southern belle
{{About|the archetype|other uses|Southern belle (disambiguation)}}
{{Short description|Colloquialism for a debutante in the Southern planter class}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2013}}
File:Portrait of Sallie Ward by George Peter Alexander Healy, 1860.jpg
"Southern belle" ({{etymology|fr|{{wikt-lang|fr|belle}}|beautiful}}) is a colloquialism for a debutante or other fashionable young woman of European heritage in the planter class of the Antebellum South, particularly as a romantic counterpart to the Southern gentleman.{{cite web|title=History Engine: Tools for Collaborative Education and Research | Episodes|url=http://historyengine.richmond.edu/episodes/view/2259|access-date=September 26, 2013|publisher=Historyengine.richmond.edu}}
Characteristics
File:Southern-belle-civil-war.jpg, September 7, 1861 showing a Southern belle]]
The image of a Southern belle is often characterized by fashion elements such as a hoop skirt, a corset, pantalettes, a wide-brimmed straw hat, and gloves. As signs of tanning were considered working-class and unfashionable during this era, parasols and fans are also often represented.
Southern belles were expected to marry respectable young men, and become ladies of society dedicated to the family and community. The Southern belle archetype is characterized by Southern hospitality, a cultivation of beauty, and a flirtatious yet chaste demeanor.{{cite web|url=http://deepsouthmag.com/2011/06/anatomy-of-a-southern-belle/ |title=Anatomy of a Southern Belle | Deep South Magazine – Southern Food, Travel & Lit |publisher=Deepsouthmag.com |date=June 2, 2011 |access-date=September 26, 2013}}
For example, Sallie Ward, who was born into the planter class of Kentucky in the Antebellum South, was called a Southern belle.{{cite book|last1=Clark|first1=Thomas D.|title=The Kentucky|date=2015|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|location=Lexington, Kentucky|pages=238–255}}
Dick Pope Sr., promoter of Florida tourism, played an important role in popularizing the archetypal image.{{cite web|author=APPublished: January 30, 1988 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/30/obituaries/richard-downing-pope-87-dies-promoter-of-florida-and-tourism.html |title=Richard Downing Pope, 87, Dies; Promoter of Florida and Tourism - New York Times |work=The New York Times |date=January 30, 1988 |access-date=September 26, 2013}} Hostesses at his famed Cypress Gardens were portrayed as Southern belles in promotional materials for the theme park.The Lakeland Ledger, January 29, 1988. Vol. 82 No.99 Pg11A
See also
- Ringlets, a hairstyle
- Scarlett O'Hara, perhaps the most famous fictional Southern belle
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Southern belles}}
{{Wiktionary|southern belle}}
{{Stock characters}}
Category:Culture of the Southern United States
Category:Female stock characters
Category:High society (social class)