Chaperone (social)
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- For other uses, see Chaperone, a disambiguation page.
A chaperone (or occasionally chaperon) is an adult who accompanies or supervises one or more young, unmarried men or women during social occasions, usually with the specific intent of preventing inappropriate social or sexual interactions or illegal behavior (e.g., underage drinking or illegal drug use). The chaperone is typically accountable to a third party, usually the parents of one of the accompanied young people.
The word derives figuratively from the French word chaperon, meaning "hood", and later a kind of hat. This is either from this sense or from falconry, where the same word meant the hood placed over the head of a bird of prey to stop its desire to fly.
Traditionally, a chaperone was an older married or widowed woman accompanying a young woman when men would be present. Her presence was a guarantee of the virtue of the young woman in question. Female chaperones were also called dueñas, a Spanish word, meaning "owners" (female). Chaperones for young men were not commonly employed in Western society until the latter half of the 20th century.
Chaperones may be resisted and resented by the young people being supervised. The practice of one-on-one chaperones for social occasions has largely fallen out of use in Western society, though the term is often applied to parents and teachers who supervise school dances.
The concept of a chaperone is also used in variation. For example, a chaperone might be an expert in a given activity who takes a group and accompanies them during outside activities to provide physical support, advice and emergency attention if necessary. Sometimes the term is applied to people who are essentially tour guides (as were the bear-leaders of the Grand Tour in previous times). In addition, the term is used as a verb similar to "guide" (eg. "I'll chaperone you around the city and show you all the best places.")
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[edit] Photography
The term "chaperone" is also used by models and photographers, typically to refer to a companion who is present with the model during the shoot, usually but not exclusivly if the model is shooting nude or pornographic material. This chaperone is typically a friend, partner or relative but could also be another photographer or hired security. Unlike the traditional role their job is normally to "support" the model, and supervise the conduct of the photographer. As such this role is sometimes refered to in negative terms as a "bodyguard."
Very few professional or full time models work with a chaperone present, and they are generally not used by professional photographers.
Opinion differs regarding the acceptability of chaperones on the amateur/hobbiest photography/modelling scene. Some photographers feel that they are helpful and encourage them, others feel that they are unnecessary, a potential burden and a distraction. It is considered by some that the very suggestion that a model needs a "chaperone" is an insult to the good character of the photographer, and that bringing a companion should not be used in place of general good practice, such as checking references.
[edit] In culture
In drama, probably the best known example of a plot revolving around the need for, and lack of, a chaperone is Brandon Thomas's farce Charley's Aunt (1892).
The chaperone is spoofed in the 2006 musical The Drowsy Chaperone.
[edit] References
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[edit] See also
- Women and Islam for a discussion of the need for an unmarriageable male relative (called a mahram) to accompany women
- Chaperone (clinical), a person whose has a role to witness and safeguard both a patient and a medical practitioner
- Cicisbeo
- Reproductive rights
