Debutante: Race, Resistance and Girl Power

A London etiquette supremo offers Nakkiah instruction in correct debutante behaviour while Miranda learns from family and friends how it felt to be celebrated as a young woman at the National Aboriginal Ball in 1968.

Nakkiah and Miranda learn how this symbol of elitist colonialism was appropriated by an Indigenous community fighting for their civil rights.

Nakkiah and Miranda head to Mt Druitt in Western Sydney where they find that Aboriginal debutante balls are still going strong in the 21st century.

No talk about sex, politics and certainly not race, Nakkiah. Our host does her best to play the colonialist’s game as the London Season begins for this year’s debutantes.

This year’s London debutantes are looking at hats, taking tea on a bus and curtseying to a cake. But is the ball today less about finding a husband as career networking?

Dressing up wasn’t always just for the privileged. In Tasmania, Nakkiah and Miranda learn how power dressing has long been an act of resistance and meet two artists who celebrate the power and beauty of Aboriginal women.

In Atlanta, Nakkiah meets cotillion queens, sorority scholars and a recovering debutante to find out why “image is all you got” is a mantra that drives Southern debutantes.

As the colonial tradition of the debutante ball took root in the US, Native Americans struggled to protect their own rites of passage. In Minneapolis, our hosts are inspired by politicians, community leaders and water walkers who explain how these once hidden celebrations are out in the sunlight now.

It’s the night of the debutante ball and Nakkiah and Miranda look stunning. But they’re still asking questions. Is it better to play the game of the colonizer to get ahead or it is better to get radical? Is the way forward on the protest line, or here in the ballroom?