Debutant

A debutante or deb (from the French débutante, "female beginner") is a girl or young woman of an or upper-class family who has reached maturity and, as a new adult, comes out into society at a formal "debut". Originally, the term meant the woman was old enough to be married, and part of the purpose of her coming out was to display her to eligible bachelors and their families with a view to marriage within a select circle.

In Australia, débutante balls (or colloquially "deb balls") are usually organised by high schools, church groups, or service clubs such as Lions or Rotary. The girls who take part are in either Year 10, 11 or 12 at high school (i.e. aged between 16 and 18), and the event is often used as a fund-raiser for local charities.

The debutante girl wears a white gown similar to a wedding dress. However, the dress does not come with a train on the skirt, and the debutante does not wear a veil. The boy wears a tux or other formal dress suit.

It is customary for the female to ask a male to the débutante ball, with males not being able to "do the deb" unless they are asked. The débutantes and their respective squires who are partaking in the official proceedings must learn how to ballroom dance. Débutante balls are almost always held in a reception centre, the function room of a sporting or other community organisation venue e.g. RSL club, or ballroom. Usually they are held late in the year and consist of dinner, dancing, and speeches.

In the United Kingdom, the last débutantes were presented at Court in 1958 after which Queen Elizabeth II abolished the ceremony. Attempts were made to keep the tradition going by organising a series of parties for young girls who might otherwise have been presented at Court in their first season (to which suitable young men were also invited) by Peter Townend. However, the withdrawal of royal patronage made these occasions increasingly insignificant, and scarcely distinguishable from any other part of the social season.

The expression "débutante", or "deb" for short, has continued to be used, especially in the press, to refer to young girls of marriageable age who participate in a semi-public upper class social scene. The expression "deb's delight" is applied to good looking unmarried young men from similar backgrounds.

The presentation of débutantes to the Sovereign at court marked the start of the British social season. Applications for young women to be presented at court were required to be made by ladies who themselves had been presented to the Sovereign; the young woman's mother, for example, or someone known to the family. A mother-in-law who herself had been presented might, for example, present her new daughter-in-law.

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