The Diversity of Appalachia

ERH 303, Section 1

Date Due: 13 December 2016

Date Sub: 13 December 2016

Interview Project

Help Received:

Discussion of thesis and proof            reading with girlfriend Lydia Snyder, conference with MAJ Iddings                                                                                            Timothy Wenholz

In this interview project I chose a candidate that would show me an example of how a young Appalachian might perceive the Appalachian region. I wanted to find out if they really felt like they were being stereotyped frequently or if they felt like the Appalachian stereotypes we discussed in class weren’t really present in everyday interaction. I wanted to discover what his perceptions of Appalachian stereotypes were and to whom they were applied. During my interview I discovered that he definitely has an “us and them” view when it comes to Appalachian stereotypes. He also places heavy emphasis on how different regions have different cultures and negative Appalachian stereotypes can’t be applied to everyone. I agree that negatively stereotyping an entire region is simply wrong. In addition to that, however, each culture within the Appalachian region has its own unique traits, and America needs to realize that each culture contributes to America as a whole. Preconceived notions about Appalachians prevent outsiders and even other Appalachians, like my interviewee, from immersing themselves in a rich culture that has a lot to offer.

The Appalachian region is made up of many cultures. Factors ranging from food to dress to mindset all depend on what part of the Appalachian region an individual might be in. This diversity is especially apparent between rural areas, the mountains, and the city. My interviewee is from a small rural town, New Count, Virginia, that is located in the area around Richmond and Williamsburg. He is not the stereotypical Appalachian and is interested in going to the beach and visiting museums in the city. He has also been to many parts of Appalachia, like Pennsylvania in the north and Georgia in the south. He notes that the cuisine is very diverse depending on where you are. There is seafood on the coast and Philly cheese steaks in Pennsylvania and New York. He knows friends who eat a lot of deer meat because they hunt a lot. His family had Italian roots,

so they eat a lot of pasta. “Well my family is all Italian so we do it different, however, my friend who has lived in the Appalachian region his whole life– he eats a lot of deer steaks and deer ‘cause his family hunts a lot. My family eats a lot of pasta because we’re Italian.” (Hohman) He also does some hunting, but he feels like he does not hunt as much as Appalachian people from areas closer to the mountains. His line of thinking is that if those from his area go to the mountains to hunt, those in the mountains must hunt even more than them. “I mean in my area we still hunt and stuff, but I feel like up there it’s even better ‘cause people take trips from the area where I live out towards the mountainous area to go hunting.” (Hohman) His answers point out the diversity of the Appalachian region and how the blanketing of negative stereotypes is wrong because they simply don’t apply to every person in the Appalachian region. He thinks that there are some people who may fit these stereotypes but he is an example that proves that the whole region does not.

He doesn’t feel like the negative stereotypes portrayed by popular media and culture apply to his area. He feels like he fits some of the less negative stereotypes, like dressing in camouflage or going hunting, and that the negative ones don’t apply to him. He emphasizes a lot in his answers that these negative stereotypes spoken of by the media apply to people who live closer to the mountains. “On Twitter and social media I hear those people closer to the Appalachian Mountains are inbred, hicks, whereas people from central are more artsy.” (Hohman) Even Appalachians stereotype people within their own region. “Me and my friends will go out and spend time in the mountains. We have to go through all these small towns in the mountains. They all look straight inbred and hick. It looks like they all smoke meth. That kind of thing. You can definitely tell.” (Hohman) I find it very interesting that people within Appalachia

will stereotype other Appalachians. I know when we discussed our interviews in class that other people’s interviewees had similar views, saying statements along the lines of, “Oh no, those people are over there, I’m not one of them.” (Hohman) This shows that even people who live within Appalachia have succumbed to the media’s “us and them” mentality and have accepted the stereotypes of the Appalachian region.

My interviewee emphasized on not coming into Appalachia with a preconceived image but instead coming to explore the whole region and see the different cultures. Before I explained to him what region the term Appalachia encompassed, he thought that the term was just focused on the mountainous regions. “I felt like I’m not part of the Appalachian area because I don’t hike that much and all that stuff so yes and no because yes geographically I do live here and no because I do not feel like I’m towards the mountains when I hear that.” (Hohman) I can empathize with him here because at the beginning of class when we did an exercise to see what the word Appalachian brought to mind for us, I thought of the mountains. I actually didn’t even realize that the Appalachian region went all the way down to Florida and up into New York, covering regions far from the Appalachian Mountains. Throughout the interview he kept going back to the idea that there is no blanket stereotype in Appalachia and that each area is different. So when I asked him what he would want people to know about the Appalachian region his response was to explore and to not just look to confirm the stereotype you may think is correct. “Yeah like I’ve been in the mountains and seen more nature and I’ve been to Virginia Beach and you can go to the ocean and have more fun and go to Georgia and up north. You can experience all the cultures before you make a stereotypical perception.” (Hohman) See the different cultures before you say you’ve been to Appalachia and know what it’s like.

In the end, through this interview I’ve learned that Appalachia has a very diverse culture, and it seems that each culture perceives itself differently than the other cultures around it. There may be some people who fit the negative stereotypes portrayed by the media and literature, but clearly stereotypes do not accurately define an entire demographic of people. The stereotypes are common thinking in the minds of both those who do not live in the Appalachian region and those who do. The outsiders blanket the entire region with these stereotypes, whereas those from Appalachia target certain areas. I think that the idea my interviewee has of seeing the whole region without preconceived notions before passing judgement is an excellent way of exploring all the different cultures. I do not believe it stops there, however. It is important for both non-natives and natives to see that Appalachians aren’t ignorant, inbred, and hick but rather are a blend of different cultures that have a lot to contribute to a diverse American culture.

References:

Hohman, Blake. Personal interview. 16 November  2016.