances.
The American survey was hindered by overall data inadequacy. There were
only 17 responses, with only one of these having attended a senior prom;
the 16 others were from the same school, and none of them had yet attended
their prom, and thus had few personal experiences to share. Thus it was
impossible to reliably compare differences between schools in urban and
provincial areas, different geographical regions of the U.S., changes in
prom procedures and values over time, and several other of the original
research questions.
The question of the prom as a 'romantic' event was also left
intriguingly open due to the lack of responses. While those who had not
yet attended a prom felt it to be not particularly romantic, the one who
had (from 1975) had been married for 32 years to her prom date. Would
more responses from such 'older' prom participants have changed the
perception of proms as being 'romantic' events?
Potential Lessons From the Methodology
Yet a useful lesson might be learned from this methodological failure. The
idea to conduct a parallel U.S. survey to the Finnish survey had come from
the professor supervising the paper, as groups of respondents in
California, Missouri, Texas, and suburban Washington, D.C. had already
been identified for another paper being written for the same course on
concepts of 'popularity' in U.S. high schools. The web survey conducted
for that paper got 67 responses.
The professor felt the same groups might be willing to also respond to
the prom survey; further, this foundation could be supplemented by
appealing to two Facebook groups in order to get more 'past' prom
experiences, one of about 400 alumni of the Missouri school, and another
of an upcoming prom organizing committee. Thus an adequate number of
responses, with varied perspectives, would potentially have come from
students who were anticipating their prom, those who had attended a past
prom, and those who were organizing a current prom (and had also organized
past proms).
Timing and Topicality Are Important
However, this did not happen. The timing of the survey clearly seems
to have been problematic, as was the 'topicality' of the survey subject
for many potential respondents. Not only did the survey need to be
completed before many current U.S. high school students had attended their
prom, but it also was online at a time when, by coincidence, (a) many of
the current high school students in the target groups groups had week-long
spring breaks, while (b) others were already beginning end-of-term exam
periods or were heavily involved in end-of-school extracurricular
activities.
The American survey for this paper also appeared about two weeks after
the survey for the popularity paper; some potential respondents may have
been willing to complete one survey, but with all the other demands on
their time, after the two additional weeks had passed, a second may have
been "too much". Whatever the reason, there was only one response from
solicitations to the two Facebook groups that were contacted.
The sixteen responses from the same school in California that comprised
the data core for this survey came as a result of contacting a class
teacher who had then asked students in one of her courses if they would be
willing to reply. This personal contact was clearly sigificant; most
of the teacher's students responded to both student surveys. It seems
apparent from this experience that for future such surveys contacting a
teacher and arranging for his/her students to respond to the questionnaire
would be more fruitful than appealing in general to Facebook or other
'mass' audiences. This may also be done with a particular student in each
school whose 'responsibility' it would be to solicit other respondents.
Timing and topicality are also important; any high school student might
feel qualified to respond to a survey about popularity; in contrast one
might feel less qualified to answer survey questions about an event one
has not yet attended. Further, the results from both the Finnish and
American surveys might also suggest that respondents are no longer much
interested in talking about their 'senior dance' or 'senior prom'
experiences after a number of years have already passed since that was
timely in their lives. This may itself be a factor of 'lessened
topicality': proms and senior dances may seem significant for
17 or 18-year-olds who are about to complete secondary school, but after
they have entered adulthood the 'importance' of the prom experience may
quickly be supplanted by more significant adult experiences.
It is especially unfortunate that differences could not be compared by
geographic region or urban/provincial differences in the U.S. The senior
proms described by popular media are usually located in large metropolitan
areas and in "richer" areas. However, the majority of American high school
students go to small-town schools, where the senior prom experience may
be very different than the proms in large, wealthy, metropolitan areas.
It is these students in particular from whom data would be needed to
adequately answer the research questions posed for this paper.
Conclusion: Senior Dances Are Influenced by Images of the Senior
Prom
The research questions presented at the beginning of this paper were as
follows: What is the tradition of the Finnish "senior dance", and how has
it changed over recent years? What is the American "senior prom", and how
does it differ from the Finnish "senior dance"? How is the image of the
American "prom" portrayed by the popular media, and to what extent does
this picture correspond to reality? Is the Finnish "senior dance"
influenced by the media images of the American "prom"?
Based on the sources cited in this paper, as well as the two
surveys which were conducted, it is safe to say that the tradition of the
Finnish senior dance has changed over recent years. The originally simple
and low-key event has in recent years acquired a place in the spotlight
in the eyes of lukio students. The senior dance is awaited and
attended by many students, who regard the event as their one chance to
dress in spectacular clothes and look grown-up and dignified in the eyes
of their relatives and fellow school members. The focus of the event has
shifted from celebrating one's "seniority" in school by truly looking like
a senior citizen, to looking as beautiful as possible. This has changed
the event into a more superficial direction.
It would indeed seem that the Finnish senior dance has been influenced
by media images of American prom. Indications of this would be the growing
willingness to spend money on the event, the growing concern over
appearances and the time and money consumed in order to look "perfect" for
the event, the fact that the dresses worn by female senior dance
participants are beginning to look increasingly similar to those worn by
girls at the American proms, and the latest craze among some Finnish
lukio students in the Helsinki metropolitan area — renting
limos for the senior dance, just as high school students rent limos for
the prom in the proms portrayed by the U.S popular media.
Despite these similarities, if the Finnish senior dance has indeed
been influenced by the American proms, it would seem that the influence is
focused mainly on "material" things. The idea of the Finnish senior dance
still differs greatly from that of the American prom. The nature
of the Finnish senior dance is a formal show presented to relatives and
other school members, whereas the nature of the American prom is more
informal, with the purpose of the event mainly to celebrate one's upcoming
graduation by having fun and attending a party with one's peers.
Although the results of the survey concerning American proms are not
representative of the whole U.S. high school student population, the
results as they are would indicate that some similarities do indeed exist
between the fictional proms portrayed by the popular media and those in
real life. However, it would seem that these similarities exist merely
among "material" things, such as choices of prom location, prom attires
and transportation on prom night.
According to the survey it would strongly seem that popular media
have exaggerated and over-dramaticized the meaning of the prom in the lives
of high school seniors. According to the survey high school seniors do not
regard their senior prom as a matter of life and death, as it is often
presented in films and television series — indeed, not everyone even
attends their senior prom!
Instead, most high school seniors seem to consider their senior prom as
an event that is fun and that one gets to attend only once in one's life;
otherwise the prom is only considered as one high school dance among
others. High school students do not fuss over their senior prom or become
stressed over becoming Prom Kings and Queens — in some schools there
is no Prom Court! Nor do students attending the prom regard it as an event
where one can find one's true love and live happily ever after; rather,
they view it as a chance to dance and relax.
Based on the information above it would indeed seem that many aspects
of the American prom have been exaggerated and dramatized by the U.S
popular media in order to make a story more exciting and entertaining.
After all, who would like to watch a film about reality?
Notes
- Regional costumes are traditional Finnish costumes
worn on formal occasions. These costumes imitate the clothes worn in
different regions of Finland in the 18th and 19th centuries. Every region
of Finland has its regional costume, the colours and patterns of which
vary from one region to another.
- It is common in Finland that the lukio rents a
bus, as well as a driver, to drive students from one place to another
during the day of the senior dance.
- On average Finnish women are taller than most
European women, so in Finland it would be by no means self-evident that
boys would be taller than girls in lukio. In fact, since boys tend to have
their growth spurth later than girls, girls in lukio are often as
tall as, or even taller, than boys.
- Some American teen magazines can be bought from
some convenience stores in Finland. It is also possible to subscribe to
American teen magazines, and it is by no means a rarity that a Finnish
teenager would read these magazines.
Works Cited
Appendices
- Finnish Survey Questions (in
Finnish, PDF)
- Finnish Survey Example Answers
(in Finnish, PDF)
- American Survey Webform
- American Survey Example Answers
(PDF)
