Last week I got “Presented” or as some have loved saying “Debbed” at my Debutante Ball. What is a Debutante Ball, and what does it mean to be presented you may ask? Essentially, this tradition celebrates a woman’s “coming into society” or her “coming of age”. If I understand correctly, it used to signal the woman being presented as elligible for marriage, but has since lost this meaning. When the woman is presented, she does a large bow (in Texas it’s called the “Texas Dip”) with her father at her side. The woman does this grand bow to those watching, nearly toaching her nose to the ground in front of her. For many of my peers and myself, the presentation is something that our moms, grandmothers, aunts, etc. participated in when they were young. In my case, my mom, her mom, my dad’s mom, my dad’s sister and my sister were all Debutante’s, and so this year was my year. For Houstonians, the presentation occurs during a girl’s junior year of college, but for other cities or towns throughout Texas and the South, the age varies. Oh, and at these presentations, all the honoree’s wear a white ballgown that is bought from a wedding dress boutique. So the honoree is wearing a wedding dress. If you were to scroll through social media and see me pop up without knowing what a Debutante Ball was or without this brief explanation, you might have a few (or a lot) of questions. And let me tell you, I got a lot of questions about what was going on and why I was so dressed up (in a wedding dress). Here are the top 5 questions/responses I received over a span of time regarding my presentation, and the responses I gave. 5. “Sooo what is a Debutante Ball?” See explanation above. 4. “You would be the person to do that.” I’m sorry, what does this even mean? 3. “That’s crazy that you already have your wedding dress!” I know, you’re telling me. Here’s to hoping I fit into it when it gets to that point. 2. (Asked to a friend, not to me directly) “Does she feel oppressed?” Hah, no. Definitely not. 1. Did you get married??? Yes. But only to the delicious food on my plate that I’m now packin’ away because, despite the fact that I am now officially a woman and should be less aggressive when it comes to my food comsuption, I just really like these grits and this steak. #cantstopwontstop
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at CUA chapter.