COME OUT, COME OUT!

Many people's knowledge of debutante balls is limited to their fairly recent appearance in pop culture, namely an episode of "Beverly Hills 90210" when Donna's mother forced her to be a debutante and she had to wear a long white dress and perfect a curtsy. Is this merely Aaron Spelling's take on "coming out"? Or is this a justified picture of an elite social ritual?

This ritual, dating from an earlier era, is meant to signify the fact that a woman is now marriageable. For this reason she must be introduced to society so that everyone knows she is now wife material. It generally happens during a woman's first year of college. However, most social beings have spent many a night doing the Harvard social scene. Does a woman's ability to romp around late at night render this custom less necessary? Perhaps. Even so, there is no shortage of Harvard debutantes. Unfortunately, as debutante balls have been the victims of quite extensive criticism, last names are omitted to protect those sources who have attended deb balls as either debs themselves, friends or escorts (the guys conned into being dates).

Debutante parties typically still exist, although really do not flourish in urban areas such as New York, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. and are unusual in Boston. However, in the South they still have a pretty large following especially in places like Atlanta, Dallas and San Antonio. Because Coming Out Parties seem not to serve as much of a purpose as they once did, they have gained a negative connotation.

According to Paul '00, "The concept of debutante balls seems increasingly superficial and without substance. At their best these parties can be a fun get-together; however, instead of introducing women to society, they seem to be a status symbol. Having a debutante ball seems to assure your place in the social hierarchy." At least they are fun parties, full of champagne, many black-tied escorts and old social matriarchs who--as former debs--seem to arbitrate the process.

The consensus on these parties seems to be that they can be a lot of fun as long as one does not get caught up in the prospect that they are meant to showcase women and find them husbands in a certain social stratum. Emily '00 (not the author) was somewhat pleasantly surprised with the deb balls she attended: "They were really beautiful and a lot of fun. Although they were silly because people seemed to have lost their sense of reality, there was a much more interesting mix of people than I expected. I would have thought the crowd would consist only of WASP-y preppy types, but that was not the case." Once limited to those members of a very elite class, the determining factor of who is eligible to debut now seems to be more dependent on whether parents are willing to pay exorbitant sums of money to showcase, or at least throw a party for, their children.

Whether debutante balls serve an important purpose, there is an increasing trend towards a return to social customs such as these functions. Perhaps deb balls will not continue to be looked upon as such a dated and elite ritual. Everyone does enjoy a party, and learning to curtsy might not be as awful as Donna made it seem.FM