Re: All grown up and going to Prom now =]
Traditional proms = dating. guys and girls mixing, dirty dancing, even having sex on prom night. Girls dressed in backless/strapless/sometimes chestless dresses (j-lo's versace dress anyone? :@: ), not to mention alcohol...that's what makes a prom "haram." Of course a person can go, dressed properly, not dance and just have fun with friends but a stricter interpretation of hadith and Quran would entail that even attneding such a function is haram since u would be supporting it.
I'm just sayin.
traditional prom = first of, absolutely NO alcohol. most grade 12s r under 19. most people at my prom did not go with dates, but with friends. i have been to 2 proms, and have never seen, nor heard of any 'dirty dancing'. dressing depends on one's choice (some girls at my prom even had hijab on). and people have sex at after prom parties, not at the prom itself.
your interpretation of prom sounds like some paris hilton movie prom ... i don't know about usa, but our public high schools here are not similar to the one they showed in mean girls.