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."