I have lived with the anxiety of stereotype threat since I was a small boy. I am originally from the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee and was raised by a single mother. We never had much money, but we always had a television. From the time I was a child, I noticed that there is a persistent narrative in works of fiction and non-fiction that Appalachian people are uneducated, fervently religious, violent, racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic and poor. We are often portrayed as what Gruman 2017 defines as deserving poor with individualistic leanings who are content with being lost causes. Willfully ignorant and lazy, the deserving Hillbilly is granted no sympathy because he is the author of his own plight. Many times, he is a methamphetamine addict or alcoholic.
Knowing this, I worked for many years to craft my presentation and personality in a way that would not exemplify those stereotypes and made conscious efforts to eliminate any discernible traces of mountain heritage. In elementary school, children would ask me where I was from. I would reply, “I’m from here, just like you.” Seemingly bewildered, they would often shake their heads and mutter, “No…” Part of the question was based on the fact that I attempted to use a non-regional dialect when speaking. I studied people on live television, especially the news, and emulated their speech to the best of my ability. I also tried to use their vocabulary instead of the colloquial words/phrases that were common in the area. For many years, I even intentionally mispronounced the word “Appalachian” to include a long a sound in the third syllable and a sh sound in place of the ch. I also avoided talking or learning about any stereotypical topics of interest that were commonly associated with the area like Country music, Nascar, Professional Wrestling, fishing, etc. Maybe they wanted to talk like hillbillies, but I certainly did not.
In many portrayals, Appalachians are visually depicted as perpetually dirty, people with missing and/or rotten teeth and unkempt hair. To combat this stereotype, I was vigilant about ensuring I was always clean and put together. I spent an hour getting ready every day to ensure my teeth, hair and nails were presentable. I remember a friend’s mother compared me in a positive light directly to her son and described me as polite and never having a “hair out of place.” That memory is probably from 5th grade and I have never forgotten that Mrs. Jeffers said that about me. This was very gratifying as I made constant efforts to be clean, mannerly and cultured.
I moved to California when I was 19 years old to obtain more exposure to diverse groups of people and experience what it was like to live in a large city. I wanted to see if Los Angeles was the horrible place so many teachers and preachers had described. However, I also found living there had become exhausting in some ways. The constant code switching between family who knew my origins and acquaintances who had no preconceived notions of me, had grown tiresome. I had no intention of conforming to their cultural expectations or committing to their way of life. I thought a change of scenery would help and provide a great opportunity to start over.
I soon found myself fighting a losing battle. It was even harder to hide my mountain qualities in California, especially my accent which stuck out like a sore thumb. Going to college here was tough as well. My accent is not synonymous with academia, in fact it is often portrayed and the antithesis. Although I knew a few professionals with graduate degrees growing up, most had moved to the area from somewhere else, usually out of state. Looking back, I now realize that I did not personally know anyone with a Bachelors degree that was actually from my hometown. However, to fight the stereotype, I always placed a high value on education. My mom, who has her Associates, made sure of this. She taught me that education would present an opportunity that few Appalachians had at that time: the chance to get out of the mountains and live somewhere else.
As a child I was very religious. I attended multiple Southern Baptist churches and loved it. We took the Bible literally and were quick to denounce those who did not. For whatever reason, I was proud to exemplify that stereotype. After moving to California and going to college, that all changed. One philosophy course was all it took. I quickly realized the reasons why faith had been waining for years and that feelings were not facts. This helped open the door to a deeper form of introspection that allowed me to examine my apprehension and resentment of my heritage. Learning about psychology, sociology and media effects research has helped me understand that I have been suffering with sterotype threat for most of my life. I realized that I was as prone to stereotype people with my area as anyone could be. I decided that I would work to accept them and, therefore, myserlf. Over time, I have learned to make peace with who I am and even grow more comfortable in exhibiting more qualities prevalent in the people of the Smoky Mountains. I do not code switch quite as much and have attempted to let my natural accent flow more freely. I also do not avoid using colloquial phrases or topics of conversation that relate to common interests of the area. I now realize that being Appalachian does not have to mean all of the negative things I once believed and that stereotypes are not always true. Take me from me, a sober, liberal, middle class, Appalachian atheist, living in California and completing my undergrad in psychology.
Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., and Coutts, L. M. (Eds.) (2017). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN 978-1-4833-6973-0
I really enjoyed reading your blog post. I am sorry that you struggled with the anxiety of stereotype threat since you were young. I can relate to this post in my life right now at my workplace. Typing this and saying it out loud makes me feel bad even saying the “stereotype” I face. “Stereotypes are “beliefs about the characteristics, attributes, and behaviors of members of certain groups” (Hilton & von Hipple, 1996, p. 240), and many stereotypes are culturally based (Moghaddam, 1998).” (Gruman. 402). I never even realized that I was actually apart of a stereotype until I recently experienced it. I am currently a toddler teacher at a daycare and all of my co-workers are females and mostly in their 20’s like me. When I first started my job no one liked me and I couldn’t figure out why for the longest time. After a year of working there I have finally made friends and I was told why I wasn’t welcomed or liked at first. I am a young, tall, skinny, blonde, blue eyed girl. The girls at my work told me that I looked stuck up, mean, privileged, snobby, and self centered. When I heard these things I was shocked because I am far from all of them. After the girls gave me a chance they realized and admitted that I am a whole different person then what I look like on the outside. This situation made me think about how this doesn’t just apply to me. I know that people face much more serious and cruel stereotypes then mine and that’s why I feel bad even talking about mine. If the stereotype I face really affected me I could image how people are affected by even worse ones. There are so many people out there that are judged or stereotyped just by their appearance. There are people that are out there that are completely written off because of how they look and that makes me sad. There are so many things that make up a person, their looks are just a small part of that. It’s sad to hear of all the different stereotypes that are said about so many different people.
Gruman, Jamie A., et al. Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. 3rd ed., SAGE, 2017.
I was working on this paper on the mechanisms of action of Cocaine addiction the other day and came across this Biologist named Earl Sutherland. This dude discovered the properties of Adenyl Cyclase which is a protein involved in the increased permeability of Adrenaline, Endorphins, and Enkephalins mainly used during fight or flight response. He grew up in a rural area of Kansas, enrolled in the military, attended Grinnell and Washington University in St. Louis. Through this incredible discovery he never ventured outside of the Mid-west until his death. Through displays of brilliance, he always held a close connection to his rural upbringings. Certain people that grew up in areas defined as the east coast put themselves on a pedestal as the epitome of intellectual capacity that should be emulated. Habituation is a prominent sign of normal intellectual development. As children we grow up seeing the haves and have not’s, what’s cool what’s square, what’s smart what’s stupid and depending on who you are as an individual you’ll unconsciously imitate the positive and it will make you a better person. The act of evolving through imitation is one of the strongest signs of normal adult development. There are so many ways to express talent and intelligence…. Don’t let self-efficiency get the best of you…. Allow yourself to be judged by your own merit….
References
Gruman, J.A.,Schneider, F.W., & Coutts, L.A. (2017). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
I loved reading your post and I was sorry to hear how stressful stereotype threat made your young life . I moved from the east coast to San Diego when I was 12. I lived there for 7-8 years before moving back. I can relate when you mentioned being unable to hide your accent in California. Everyone there was obsessed with how I said the words, ” class, glass and house.” And the words “radiator and roof,” are said quite differently in California as well. Over time, I began to talk like everyone in California and what’s funny is if I talk to a good friend from there my “California accent” comes back. Gruman, Schneider and Coutts (2017) said that performance deficits are a result of stereotype threat because so much attention is placed on not confirming a negative stereotype that the task at hand suffers. You seem to be an exception to that consequence, in terms of education, since you valued school so much. I’m glad that education was a place of refuge and introspection that allowed you to appreciate your unique qualities. Your post reminded me that stereotypes come in all different shapes and forms and that we all need to appreciate our uniqueness a little more.
References
Gruman, J.A.,Schneider, F.W., & Coutts, L.A. (2017). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.