Join the discussion.

Inklings News

Join the discussion.

Inklings News

Join the discussion.

Inklings News

Dances exaggerate gender differences

Dances exaggerate gender differences
Megan Root

The vibrant flames of candles flicker in a crisp breeze that rushes off the dark ocean. The waves embrace the shore and slink away, almost, but not quite, touching a marking in the sand.

Sprawled across the shore, awaiting a certain girl, reads, “Junior Prom?”

“I remember feeling excited,” Julia Woods ’14 said with a giddy grin, about how she was asked to junior prom.

Zac Polin ’14 recalled how he wrote his prom proposal on the inside of his car window.

As his potential date slid into the car, he rolled up the window slyly.

“Don’t worry,” he put his hands up defensively and added, “she said yes!”

From the asking process to getting ready for the big day, there are clear gender differences when it comes to dances.

From the start, girls seem to care significantly more than boys. As to why, Polin chalks it up to boredom.

“The prom itself isn’t fun,” he said dryly.

Lauren Raiffeisen ’14 gave a girl’s perspective saying, “I definitely think girls get more excited than guys because I know I love to get dressed up for different events.”

Guys don’t seem to be as meticulous in the preparation process. When asked how long it takes to get ready for the dance, Oliver Hickson ’15 said bluntly, “Ten minutes.”

When Olivia Jones ’15, who was sitting beside him, was asked the same question, her eyes diverted to the table and she paused. Quietly, with traces of embarrassment in her voice, she said, “Seven hours.”

This answer evoked a bright laugh from Hickson, who leaned forward and corrected her, “More like twenty four hours!”

A similar response occurred when Polin was asked what he did to get ready.

There was a long silence, and a puzzled look spilled across his face.

“I put on a suit,” Polin said with confusion lining his words, clearly not conceiving what else there could be for a person to do.

Chris Mckinney ’14 said similarly, “I bought my suit the day of the dance and was rushing out the door.”

Jones, being a girl, had a slightly different perspective.

“I woke up at 7 o’clock- I was so anxious- then I got my nails done at 10am and you’re trying to relax, but it’s so stressful,” Jones said. She looked up and chuckled softly, repeating,

“It’s just so stressful.”

This stress begins months before the actual dance.

“We, girls, start worrying about the dances really early – nearly five months beforehand,” Woods said.

Guys don’t think about for it nearly as long, with Polin saying, “We tend to think about it about two months before.”

While all the girls interviewed agreed that most girls loved dressing up for the dance, Lauren Raiffeisen ’14 added lightheartedly, “Guys are usually just excited for the after party.”

Mckinney acknowledges that girls worry more about getting ready for the dances, but he makes sure to add, admitting he is very sentimental, that dances are really all about “spending as much time with your friends as possible.”

Leave a Comment
More to Discover
About the Contributors
Grace McCarthy, Staff Writer

When Grace McCarthy ’16 moved from New Zealand less than a year ago, she had no idea that she would discover her passion and potential career in America; journalism.

McCarthy said that “living in America has really opened up a lot of doors [for her] to pursue [her] writing.” Back home, McCarthy’s high school didn’t offer a journalism class, so she eagerly signed up for the class at Staples.

In journalism this year, McCarthy likes to write features and reviews. McCarthy explained that because she is from another country, she writes differently and likes to cover topics from back home. For example, she wrote an article about how the earthquake in New Zealand, that happened in February 2011, impacted her. McCarthy puts a personal spin on the story’s angle, making it relatable to her audience.

The New Zealand newspaper “The Press” is delivered to her house every day, which allows her to keep up with everything happening back home.

Even though McCarthy enjoys her life in Westport, she can’t wait to go New Zealand and use her journalism experience.

McCarthy plans to move back to New Zealand with her family at the end of her junior year. Her goal is to go to Massey University of Wellington, New Zealand because they have a great journalism program that will help her pursue her passion.
Margaux MacColl, Features Editor
This summer Margaux MacColl ’16 was cliff jumping in Africa. As she was preparing to jump, she looked around and realized that of the 200 people on the cliffs, she was the only girl. MacColl was amazed at the societal gender differences compared to her lifelong home, Westport, CT. This, she says is why it’s important to travel. To MacColl it’s necessary to experience people with different values. At Staples, everyone has the same end-goal–college–so to be in another country allows her to understand a perspective that she may not have seen back home. MacColl has always wanted to be a writer, a familiar profession since mother writes novels, but MacColl appreciates the regular publication that is journalism. MacColl sees herself writing features for a magazine so that she can give a voice to the “different perspectives” she finds in her travels. In the same way MacColl likes to dive into dive into different cultures, MacColl also likes to dive into her story topics. In today’s society, she has noticed that you’re not going to read much in print that you haven’t already read online, so print journalism requires in depth research about the topic in order to find an intriguing angle. MacColl likes to find the heart of the news and find an emotional connection to it. Journalism is about “translating empathy through words.” It’s not the news story MacColl cares about, it’s about who was affected by it.  
Megan Root, News Editor
Megan Root ’15, never stops running, whether it is on the soccer field or chasing a story. She began her Inklings career her second half of junior year as a staff writer and has recently transitioned into a position as a news editor. Before Inklings she was an avid reader of the New York Times who loved politics and education. To Root, one of the main attractions of the paper was it gave her the opportunity to discover more about her school and community. “It gives you cover, you are not just a random person asking questions you are a reporter asking questions.” To Root the interview is the key to the story. After every interview she writes down all of the interesting quotes and pieces of information she took away. It is from this information that she tries to find the story. One piece she wrote that she believes best showcases her ability to do this is Genders split over weight-training. Although the story was originally supposed to be about how some teams were getting more time in the weight room than others, she discovered that the boys’ teams just wanted more time in the weight whereas the girls teams did not. Root has some personal experience with sports, as a varsity athlete and senior captain of the girls varsity soccer team at Staples. She says when she was about three years old her older brother, who also played soccer, started to teach her. And she was marked for success right from the start, “My first game...nobody else really knew how to play, so I had this really unfair advantage, and I scored twelve goals my first game.” She continued that success through high school, making the varsity team her freshman year and becoming captain her junior year.  

Comments (0)

All Inklings News Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *