American debutante balls date all the way back to the founding fathers in Philadelphia, but started facing elitist and antifeminist criticism in the late 1960s. However, modern women — and their families — still pay tens of thousands of dollars for the table, the dress, the travel and the party. Some debutantes it is because they want to take part in a dying tradition, others do it for their family, and still more say that they enjoy the festivities.
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