The unhealthy nature of Homecoming 
By: Kristen Ferrara
Next Friday the Hudson Hornet basketball teams will face the Diboll Lumberjacks in one of the most pivotal games of the season. Unfortunately, most Hudsonites will not attend the match to cheer the teams. Instead, they will go to watch young men and women objectify themselves in front of the whole school. The message this event sends along with the psychological toll it takes on those who fail to get the nomination is disturbing.
We live in a society that encourages young women to focus more on their physical appearance than their intellectual or social competence. Many young girls compete in beauty pageants as soon as they’re old enough to walk. When they realize they’re not “pretty” enough to continue competing, they join the rest of the female population which spends its time gawking over girls in magazines or on the runway. If this isn’t enough supporting evidence, just think about the amount of time women spend doing their hair and makeup in comparison to men. Ladies could use the time they spend staring at beautiful people or beautifying themselves to read a book or spend time with family or anything actually productive.
What does this have to do with Homecoming? Candidates are forced to promote this stereotype. The people who are selected (I know most of the court, and I would like to clarify that a majority do not lack substance and are merely blessed with lovely features. I’m speaking generally.) are chosen based on physical appearance and popularity, to a certain extent. By this is mean there is an obvious correlation between being aesthetically pleasing and popular. The nominees (mostly the girls) will spend hours fixing their hair and painting their faces so they can be gawked at in the same way models in magazines are. And the funny thing is that they enjoy this process - and the audience encourages it. What have these people done (besides look good) to deserve the crowd’s undivided attention? Do they have any exceptional academic or athletic accomplishments? Have they shown perseverance through the course of their lives? Integrity, honesty, loyalty…? The message this sort of competition sends is that only beautiful people deserve attention and mediocre individuals should strive to be like the nominees in this way rather than pursue any of the items mentioned above.
Not only does this misplacement of values force audience members to admire the superficial, but it has negative psychological impacts as well. The boys and girls who willingly admit they wanted the nomination, those who lowkey voted for themselves, and even the pessimists who were secretly hoping they would get the title are upset - but to different extents of course. Most people just complain to their friends, but there are the occasional few who are legitimately distressed about not receiving the nomination. Some may attach the loss to their lack of physical attractivity and, as a result, pursue eating disorders or take their natural face as a light suggestion. However, most are bothered by the thought of losing. The chemical reactions associated with winning make losing unacceptable for many. Dopamine is released in the brain by naturally rewarding experiences, in this case, success. The hormone is addictive, and in the same way not smoking a cigarette dissatisfies a smoker, failure does not bring pleasure. This sense of loss is not only unsettling but unfounded as hopefuls are losing a trivial competition - one completely unrelated to success later in life.
If creating a Homecoming court enforces stereotypes and fosters an environment for emotional instability, why do schools around America still practice this act? As a logical thinker, I cannot comprehend the answer, but I imagine the only reason is that Homecoming is fun - friends vote for friends and young men and women get the attention they probably crave. Still, is sacrificing the dignity and happiness of various individuals worth 30 minutes of “fun”? I don’t think so and other progressive minds should consider this as well.
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