Anti-prom

Anti-prom and morp (prom spelled in reverse) is a social event often staged by high school students as a protest against, or boycott of, their school's official prom, as an alternative celebration. Other times, it may be an unofficial prom, planned by the students themselves so that it is not under the control of the school.

Some of the more common reasons for the creation of an anti-prom include the desire to curb the large cost of a traditional prom, to listen to music other than that expected to be played at the official prom, to have a smaller, more personal get-together, or have looser and less strict rules than the school's. Another common anti-prom is an unofficial dance set up by freshmen and sophomores as they cannot go to prom without a junior or senior.

The attendees of an anti-prom usually disagree with the values of the high school in-crowd who, stereotypically, organize the prom from the preparatory stages to the after-parties. In particular, anti-prom attendees protest what they regard as the vanity, excess, and conformity that the prom culture expects from students. Anti-proms do not follow any prescribed format, catering instead to the varied tastes of the large spectrum of students who feel dissociated from prom culture. Nevertheless, anti-prom participants are generally concerned with arranging social activities that are not only fun and enjoyable, but which also serve as an assertion of solidarity and of the legitimacy of social difference.

Sexual orientation and gender identity sometimes plays a role in leading students to form and attend an anti-prom: lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (sexuality) (LGBTQQ) students who feel that attending their school's traditional prom with a same-sex partner or not identifying in traditional gender identity fashion would be problematic might choose to hold their own gathering.