Libby Gonzales had been waiting so long for prom—all she was waiting for now was her shoes. After looking at “literally thousands of dresses,” she’d chosen a long, black gown with “big floofy black ...

Trigger warning: During the McCarthy era of the 1950s, prom — yes, the night of spiked punch and making out under the bleachers — served as a part of curriculum meant to “keep youth sexually straight.