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debutante, a young woman who is making a formal entrance into society. So-called debutante balls, dating back to at least the 18th century, were originally intended as an avenue through which to present young women eligible for marriage to prospective high-society partners.
- Alison Eldridge
Jul 9, 2024 · Jul 9, 2024. -- The image is iconic: a young woman, radiant in a white gown, descends a grand staircase, formally introduced to society. This is the debutante ball, a tradition steeped in...
- Nicole Michelle
Nov 25, 2019 · The debutante ritual was so effective a social-climbing tool that parents jockeyed over presentation venues; it was so costly that it created new industries for its supporting staff.
- Kristen Richardson
- A Tale as Old as Time
- What to Do with ‘All These Girls?’
- Who Could Become A Debutante?
- The Decline of Debutantes
- What Does The Practice of Debutante Balls Tell Us About Women’s History?
The tradition of the “social season” lasted nearly 180 years- from the reign of George III to Queen Elizabeth II. During this time period, young upper-class women made their formal debut into society by curtseying to the monarch. After their presentation at court, these young women would participate in a variety of social events, where they would m...
Debutantes were essentially the answer to a problem. After the Protestant Reformation and the dissolution of convents in 16th-century-England, families didn’t know what to do with their daughters. The Protestant Reformation ended the practice of cloistering girls in convents. However, unlike the Catholics, Protestants didn’t have convents to put th...
The purpose of debutante balls was to ensure that a woman married well. This meant that debutante balls were not open to everyone in English society. By 1859, in addition to members of the aristocracy, the daughters of the clergy, military, naval officers, physicians and barristers could be presented. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the ...
Of course, debutante balls and coming-out parties are held today, although they no longer hold the same prominence that they once did. By the twentieth century, the presentation of debutantes at court increasingly became outdated as the times changed. In 1921, the tradition was put on hold because of the Coal Strike. British monarchs were increasin...
Debutante balls provide historians with an interesting way to look at women’s history. The original focus of debutante balls was money and status, rather than the concern for the well-being of women who had no rights. In this way, young women were seen as commodities that could be bartered over, rather than as real people. Their societal value was ...
May 1, 2019 · Purpose of debutante ball is to show the girls in all their glory and grace. Their entry into secular society through dance at the ball shows their willingness to marry with a representative of a narrow aristocratic circle.
Jul 30, 2022 · There's a long history to these balls, which began hundreds of years ago in England as a way for wealthy young women to make their debut into high society. Think opulent ballrooms and stolen glances like in the series Bridgerton.
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Dec 22, 2020 · That ball was likely based on the International Debutante Ball, a 65-year-old, now highly Instagrammable aristocratic tradition that formally introduces the daughters of dignitaries and rich people to the crème de la crème of American and International high society, according to The New York Times.
