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Southern Identity: the Meaning, Practice, and Importance of A View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by ETD - Electronic Theses & Dissertations SOUTHERN IDENTITY: THE MEANING, PRACTICE, AND IMPORTANCE OF A REGIONAL IDENTITY By Ashley Blaise Thompson Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Vanderbilt University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in Sociology August, 2007 Nashville, TN Approved: Professor Larry J. Griffin Professor Gary F. Jensen Professor George Becker Professor David L. Carlton Professor Peggy A. Thoits ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am deeply indebted to all the individuals who participated in this study. They welcomed me into their homes, gave of their time, and shared their stories -- some beautiful, some painful -- with a complete stranger. For this I am truly grateful. I could not have completed this work without the constant support and guidance of my advisor, Larry J. Griffin. He has been my mentor and my friend. Over the years he has provided intellectual, emotional, and, at times, financial support – all far beyond the expectations of any faculty member. I would also like to thank Peggy A. Thoits. Even after leaving the Vanderbilt family for other career paths, Larry and Peggy continued to work with me. Without their encouragement and faith, I would never have made it through this process. In addition, I would like to thank the other members of my committee, Drs. George Becker, Gary F. Jensen, and David L. Carlton. I am particularly grateful to Gary Jensen, who was willing to take over as my dissertation co-chair. I also benefited from the support of my wonderful friends and colleagues – Ranae Evenson, Melissa Sloan, and Teresa Terrell. I never expected to meet such caring friends in graduate school. Also, I thank Charlie and Tamara Hobbs, who were always available for a drink and a laugh. And my dear friend Karen, who is still my ardent champion after all these years. Finally, I would like to thank my family for their love, belief, and guidance. To my mother and father, thank you for always being there to help me realize my dreams and goals. To Rhett, my brother, thank you for your humor and wit when I was feeling ii down. And to my husband, Joseph Shay, thank you for being there every day with your big heart, your love, your patience, and your certain belief that I would succeed. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................................................ ii Chapter I. INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................1 Statement of the Problem.........................................................................................1 Identity and Meaning...............................................................................................2 Southern Identity and Meaning....................................................................6 Approaches to the Study of Southern Identity.......................................................12 Historical Approaches................................................................................12 Social Constructionist Approaches............................................................17 Literary Approaches...................................................................................20 The Social-Psychological Approach..........................................................23 Conceptualizations of Southern Identity................................................................26 Southern Identity as Stigmatized ...............................................................28 Race and Southern Identity........................................................................36 Southern Identity as an Ethnic Identity......................................................40 Summary Comments..............................................................................................45 II. METHODS...................................................................................................................47 In-Depth Interviewing............................................................................................47 Analysis of Interview Data ....................................................................................55 Summary................................................................................................................57 III. SOUTHERN IDENTITY AS AN ETHNIC IDENTITY ...........................................59 Who are the “Real” Southerners? ..........................................................................60 Southerners by Birth – The Natives...........................................................60 Regional Migrants......................................................................................68 Identity as Action – Cultural Practices of Southerners..........................................72 Food ...........................................................................................................72 Holidays .....................................................................................................84 Music..........................................................................................................89 Passing It On – The Generational Transmission of Southern Identity ..................93 Ancestry .....................................................................................................93 Socialization and the Role of Parents ......................................................100 Children and Southern Identity................................................................106 Migrants ...................................................................................................108 iv Summary..............................................................................................................110 IV. SOUTHERN IDENTITY AS A STIGMATIZED IDENTITY................................114 Southerners’ Views of Their Own Group............................................................115 Not that Different from Other Folks ........................................................115 Positive Traits of Southerners..................................................................118 Negative Traits of Southerners ................................................................119 Southerners’ Perceptions of Stigma.....................................................................122 Perceptions of Outsiders’ Views of Southerners .....................................122 The Effects of Negative Views................................................................128 Experiences of Discrimination.............................................................................134 Social Identity Theory: The Case of Southerners................................................140 Summary Comments............................................................................................144 V. SOUTHERN IDENTITY AS A RACIALIZED IDENTITY....................................146 The Importance of Southern Identity for Black and White Southerners .............147 Cultural Reasons......................................................................................148 Southern History......................................................................................151 Thinking Southern...................................................................................157 Race and Regional Identities ...............................................................................159 Racial Consciousness...............................................................................159 Which is More Important: Race or Region?............................................169 The Intersection of Race and Region.......................................................173 Remembering the Past – Southern Identity as Morality ......................................180 White Southern Guilt...............................................................................181 New Polish on a Tarnished Image: Techniques of Minimization............184 Racial oppression was not that bad..............................................185 Paternalism...................................................................................190 We didn’t invent slavery: The denial of culpability ....................194 The Civil War was an honorable cause........................................195 Let’s just move on – Avoiding the past .......................................200 The Other Side of Racial Oppression – Black Southerners’ Memories of the Past.....................................................................................................202 VI. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ......................................................................211 Discussion............................................................................................................211 The Ethnic Analogy.................................................................................211 Southern Identity as Stigmatized .............................................................213 Southern Identity as a Racialized Identity ...............................................215 Implications..........................................................................................................217 Future Research...................................................................................................222 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................223
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