by Sharon Ruth Hill

Created on: April 29, 2009   Last Updated: April 30, 2009

Erstwhile but essential social graces of proper etiquette, penmanship, ballroom dancing, needle work and even mourning customs may be lost to the ages; however, the true and indomitable spirit of the Southern Belle lives on. Albeit transformed and reinvented to meet the demands of a twenty-first century modern society moving at warp speed, in comparison to the previous more thoughtful and genteel pace of southern life for young ladies.

Belle from the french "beautiful" does still apply and southern belles remain free to pursue the qualities of hospitality, the cultivation of beauty, flirtatiousness, and a certain upper class demeanor and taste. But this same package also allows for kindness, compassion, and care for her fellow men and women.

A strong sense of community allows the modern southern belle to leave behind the old stereotypes of the "sweet potato queen" as idle gossiper and flamboyant surface beauty with little or nothing on the emotional inside, as stale as she is selfish and self-centered. A knowledge of history reminds her to learn from the mistakes of the past, just don't repeat them. Curiosity allows new information to permeate fresh ideas and an ability to continually question motives and circumstance.

True "GRITS" (girls raised in the south) are now free from the vestiges of readying for the next cotillion and are interested and active in local and national politics. No longer riding side-saddle as part of a silent majority, these southern belles care about the important issues of inalienable rights, the economy, abuse of any sort, and world hunger. Better yet, they are actively doing something about these issues by participating in forums, letter writing campaigns, and fund raisers.

A "ya ya sister" may have lost the monogrammed stationary but has replaced it with greater symbols backed by real meaning, like the pink ribbon representing the Susan G. Komen for the Cure cause of eradicating breast cancer in this lifetime. The earlier concern of whether to wear white after Labor Day has given way to donating gently worn apparel to out of work women in need of neat, professional business attire for that job winning interview.

Striving to be a modern southern belle is full-time employment with no room or need for part-timers. "Bulldozers disguised as powder puffs" still desire to be your sorority sister, honorary chairwoman, and junior leaguer but fully expect to derive important meaning from all their activities. No longer satisfied to just be the window dressing, all hoop skirt, lace, satin and silk but now content with an ever evolving role with lots of prospect for personal growth.

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