Southern belle
:
For other uses, see Southern Belle (disambiguation).A
Southern belle was an archetypal young woman of the
American South's upper class, known for her gracious hospitality, cultivation of beauty, and flirtatious yet chaste demeanor and neatness. The stereotype continues to have a powerful aspirational draw for many people, and books like "The Southern Belle Primer" and "The Southern Belle Handbook" are plentiful. Other current terms in popular culture related to "Southern belles" include "Ya Ya Sisters," "GRITS (Girls Raised In The South)," and "Sweet Potato Queens."
Gone with the Wind is probably the most famous treatment of the Southern belle's lifestyle. The character of
Blanche DuBois in the play and film
A Streetcar Named Desire, by
Tennessee Williams, is another notable example. (Both the roles were played by
Vivien Leigh.) Similarly, the character Amanda in Williams'
The Glass Menagerie considers herself to be a Southern belle, yet clearly is not. The movie
Steel Magnolias showcases a variety of Southern belles from differing social classes.
