Not every girl is a debutante. That’s the point.

[Kire]

Reviewed by Christianity Today, no less.

Home > Books & Culture > Current Issues

Books & Culture, March/April 2005

Rites of Passage
Debs and pledges.
By Lauren F. Winner

Debutante

Debutante:
Rites and Regalia
of American Debdom
by Karal Ann Marling
Univ. Press of Kansas, 2004
224 pp., $24.95

Pledged

Pledged:
The Secret Life
of Sororities
by Alexandra Robbins
Hyperion, 2004
256 pp., $23.95

Every year, at galas like the Magnolia Debutante Ball and the Rhododendron Royal Brigade of Guards, young women from the finest families don white dresses and long white gloves and make their debut to society. If you're not on the Rhododendron Royal Brigade's invite list, you can settle for reading Debutante: Rites and Regalia of American Debdom, the newest offering by Karal Ann Marling, grande dame of American Studies.

The balls are stupendous, the dresses lovely, but the real meaning of deb teas and cotillions is rite of passage. At their debuts, young women are formally presented to society. In the crassest sense, a debut is an announcement that you are of marriageable age, that all those men from appropriate families can start making their bids. Also, after coming out—yes, I know the phrase means something different for Ellen DeGeneres, but here, think debs—you're allowed to sign your full name underneath your mother's when she sends a note or leaves a calling card. Once debuted, a woman is a grown up.

For most of American history, debuts have been the province of elites; as Marling shows, "debbing is a ritual grounded in aspiration … and legitimization." Fathers threw expensive balls not only because they wanted to dote on their girls but also because they wanted to shore up their own class-standing. Debuting, of course, has always been as much about who is kept out as who is presented. Most cotillions present girls who boast not only a lot of money but also an old name, and white skin, to boot.

Marling traces debbing from the 18th century to the present. Her historical analysis is rich and detailed, and readers will enjoy vicariously dancing at centuries of cotillions. She explores contemporary debdom as well, arguing convincingly that proms are a modern-day, meritocratic iteration of the debut impulse. And she explores the "different kind of debuts" that have arisen in ethnic and African-American communities—quinceanera, the traditional celebration of a girl's 15th birthday, has become newly popular in Latina communities, and "For every black girl slighted by the selection committee of an Old Guard cotillion, a hundred more have bowed to the high society of their own communities."

More: http://www.christianitytoday.com/bc/2005/002/10.37.html

[iconoclastic cat]

1. When I hear "debutante,"

I think, "spoiled rotten, soon to be Internet pornstar."

[Nikia]

2. Really, sororities can still be about developing character

I understand that some sororities, especially in the South, are as she described. This was not the case on our campus though. I would say that in our group, character and high ideals were emphasized more than partying and being physically beautiful. I don't know how true that was of the other groups. I do know that the "partying sorority" respected the rights of at one member choosing not to drink. I also know that the sorority where the women seemed most superficial was more concerned with their members GPAs than what they wore or if their make up was perfect.
We held programs on date rape and alcohol issues. Our group was strictly anti hazing. We embraced our ideals of friendship. We didn't want anything bad to happen to our sisters.
Although there are membership fees, sorority membership is not just limited to the rich. Members came from all sorts of backgrounds.