Images of Southern Women

South Polls Images of Southern Women Most studies of regional stereotypes have asked people to describe "southerners" in general , even though everyone knows that there are many different kinds of southerners. In particular, southern women have carried a heavy burden of image, some of it imposed by others, some of it self-inflicted. In September and October 1992, the University of North Carolina's Southern Focus Poll conducted telephone interviews with 583 residents of southern states (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia) and 350 residents of nonsouthern states. The survey covered a variety of questions about the fall 1992 election and such public issues as taxation and pornography, but it also looked at Americans ' perceptions of the differences between southern women and other American women and what the basis of those perceptions might be. Men and women, southern and nonsouthem, tend to see southern women as friendlier, less career-oriented, less feminist, more strong-willed, less self-centered, less independent, and less assertive than American women in general. Nonsouthem women are least likely to give conventionally stereotypical responses: that southern women are friendlier, more independent, less self-centered, or less assertive. Southerners of both sexes are more likely than nonsoutherners to see southern women as independent and strongwilled . Note that southern men are especially likely to say that southern women are less career-oriented and less feminist. Southern respondents are less likely to have any particular southern women in mind when answering these questions. If they do, they are, not surprisingly, more likely to mention relatives. The importance of the media in sustaining regional imagery is suggested by the percentages that mention public figures, entertainers, and fictional characters . Scarlett O'Hara seems to be an especially potent figure for nonsoutherners. The entire questionnaire is available, and the data can be obtained for further analysis, from the Institute for Research in Social Science, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3355. 126 Southern Cultures Would you say that southern women are more women in general? or less than American South Non-South Men (%) Women (%) Men (%) Women (%) Friendly Southern women more Southern women less No difference Don't know/no answer Career-oriented Southern women more Southern women less No difference Don't know/no answer 81 7 8 5 15 61 16 9 Feminist (sympathetic to the women's movement) Southern women more18 Southern women less64 No difference8 Don't know/no answer10 Strong-willed Southern women more52 Southern women less21 No difference18 Don't know/no answer9 Self-centered Southern women more22 Southern women less56 No difference15 Don't know/no answer7 Independent Southern women more30 Southern women less48 No difference13 Don't know/no answer8 Assertive Southern women more31 Southern women less46 No difference15 Don't know/no answer8 76 7 9 8 16 52 24 8 28 43 16 12 49 21 21 9 22 48 22 9 30 41 20 8 30 44 13 13 69 6 13 12 9 48 25 18 14 48 18 20 39 17 22 22 18 39 26 16 21 42 20 18 25 34 26 14 60 8 15 17 10 48 29 13 20 41 24 15 38 25 25 12 21 29 29 22 15 40 28 17 28 34 23 15 South Polls127 When you think of southern women, are there anyparticular women you think about? ____________________________________________South_________Non-South________ Don't know/no answer5847 Self1 — Relatives9 6 Friends4 7 Scarlett O'Hara or Vivian Leigh6 13 Other fictional characters*2 2 Public figures or wivest1312 Entertainerst5 9 Other and unknown5 9 'More than 80 percent of both southern and nonsouthem respondents in this category named characters from the television program Designing Women. tFrequently mentioned were Ann Richards, Coretta Scott King, Rosalynn Carter, and BarbaraJordan. ?Most frequently mentioned was Dolly Partem, followed by several other country music singers. —John Shelton Reed ...