AllUpInYa: Julieahni: It's not about holding onto youth. It's about dressing up and having a little fun and raising money for charity. Some of you Farkers are a bunch of killjoys.

I'm wondering how many spent more on hair, make-up, clothes, and shoes than they gave to the charity...

Then you have too much time on your hands.

cowgirl toffee: I read that as "mom perms" and I had a horrible flashback to the 70's and 80's. O_o

And how bad the house smelled when your mom's friend gave her a perm in the kitchen.

FirstNationalBastard: morgantx: I miss GRACE and BEAUTY and CIVILIZATION!

/Where have all the ladies and gentlemen gone?


You miss a facade.

The ladies and gentlemen are where they always were... in fairy tales and novels.

On the one hand, yes, beauty and grace and civilization have been shaky at best as prevailing zeitgeists.

On the other hand, you do realize that "lady" and "gentleman" had particular definitions beyond "them fancy folk," right? And that overall society used to have much more stringent protocols of politeness and etiquette, for better or for worse?

/women even used to wear dresses, like, every day!
//the prettiest dresses and tuxes/suits were the purview of the upper class minority, sure, but not non-existent, jeeze

FirstNationalBastard: morgantx: I miss GRACE and BEAUTY and CIVILIZATION!

/Where have all the ladies and gentlemen gone?


You miss a facade.

The ladies and gentlemen are where they always were... in fairy tales and novels.

The gentlemen get friend zoned while the Ladies pump out crotchfruit with some abusive asshole.

So, they are doing something with the intention of it being silly, having fun and it's to raise money for charity and it get the sick tag?

I mean, there are drag shows for charity, there are all kinds of costumed themed dances for charity, why is this one getting so much hate? They even have a contest for the silliest dress or oldest dress or something to that effect. It's not like they aren't doing it knowing all the dresses are way out of style and look silly on them now. That's the joke people. They're just out having fun. You do remember what fun is, right?

You've gone out with your friends before and had a good time, been silly, made jokes at some point? Not everything has to be sophisticated. Some things are, and can be, but that's not what they were going for here.

They are being intentionally silly. OK? It's like trying to tell Steve Martin he's got an arrow going through his head. He Knows. Stop sending him letters...

DirkTheDaring: FirstNationalBastard: "They're for all women, not just Moms," said Mom Prom founder Betsy Crapps.

That is just an unfortunate name.

I mean, "Betsy"?

POOP THREAD ACTIVATE!

What's brown and rhymes with 'snoop'?

Weird, but being for charity gets them a pass in my book. They have a tackiest dress contest, so they must not be taking themselves too seriously.

Crapps, now there is a last name waiting to be changed... unless billionaire daddy war bucks said otherwise, of course.

FirstNationalBastard: morgantx: I miss GRACE and BEAUTY and CIVILIZATION!

/Where have all the ladies and gentlemen gone?


You miss a facade.

The ladies and gentlemen are where they always were... in fairy tales and novels.

Once upon a time, people actually treated other people with common courtesy. THAT is what we long for. And so yes, we do try to re-create this with the "trappings": the fancy dresses, the overblown formal manners, etc. But what we actually want is just a little common courtesy.

This one professor said something to the effect that when a mother corrects a son for chewing with his mouth open, she's likely to say something like, "Close your mouth when you chew. Nobody wants to see your half-chewed food." But in addition to teaching a specific table manner, she's teaching something far more valuable: Respect for other people. Where has this respect disappeared to? Why do we treat people so poorly?

I may not always remember to sit up straight and not slouch (I used to get into a LOT of trouble with my mom for this one!), and I may have to discreetly watch others at the table to remember which fork to use, but I at least have enough character and good manners to treat others with respect and common courtesy. When I'm talking with a retail or fast food employee, I say, "Please," and, "Thank you," and I SMILE at them; it's not about anything more complex than the idea that all human beings deserve a little courtesy. But there have been so many times that I have seen other customers treat those same employees rudely. Even back in the old days when people actually had "servants", a person who mistreated their servants was viewed by other civilized folks to be "ill-bred".

It's about treating other people the way you want to be treated.

/CSS to follow, if tl;dr, stop here:

I was recently in the DFW airport with my kids and we were riding the tram to go from one terminal to another. We ended up riding the tram three times because we had a long delay and we went over to the USO lounge to hang out for awhile. I had the 8YO & 10YO, a 2YO boy in a baby sling, and I'm very NOTICEABLY pregnant (I was about 28 weeks at the time of the trip). My older boys got onto the tram and first headed to one of the (very limited!) seats; I stopped them and told them absolutely NOT - that those seats are for the disabled people who really need them, not for young, able-bodied boys. I didn't sit in the seats, either; despite the baby in the sling and the pregnancy, I pretty much considered myself to be "healthy and young". But what ultimately DID upset me a bit was that on those subsequent trips on the tram, those seats were filled with young(er) people: college-aged kids tapping on their iPhones, middle-aged (NOT old - probably about late 30s) businesspeople tapping on their iPads, young people (about 20s?) just sitting there talking. And each time I got onto the tram, those people in the seats looked up as the doors opened. Not one time did anybody offer me their seat. I watched this elderly couple get on the tram (man hunched over, woman walking with a cane) and nobody offered their seat. The NEXT time I flew through DFW, I was 32 weeks pregnant with no little kids with me. I took one of the tram seats when I got on because the tram was empty, and then several of those healthy young people got on board and filled the other seats in the car. Then at the next stop, an elderly woman came on with an oxygen tank. I was the ONLY one who stood up to offer her my seat. 32 weeks pregnant, and *I* was the one offering my seat to the elderly disabled woman?

This is the problem I have with modern society. We're all so self-absorbed and selfISH that we never bother to demonstrate kindness, compassion, courtesy, and politeness to the people around us.

cowgirl toffee: WhippingBoy: What ever happened to "growing old gracefully"?

Most of these women aspired to look like this as teenagers...

[img252.imageshack.us image 148x216]

Did you really expect that to happen?

They wanna have fun.

That what the majority of women have become. Psychos, attention whores, land-whales. Or all three. Good going America.

Julieahni: AllUpInYa: Julieahni: It's not about holding onto youth. It's about dressing up and having a little fun and raising money for charity. Some of you Farkers are a bunch of killjoys.

I'm wondering how many spent more on hair, make-up, clothes, and shoes than they gave to the charity...

Then you have too much time on your hands.

We're on Fark.

extended adolescence is gender neutral

BurnShrike: We're on Fark.

Pincy: As long as they aren't wearing Mom Jeans.

I gotta ask - what is 'mom jeans'?

lanciepants: JackieRabbit: Let the moms go to their proms. We guys will stick with strippers and weed. Deal?

I know right? They're a bunch of adults having a good time and helping out some charities. I doubt most farkers would even know such things existed if the article hadn't been green lighted.

They're attention whores, who are stuck in their teen years and think they are special in some way. I help out charities without AWing. Want to have a formal night on the town? Charities have formal balls and other events all the time. I gone to more than my fair share of them over the years. Go to one. Getting dolled up and having an elegant night on the town can be a lot of fun. But wear age-approporiate attire.

Wellon Dowd: Here's a mom I'd take to the prom.

[i.imgur.com image 264x475]

AMEN TO THAT!!!!! YUM!

Buffet: Pincy: As long as they aren't wearing Mom Jeans.

I gotta ask - what is 'mom jeans'?

Let me google that for you...

WhippingBoy: Everyone is so narcissistically self-obsessed with how *they're* feeling, and what matters to *them*, that they've completely lost any semblance of empathy or compassion for those around them.

Not really sure how refusing to grow old gracefully makes the top of the "bad things self-absorbed narcissists do" list; at least with respect to clothing.

Now, sucking the marrow from third trimester aborted fetuses to keep wrinkles at bay, that'd be something.

The Wizard of Frobozz: Buffet: Pincy: As long as they aren't wearing Mom Jeans.

I gotta ask - what is 'mom jeans'?

Let me google that for you...

Thanks for very much for the clever approach to answering, but EEEEK!!
Gulp, I'm sorry I asked now. That's just foul!

Buffet: Pincy: As long as they aren't wearing Mom Jeans.

I gotta ask - what's in 'moms jeans'?

FIFY

Zukipilot: Buffet: Pincy: As long as they aren't wearing Mom Jeans.

I gotta ask - what's in 'moms jeans'?

FIFY

pork bellies.

But i don't wanna grow up! waaaaaaaah my tits are saggy

Deucednuisance: namegoeshere: I donated my old dress to the HS drama costume dept. Yeah, they mocked it heartily.

Here's a much more useful way to dispose of old prom dresses:

[www.hamilton.edu image 640x425]

Prom Dress Rugby!
[www.hamilton.edu image 640x425]
At my Alma Mater!
[www.nppa.org image 349x512]
Go Ham Coll RFC!

THAT"S BRILLIANT! Well except the Ham Coll part 8-D
Seriously how in hell did I miss this? That SU coach needs to be raked over the coals. It should have made the front page somewhere, no?
Thanks for posting this. That was entirely off the radar somehow.
SU '96 (yeah, later in life student-not really workin' out so far)

ph0rk: Zukipilot: Buffet: Pincy: As long as they aren't wearing Mom Jeans.

I gotta ask - what's in 'moms jeans'?

FIFY

pork bellies.

a whole lotta gunt

WhippingBoy: morgantx: This is the problem I have with modern society. We're all so self-absorbed and selfISH that we never bother to demonstrate kindness, compassion, courtesy, and politeness to the people around us.

This is *exactly* what I perceive to be the problem with the "mom proms", believe it or not. Everyone is so narcissistically self-obsessed with how *they're* feeling, and what matters to *them*, that they've completely lost any semblance of empathy or compassion for those around them. Growing old? That's for other people, not *me*, and to prove it, I'm going to relieve my youth through some event that I should have been done with 25 years ago...

How exactly is "empathy or compassion for those around you" an issue here? I'm not entirely following your train of thought... (Trying to be polite here because I think you have a point - I just don't entirely get it. Could you explain?)

They're doing it for charity. What's the big deal?

I really like how the last batch of comments is about these women's ideas and minds, as well as their charitable giving. And not, you know, merely about their appearance, as if that is the only valuable quality in a woman.

Seriously, is "they're not 18 anymore" the sum total of your objection to this sort of thing? What does that say about you?


/Not that I want woo girls of any age at a bar near me, ever.
//That's about them being woo girls, not what they look like.

BurnShrike: Julieahni: AllUpInYa: Julieahni: It's not about holding onto youth. It's about dressing up and having a little fun and raising money for charity. Some of you Farkers are a bunch of killjoys.

I'm wondering how many spent more on hair, make-up, clothes, and shoes than they gave to the charity...

Then you have too much time on your hands.

We're on Fark.

That is true, and I will take that into account.

I think it sounds like a great fundraiser. One of my favorite events at Gen Con used to be the "Buffy Prom" dance. And frankly, if you can fit into a prom dress, why not wear it again? Lord knows, you probably spent enough money on it. I think most women enjoy dressing up and going out; there just aren't that many opportunities for such anymore. I have a host of old prom and pageant dresses collecting dust in the closets, and would relish the opportunity to wear them again. Just because I'm the adult now, doesn't mean I have to spend the rest of my life in sensible suits and practical shoes. Every now and again, it's fun to don some lace and ruffles, and completely impractical footwear.

SpectroBoy: [images.sodahead.com image 328x240]

This sounds like a great idea to me. Hear me out.

You get a bunch of housewives together. They aren't feeling as pretty as they used to so you let them wear their old prom dresses to an event that serves liquor. Once there, they start to regress to how they imagined high school was for the pretty attractive girls.

Sounds like shootting cougars in a barrel to me.

[images.sodahead.com image 328x240]

I'm with you on this one. Rent out a special functions room at a hotel and the only thing left is the condoms, or subsequent aborted pregnancy, if that's what your HS prom turned into.

morgantx: Why can't we have a little sophistication in modern society? Just in general? A little class?

There is nothing classy about pretending you're in high school and having a bunch of eunuchs serve you. It's about as "classy" as men who go to strip clubs. Yes, "civilized" society has balls - these aren't balls. Besides, we're well outside of civilized society at this point - we have a nominee for president of the US that strapped his family dog to the roof of his car for a 12 hour road trip. We laugh at our exploitation of the entire planet - who here cares about the consequences of their actions, such as what was involved in the supply chain of the products you buy?

Btw, I'm not actually attacking them really - fine, whatever, they want to see if they still fit an ugly dress they wore as a kid. Just don't call it classy...it's not classy. It has nothing to do with being civilized, high-society, etc. They're putting on trashy dresses and getting drunk - again, about as classy as men going to a strip club.

That's not sick. That's whatever. Women with too much money grasp for straws as youth fades? Whatever. I wish them good luck with that and I hope they have fun.

Marcintosh: It should have made the front page somewhere, no?

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

It's the front page of the sports section of the Utica Observer-Dispatch, but yanno? Hamilton's a pretty small school.

WhippingBoy: morgantx: WhippingBoy: morgantx: This is the problem I have with modern society. We're all so self-absorbed and selfISH that we never bother to demonstrate kindness, compassion, courtesy, and politeness to the people around us.

This is *exactly* what I perceive to be the problem with the "mom proms", believe it or not. Everyone is so narcissistically self-obsessed with how *they're* feeling, and what matters to *them*, that they've completely lost any semblance of empathy or compassion for those around them. Growing old? That's for other people, not *me*, and to prove it, I'm going to relieve my youth through some event that I should have been done with 25 years ago...

How exactly is "empathy or compassion for those around you" an issue here? I'm not entirely following your train of thought... (Trying to be polite here because I think you have a point - I just don't entirely get it. Could you explain?)

My articulation is admittedly terrible.

Empathy/compassion is not an issue with respect to the actual "mom proms" themselves (they're merely a symptom). Rather the "cult of self" that causes people to deny that the natural aging process is happening to *them* (and thereby clamour for a "mom prom") also causes them to disregard others (e.g. "why should I give up my seat for an elderly person? Then *I'd* be inconvenienced).

I wish I could explain this better, as I think it's a legitimate point. (There's more than this than just me being an asshole).

I can kind of see where you're going with it... The idea that it's more important for ME to feel good about myself than to actually BE a good person?

That being said, the analogy you used, I think was a bit flawed... Part of the reason that I DO give up my seat on the tram, the bus, etc., is because I refuse to believe that I'm "disabled". I would think that it would be the opposite... That the women who run around saying, "I'm only 50! That's young!" would be MORE likely to give up their seat for an old person than the ones who say, "50 is REALLY old!"

That being said, this thread has done nothing whatsoever to restore my faith in humanity (and while I know this is Fark, sometimes that DOES happen in a rare Fark gem!).

morgantx: That being said, this thread has done nothing whatsoever to restore my faith in humanity

Really, Prom Dress Rugby doesn't give you a small glimmer of hope for Today's Youth?

I has a sad.

Mom Proms? Old and busted.

Bon Scott Balls for Charity and Fancy Dress? When those balls are held for pleasure, they're the balls that I like best. Have you seen the way they bounce to the left and to the right?

It's my belief that those type of balls should be held every night.

Wow, what a bunch of haters and arsewholes.

I would absolutely do this - sounds like a helluva durn good time. Find a Salvation Army gown for 20 bucks, dance my arse off for a good cause, Hells Ya!

And for the uptight youngsters - this is supposed to be campy. It's supposed to be making fun of the awful styles we used to wear back in the day - thus the Tackiest Gown award.

Sign me up and Fark-off, haterz!

Sorta off topic: You'll still see plenty of formal gowns and the like on cruise ships. Another occasion where most don't mind dress up a notch.

I just want to make sure that these same loser Farkers are making fun of all the Star Trek conventions. Talk about dress-up and holding onto something that hasn't been around for years.

morgantx: That being said, this thread has done nothing whatsoever to restore my faith in humanity (and while I know this is Fark, sometimes that DOES happen in a rare Fark gem!).

We haven't had a good misogyny thread in a few days. Some of the guys are suffering, they haven't had their six minutes of hate lately.

A while ago (actually about 10 years ago) a Lady friend asked me to be at her house when she helped her daughter get ready for "The Prom". After the obligatory pics and admonishments, the young girl left to go the his parents for more pics.

The woman in question reappeared in her "Prom Gown". Granted, it was a stretch for her to fit in it but....... It was classy and fun.

By the way, "Morgantx" sounds like classy LADY.

You don't suppose that we might be able to convince some of the child beauty pageant moms that this sort of thing is a better outlet for their nostalgia? This sort of thing could stand to do a lot of good.