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Mom Is Disappointed With Daughter’s Prom Dress, Her Petty Revenge Leaves The Mom Speechless
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Mom Is Disappointed With Daughter’s Prom Dress, Her Petty Revenge Leaves The Mom Speechless

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Prom is one of the most important events in a teenager’s life, and choosing the right attire for it is a crucial step of preparation.

When Reddit user Throwawaychi2 was preparing for hers, her mom seemed happy to help. The lady even offered to take her dress to one of her friends for the final touch-up.

But when the mom saw what the girl had picked to wear for the occasion, she felt it was so inappropriate that she had to shame her daughter.

Little did the mom know, this would push the teen to opt for something she disliked even more.

This teenager was excited to go to her prom, but her mother started criticizing her dress

Image credits: valeriygoncharukphoto/Envato elements (not the actual photo)

So she came up with a way to get back at her

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Image credits: LightFieldStudios/Envato elements (not the actual photo)

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Image credits: throwawaychi2

Policing their kids’ outfits won’t earn parents much respect

The desire to express your autonomy through the clothes that you wear usually starts in childhood.

“There [are] very few ways kids can establish independence or let you know their will when they’re very young, but they do have some control over what’s touching their bodies,” said Aaron E. Carroll, M.D., professor of pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine. Babies will fight getting dressed, too, but that’s less a conscious play for autonomy and more a reaction to being restrained, Dr. Carroll explained.

As you get older, the battles change. But according to Dr. Carroll, parents have to give in. Not just because clothing is such a marker of independence, but also because they will, similar to the mom from the Reddit post, get outsmarted.

Kids might appease their parents at first, wearing whatever it is that they are forced to, but chances are, they will change their outfits as soon as they’re out of sight.

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Interestingly, allowing them control over their clothing can actually benefit parents in the long run, as it could make them more likely to listen to their old folks when they do make comments or suggestions about their outfits, said Dr. Carroll.

Image credits: RDNE Stock project/Pexels (not the actual photo)

Catherine Manning, who is the founder of Melbourne-based workshops that provide in-school self-esteem programs for girls and boys as well as the director of the children’s rights advocacy group Say No 4 Kids, urges parents to question what makes them uncomfortable — and “who they’re trying to appease” — before starting a conversation about clothing.

“A lot of those dress codes are very arbitrary. And if a [girl] wants to wear a singlet top [to] a school dress-up day, why do we have a problem with that?” Manning asked.

She believes society’s historical preoccupation with girls’ attire is tied up in sexism and classism. “We’re not constantly looking at men’s attire,” she said. “Most dress codes for girls and women have their roots in patriarchy and religious institutions obsessed with purity.”

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This is not to say that parents can never speak to their daughters about clothing, but Manning believes it’s important to avoid veering into shaming territory, where girls’ clothing and bodies — how they present them and what they do with them — are policed.

“The slightest comment to your daughter about what she’s wearing can have a really lasting impact on her,” Manning added. “So we really do have to be careful.”

Maybe the Redditor’s mom could have also taken a pause and reassessed her discomfort instead of passing judgment on her daughter.

As her story went viral, the teenager joined the discussion in the comments

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Rokas Laurinavičius

Rokas Laurinavičius

Writer, BoredPanda staff

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Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

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Rokas Laurinavičius

Rokas Laurinavičius

Writer, BoredPanda staff

Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

Ilona Baliūnaitė

Ilona Baliūnaitė

Author, BoredPanda staff

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I'm a Visual Editor at Bored Panda since 2017. I've searched through a multitude of images to create over 2000 diverse posts on a wide range of topics. I love memes, funny, and cute stuff, but I'm also into social issues topics. Despite my background in communication, my heart belongs to visual media, especially photography. When I'm not at my desk, you're likely to find me in the streets with my camera, checking out cool exhibitions, watching a movie at the cinema or just chilling with a coffee in a cozy place

Read less »

Ilona Baliūnaitė

Ilona Baliūnaitė

Author, BoredPanda staff

I'm a Visual Editor at Bored Panda since 2017. I've searched through a multitude of images to create over 2000 diverse posts on a wide range of topics. I love memes, funny, and cute stuff, but I'm also into social issues topics. Despite my background in communication, my heart belongs to visual media, especially photography. When I'm not at my desk, you're likely to find me in the streets with my camera, checking out cool exhibitions, watching a movie at the cinema or just chilling with a coffee in a cozy place

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MoriahPapaya
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not to be *that* person, but they said this was 10 years ago, and fb marketplace was started in October of 2016, kind of a weird thing to lie about.

CrunChewy McSandybutt
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was suspicious of this story, too, mostly because of the plethora of unnecessary details. For example, she met the buyer at the mall, used a driver's license as ID despite not driving, etc. I know some people are super detailed, this smacked of trying to cover all the bases so the lie would be believable.

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Freelove
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is the stupidest story I've ever heard. She cut off her nose to spite her own face. What she did isn't edgy or cool, she ruined her plans with her best friend at their prom in order to "get back" at her mom. She sounds absolutely insufferable.

Meagan Glaser
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You think a kid choosing a different outfit to wear to a party...ruins the night. And a teenager is "insufferable" for...wearing pants. Cannot tell if this is peak Karen, or peak 14 year old trying to big themselves up sentiments

Load More Replies...
Meagan Glaser
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A teenager wore pants to a party. 10 years later, she still hasn't repented. How immature! /s

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Load More Comments
MoriahPapaya
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not to be *that* person, but they said this was 10 years ago, and fb marketplace was started in October of 2016, kind of a weird thing to lie about.

CrunChewy McSandybutt
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was suspicious of this story, too, mostly because of the plethora of unnecessary details. For example, she met the buyer at the mall, used a driver's license as ID despite not driving, etc. I know some people are super detailed, this smacked of trying to cover all the bases so the lie would be believable.

Load More Replies...
Freelove
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is the stupidest story I've ever heard. She cut off her nose to spite her own face. What she did isn't edgy or cool, she ruined her plans with her best friend at their prom in order to "get back" at her mom. She sounds absolutely insufferable.

Meagan Glaser
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You think a kid choosing a different outfit to wear to a party...ruins the night. And a teenager is "insufferable" for...wearing pants. Cannot tell if this is peak Karen, or peak 14 year old trying to big themselves up sentiments

Load More Replies...
Meagan Glaser
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A teenager wore pants to a party. 10 years later, she still hasn't repented. How immature! /s

Load More Replies...
Load More Comments
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