"Southern" Sororities?

[exlurker]

Some Corpus Christi Debutantes' Sorority Affiliations (2004, Texas)

Some southern schools are also mentioned in the list of eleven 2004 Corpus Christi debutantes who'll be presented on December 22. The article from the Corpus Christi paper indicates that nine of the women are members of NPC sororities -- six Kappa Kappa Gammas and three Kappa Alpha Thetas, unless I got mixed up reading it.

http://www.caller.com/ccct/people_in...244440,00.html

[roqueemae]

This is so funny. I wanted to be a Phi Mu so badly BECAUSE of the alumnae I knew. They are everywhere in Louisiana. There is no way around it. There are 9 chapters in LA. Almost every college in the state has a chapter. I checked out a few other states in the South to show a comparison:
Alabama 11
Mississippi 5
Georgia 14
Florida 3 (but everyone knows that FL isn't really southern
N Carolina 9
S Carolina 4
Tennesee 5
Virginia 6

And I had wondered why we are always mentioned as Southern. I am proud of that. I am Southern and married a Southern man (Kappa Alpha Order-also a Southern Fraternity). We have a portrait of Robert E. Lee in our living room-he is historical in both as honorary member(phi mu)/spritual founder (KA). Can't have that in the north.

[kddani]

Originally posted by exlurker
Some Southern Debutantes' Sorority Affiliations (2004, Biloxi, Mississippi)

http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunhera...g/10286682.htm

Among the NPC sororities mentioned are Kappa Delta, Phi Mu, Delta Delta Delta, Chi Omega, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Alpha Phi, Alpha Chi Omega, and Zeta Tau Alpha. Some are mentioned repeatedly. I may have missed some.

My gosh,they might as well call it Kappa Delta Debutantes.... it's nice to see so many of my sisters listed, but I thought it was sorta funny just how many of them there were!

[KDwxgrrl]

Ok, so maybe I'm just too Midwestern... but there are still debutantes? What exactly does one have to do to be a debutante nowadays?

[KSUViolet06]

As a former debutante myself, this is the best explanation I can give you. It can be a hard concept to grasp:

Debutante balls (or cottillions) are usually put together by women's organizations (sororities, service clubs, etc). The purpose is to "introduce", young women (debutantes) to society. It's like a "coming out" of sorts.

The idea came from senior prom in the 1900's. The young women were paraded in pretty dresses and introduced to the eligible bachelors of the town. It's purpose is a lot different now. Many debutante balls give scholarships to the women they select to present.

Depending on the organization that's throwing it, the debutantes may be in HS or college. The young women often have family members who participated in it when they were younger. Young women are sometimes groomed their entire lives for this event. There is a selective application process. Basically the organization selects the women to be "presented" at a HUGE ball in front of their family and spectators- criteria may vary but generally include personality, grades, involvement.

Depending on the size of the event, there may be 100 or so applicants for maybe 20 spots. Those selected are viewed as top notch young women in their community. As I said before, women are often groomed for this their entire lives.

If selected to be a debutante, you are extremely elated and so is the rest of your family. You attend months of social gatherings with the other debutantes and their parents. You go to months of waltz lessons and select a male you know to be your escort for the evening. You spend upwards of $600 on your perfect white dress to be presented in on that night. You get your hair and nails done.

The night of the ball, your parents and family are there to see you be escorted out onto the floor by your escort. Depending on the venue, you walk out in front of the crowd and are announced one at a time: (EXAMPLE) "Presenting Miss Jane Lane of Cleveland, escorted by her brother Michael Lane." Your family cries, smiles, and takes lots of pictures You then dance the night away and have dinner and talk to the other women whom you have grown very close to in your months of debutante preparation.

I hope that clears it up some for you.

[Little E]

I had a friend who was a debutante. My cousin was too (later she walked out in the middle of her pinning ceremony then laughed when i joined a sorority) I'm further convinced by Jocelyn's post that the South is an entirely different contry than the mid-west.

I just wish I could explain the mid-west...prom in our gym, and our parents paid to watch it ...yep that was the highlight.

[NutBrnHair]

Originally posted by exlurker
Some Southern Debutantes' Sorority Affiliations (2004, Biloxi, Mississippi)

Helpfully enough, a listing of the debutantes who will be presented at the annual Gulf Coast Debutante Ball in Biloxi, Mississippi on December 20 mentions the sorority membership of many of the women -- roughly 70 percent seem to be members of NPC sororities. I thought this would be interesting to the GCers who enjoy discussions of "southern" sororities, colleges in Mississippi (especially Ole Miss, but others too), other southern schools like LSU, and a particular segment of social life in the South. See:

http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunhera...g/10286682.htm

Among the NPC sororities mentioned are Kappa Delta, Phi Mu, Delta Delta Delta, Chi Omega, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Alpha Phi, Alpha Chi Omega, and Zeta Tau Alpha. Some are mentioned repeatedly. I may have missed some.

Yeah, the sorority affiliation was interesting, but I was more surprised by how many debutantes were in community colleges.

[OleMissGlitter]

I think AOII is a southern sorority as well....

We have chapters at some big SEC schools:

UGA
Florida
Tennessee
Ole Miss
Alabama
Auburn
Kentucky
Arkansas
Vanderbilt

Chapters in the South by numbers:

Alabama--9
Mississippi--1
Arkansas--2
Florida--5
Georgia--6
Kentucky--6
Louisiana--4
North Carolina--3
Tennessee--7
South Carolina--1
Virginia--2

[shadokat]

LOL, debutantes, et al. Being a northern girl, it all seems foreign to me, but apparently, according to history, we started it!!

"The idea of the presentation of young women to society started in this country in 1748 when 59 colonial Philadelphia families held "Dancing Assemblies," the forerunner to the Debutante Ball. The tradition continues today throughout the United States with the majority of balls being held from November through January."

[Taualumna]

Debutante balls are actually not the only way for girls to "come out". In several etiquette books (including Emily Post and an old Canadian one by a woman named Audrey Pringle (who in this book, also included a chapter aimed at female students, advising them on rush....I guess sororities were more popular in Canada back in the 1940s)), I have also heard of coming of age teas and luncheons, which are less formal.

[KSUViolet06]

Originally posted by Little E
I had a friend who was a debutante. My cousin was too (later she walked out in the middle of her pinning ceremony then laughed when i joined a sorority) I'm further convinced by Jocelyn's post that the South is an entirely different contry than the mid-west.

I just wish I could explain the mid-west...prom in our gym, and our parents paid to watch it ...yep that was the highlight.

I'm actually NOT southern. I'm from CA and was a debutante my junior year of HS when I moved to Ohio. So, I'm a pretty big Yankee. Debutante balls originated in the south and are gaining popularity elsewhere.

But yes, the South is very different. I came to GC and was totally baffled by talk of Lily Pulitzer dresses, rush resume's, recommendations for EVERY sorority, and 1,000 pnm's. Kent is so much more laid back.

[roqueemae]

In Louisiana, most of our debutante activities are organized around a Mardi Gras Krewe. The woman's parents are members of the Krewe and when they are of age, they are presented at the Ball close to Mardi Gras. Sometimes there are a few ceremonies and/or costumes to wear for the ball. Every girl I have every known to be presented are members of sororities. These are generally the society events of the town.

[KSUViolet06]

Originally posted by roqueemae
Every girl I have every known to be presented are members of sororities.

Strangely enough, same here. I was presented with 11 other women. I am now a Tri Sigma, 4 of them are Delta's, 2 are AKA's, 2 are Sigma Gamma Rho, one is a Zeta Phi Beta, another is a Delta Gamma. The ball was given by mom's alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta.

[ZTAngel]

ZTA has most of its chapters in the South. We have chapters at these SEC schools:
Alabama
Arkansas
Auburn
Florida
Georgia
Louisiana State
Mississippi State
South Carolina
Tennessee

Chapters by State:
Alabama- 7
Arkansas- 2
Florida- 9
Georgia- 9
Louisiana- 4
Mississippi- 1
North Carolina- 9
South Carolina- 10
Tennessee- 6
Texas- 15
Virginia- 8

[Taualumna]

Originally posted by JocelynC
Debutante balls originated in the south and are gaining popularity elsewhere.

.

I'm pretty sure debutante balls originated in Europe, not the south. Perhaps the word "debutante" is southern, though. In Jane Austen's books, she uses "coming-out" rather than debutante. It's basically the same thing.