User:Snake in boots/Appalachian stereotypes

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The Appalachian region and its people have historically been stereotyped by observers, with the basic perceptions of Appalachians painting them as backwards, rural, and anti-progressive. These widespread, limiting views of Appalachia and its people began to develop in the post Civil War; Those who "discovered" Appalachia found it to be a very strange environment, and depicted its "otherness" in their writing. These depictions have persisted and are still present in common understandings of Appalachia today, with a particular increase of stereotypical imagery during the late 1950s and early 1960s in sitcoms. Common Appalachian stereotypes include those concerning economics, appearance, and the caricature of the "hillbilly."

Early development of stereotypes
Perceived "otherness" was the driving force behind the early development of Appalachian stereotypes. When the "discoverers" of Appalachia encountered the region in the 1870s, they found what to them was a very strange environment. Many saw Appalachian otherness as a problem that needed an explanation. As groups like the missionaries worked to bring Appalachia into the mainstream, their writings and the writings of others generated a common view of Appalachia. The popular image of the region as an underdeveloped and exotic corner of America prompted a need to justify its otherness, and the rationalizations given for this image gave way to stereotypes of the region.

While a general awareness of the Appalachia had existed, it was "discovered" by writers who helped form popularly accepted images of the region in the 1870s. One of the earliest groups involved were missionaries who aimed to save Appalachians and introduce them into mainstream Protestantism. Their mission was formed from the ideals of Kentucky abolitionist John G. Fee---founder of Berea College---who developed the vision of the antislavery mountaineer. This vision spread, and was picked up by the American Missionary Association (AMA). Promotional literature emerged to support the AMA's missionaries and their operations such as churches and schools. While the writing called Appalachians Protestants, it depicted them as having different beliefs and values from mainstream Protestants. Missionaries saw them as worthy of being saved, but having critical faults such as poverty, excessive anger, and being without practical religion.

Stereotypes of Appalachians
NPR describes the stereotypical portrayal of Appalachians as "children in sepia-toned clothes with dirt-smeared faces. Weathered, sunken-eyed women on trailer steps chain-smoking Camels. Teenagers clad in Carhartt and Mossy Oak loitering outside long-shuttered businesses." Other common Appalachian stereotypes include inbreeding, poor dental hygiene, and wearing no shoes.

The traditional Appalachian dialect and accent also comes with a slew of stereotypes and consequences for those who bear it. Those with Appalachian accents or who use Appalachian dialect are perceived to be less educated and less wealthy. There is also the incorrect theory that Appalachian English is closely related to Elizabethan English, or that it has not progressed far past Elizabethan English. These stereotypes harm the access to opportunities and impressions of Appalachian people outside of Appalachia. As a result of these negative stereotypes, thousands of people from the Appalachian region face judgment and, intense scrutiny on a daily basis.

During the appraisal called "Community Action in Appalachia" during the War on Poverty, it was found that the population of those who wanted a change in how they lived was split into two. The group helped provide community centers throughout Appalachia, with hopes of allowing individuals to become more educated and view other, newer technologies created by society. Some embraced the new ideals and modernism provided by the community centers created, and others annexed them with the thought that government intervention was not needed within their area. After the appraisal was finished, very little changed and development was recorded. Small instances across the counties, but nothing caused significant change. This created a new view on Appalachia, and it caused many to believe that the Appalachians simply did not want to change and did not embrace new parts of modern society.

Most of these stereotypes come from things of the past. The rough look of those who live in the Appalachian region comes from times in the late 1800s when Appalachia was hit with a depression due to economic over expansion, decrease in money supply, and a stock crash. It also arises from the look of miners, who would come home looking very dirty and worn because of the conditions they were working under in the mines. After the appraisal "Community Action in Appalachia", the public started to view the region as underdeveloped and stuck in the past. Due to the fact that the region is heavily dependent on labor jobs, majority of people do not feel the need to go past a high school education, thus causing the stereotype that Appalachian individuals are uneducated.

According to Professor Roberta M. Campbell of Miami University Hamilton, the "stereotype of the backward, barefoot, poor white hillbilly" is the most common stereotype of Appalachian people, but that the stereotype "obscures the realities of race and racism in Appalachia." Stereotyping Appalachian people as being poor white people thus contributes to the "invisibility of blacks in Appalachia" as well as Hispanics and other racialized people. Professor Wilburn Hayden, Jr. of York University, a leading scholar of Black Appalachian people, has criticized "the perception within Appalachia, as well as outside the region, that whites are the only significant group living there and/or that other groups are so small that their presence in the region is of little consequence."

to rationalize this otherness,

early perceptions

-how they were created; missionaries and stuff

how rationalizing these perception gave way to stereotypes

how stereotypes were created-missionaries and stuff

why-rationalize otherness

history of Appalachia

development of stereotypes

common stereotypes. related to:

-appearance

-economy

-beliefs

where we see them now