Socialite
Encyclopedia
A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining
and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events.
American
socialites were originally listed in the Social Register
, a list of the names and addresses of the "preferred social contacts" of the prominent families in the 19th century. In 1886, Louis Keller
, described in his obituary as “known to more persons here and abroad than any other one resident of New York
,” had the idea of consolidating these lists and packaging them for sale. Mr. Keller’s formula met with great success and by 1918 there were 18 annual volumes representing 26 cities.
By the mid-20th century, with the rise of the middle class, American television news gave little attention to members of high society and in the 1970s newspapers curtailed or discontinued their daily "Society" page to institute a Sunday "Style" section.
Socialites and celebrities were briefly united in the Jet Set
around 1960 but in later years the former group were seemingly absorbed and subsumed by the latter. The recent book The Socialite Manifesto by Christiana Spens
satirizes both social groups in a playful manner.
Entertainment
Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...
and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events.
American
Americans
The people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
socialites were originally listed in the Social Register
Social Register
Specific to the United States, the Social Register is a directory of names and addresses of prominent American families who form the social elite, . The "Directory" automatically includes the President of the United States and the First Family, and in the past always included the U.S. Senators and...
, a list of the names and addresses of the "preferred social contacts" of the prominent families in the 19th century. In 1886, Louis Keller
Louis Keller
Louis Keller is best known as the German-American New Yorker of wide social acquaintance who assembled and published the New York Social Register, which first appeared in 1886...
, described in his obituary as “known to more persons here and abroad than any other one resident of New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
,” had the idea of consolidating these lists and packaging them for sale. Mr. Keller’s formula met with great success and by 1918 there were 18 annual volumes representing 26 cities.
By the mid-20th century, with the rise of the middle class, American television news gave little attention to members of high society and in the 1970s newspapers curtailed or discontinued their daily "Society" page to institute a Sunday "Style" section.
Socialites and celebrities were briefly united in the Jet Set
Jet set
"Jet set" is a journalistic term that was used to describe an international social group of wealthy people, organizing and participating all around the world in social activities that are unreachable to ordinary people...
around 1960 but in later years the former group were seemingly absorbed and subsumed by the latter. The recent book The Socialite Manifesto by Christiana Spens
Christiana Spens
Christiana Spens is a British novelist. She attended the University of Cambridge, where she read Philosophy.Her debut novel, The Wrecking Ball, was published by Beautiful Books Limited in the UK and Harper Perennial in America, in 2008...
satirizes both social groups in a playful manner.
See also
- Celebutante
- DebutanteDebutanteA débutante is a young lady from an aristocratic or upper class family who has reached the age of maturity, and as a new adult, is introduced to society at a formal "début" presentation. It should not be confused with a Debs...
- Famous for being famousFamous for being famousFamous for being famous, in popular culture terminology, refers to someone who attains celebrity status for no particular identifiable reason, or who achieves fame through association with a celebrity. The term is a pejorative, suggesting that the individual has no particular talents or abilities...
- Jet setJet set"Jet set" is a journalistic term that was used to describe an international social group of wealthy people, organizing and participating all around the world in social activities that are unreachable to ordinary people...
- YuppieYuppieYuppie is a term that refers to a member of the upper middle class or upper class in their 20s or 30s. It first came into use in the early-1980s and largely faded from American popular culture in the late-1980s, due to the 1987 stock market crash and the early 1990s recession...
- Upper classUpper classIn social science, the "upper class" is the group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. Members of an upper class may have great power over the allocation of resources and governmental policy in their area.- Historical meaning :...
- It girlIt girl"It girl" is a term for a young woman who possess the quality "It", absolute attraction.The early usage of the concept "it" in this meaning may be seen in a story by Rudyard Kipling: "It isn't beauty, so to speak, nor good talk necessarily. It's just 'It'."...
- Social environmentSocial environmentThe social environment of an individual, also called social context or milieu, is the culture that s/he was educated or lives in, and the people and institutions with whom the person interacts....
- Conspicuous leisureConspicuous leisureConspicuous leisure is a term introduced by the American economist Thorstein Veblen, in The Theory of the Leisure Class . The term denotes visible leisure for the sake of displaying social status...
- Ingroups and outgroupsIngroups and outgroupsIn sociology and social psychology, ingroups and outgroups are social groups to which an individual feels as though he or she belongs as a member, or to which they feel contempt, opposition, or a desire to compete. People tend to hold positive attitudes towards members of their own groups, a...
- Social identity theory
Further reading
- Spens, ChristianaChristiana SpensChristiana Spens is a British novelist. She attended the University of Cambridge, where she read Philosophy.Her debut novel, The Wrecking Ball, was published by Beautiful Books Limited in the UK and Harper Perennial in America, in 2008...
. The Socialite Manifesto. London: Burning House, 2009. ISBN 9781905636402. The cover subtitle: "One Day in the Life of Ivana Denisovich". A short novel.