The New York Times on Sunday featured an article about a 19-year-old about to take part in a debutante ball. The point of the item was that here was a debutante who is smart. Suggesting that she’s unusual and that, therefore, other debutantes are not high achievers.
The young woman told the reporter that society balls are not important. That was the first untruth of the interview, expressed when she said, “I mean, you still have to pay for your coffee at Starbucks. It doesn’t mean anything. I think you impress people more with your talents, with who you are.”
The article is here.
Making a debut to formal society has been no more a part of actual society than white gloves since many years before women gave up those. So why does the country’s major newspaper devote any time to this? Because to some people, this still matters?
