Northern versus Southern Women and Culture - Opinions? Observations? (hair, house, movies)

[melimeg1591]

I live in the middle - Maryland. I've also lived in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia, and I visit my father a lot who lives in Connecticut.

Here are my observations of Southern and Northern women and general culture - similarities, differences, and stereotypes on some of the specific topics that I've read.

Gossip - Men and women of all ages and ethnicity gossip. There are people who don't. Everyone handles it differently. There are people who denied it, justify it, fight over it, or never talk to each other again because of it. Reasons why people gossip are to fit in, get onto someone's good side, make someone else look bad. Reasons why people don't gossip are to feel righteous, because Jesus says not to gossip, because it brings about bad karma, because they don't want to be mean, they feel sorry for someone, or they are confident enough not to have to do that just to fit in.

Fashion - Random statements: I've never seen edgy, all-black fashion in the South unless it was worn by The Man in Black himself. The only time I've ever seen a woman anywhere wearing Daisy Dukes and a tied-up plaid shirt with cowboy boots and pigtails was at a beer and bourbon festival, and she worked there. People in New York wear lots of black and have either no makeup and no-fuss hair and still look amazing, or they have a cool artsy hair and makeup getup. Women in New England are very wholesome with minimal makeup and wear L.L. Bean. Women in the South (Pennsyltucky included) wear anything from CarHart jackets and camo to jeans and a tank top to pretty sundresses, have a sunkissed glow to their skin, and like to curl their hair. I see fake tanning and fake nails more in the South. Makeup in the South is hit or miss; they are either girly or tomboyish. I personally am a tomboy, but I love to dress up, too (I'm from Maryland, so I hit the middle ground on everything). In my experience, Southern men don't like their women to wear makeup, and I've seen them get angry and jealous about it, so then the women sneak and put it on when the men aren't around and wipe it off before they get home, lol. Women in the South seem to be more jealous of each other than in the North. Northern chics might be envious but not jealous.

Body Size - I've seen everything from big and beautiful, fat and sloppy, skinny and emaciated, slender and gorgeous in the South and North. It just depends on what areas you go to. Poorer areas have larger people, it seems, because they don't eat as healthfully as most well-to-do people do (most, I say; there are exceptions to every so-called rule). I've had people in the South AND North tell me I'm "so skinny," so I don't think there's a thing about having meat on your bones that's specific to one region or the other. People in the north seem to have better teeth.

Manners and Hospitality - The people in New York and New England will insult you with elegance and intelligence, and you might not catch it right away and mistakenly think they're joking. People in PA, MD, and south of there either won't insult you at all and just walk away, ignore you and gossip about you later, or flat out get in your face and tell you exactly what they think about you loudly and with lots of curse words. I've been able to get friendly driving directions in the North and the South and have felt welcomed in the homes of both Northerners and Southerners. A difference, though, is that a Northern woman wants you to leave when a party is over so she can clean up and won't try to get you to stay. If you try to leave a Southern woman's house after a party, she will likely say "stay with us" even though she too really wants you to leave..but not so she can clean but so she can get her sweats on and watch TV in peace.

Reputation - I've heard of some pretty promiscuous and downright disgusting things going down in the South and the North, from swinger clubs (these are in the South, too), things that only happen on remote farms (yes, there are farms in the North, too), cheating, etc. etc. etc. This is definitely not a Southern or Northern thing. I've also known people who have been very chaste in both the North and the South and look down upon people who have more than 1 lifetime partner or get divorced or never get married. It's a personal preference thing; not a regional one.

Church - The South is more religious; hence, "The Bible Belt." In the North, there are more nondenominational churches than Baptist ones, but at least people still go to church.

Lifestyle, Hobbies, and Domestication - Some women in both the North and South do cook, sew, and garden. Women in the North seem more career oriented than in the South where the focus is on getting married and having a family. I've seen some disgusting pigsty-looking houses that should be knocked down in both the North and the South and then other homes that are neat as a pin in both regions. I've been in Northern and Southern households where everything is chips, soda/Cokes, snack cakes, TV dinners, and kids with sticky hands and faces going to bed after midnight with their dirty clothes on. However, I've also been in Northern and Southern households where food is actually prepared, cooked, and baked, and the kids have an evening bathing and bedtime routine no later than at 8pm. Additionally, I can't imagine someone in the South eating much sushi or seafood, and I can't imagine anyone up north eating chitterlings or even knowing what that was. In Maryland, you either love country music or you hate it; there's no inbetween. Also, in Maryland, if you're from central or south Maryland between Baltimore and DC, you're a Northerner/city folk. If you're from western Maryland (Frederick or Cumberland), the Eastern Shore (not including Ocean City), or the Hereford zone up near Pennsylvania, you're a Southerner/country folk.

So there you have it!

[AFP]

Interesting but why did you post it in the Mexico forum?

[ambrichard]

I'm a northern boy, Melimeg1591 and I think your observations are right on target. I've lived here and there around the country--Seattle, Rural Ohio, Arizona, California and New York. My most vivid coming of age experience was visiting relatives in Charleston, SC. I remember the strong iced tea, the crunchy fried chicken and the amazing pecan pie at the Goody House on Pitt Street (It's a Starbucks now). I also recall meeting young ladies and some beer-soaked evenings in Isle of Palms and Folly Beach. This experience as a 16-year-old formed in me a positive attitude toward Southern Living. People were kind and cordial to me then in the late 1950s even though I was the Yankee cousin from New York. Now 58 years later I am still charmed by ladies with a southern accent and now and then cook-up some grits with my eggs in the morning. There is a vitality and societal warmth to the southern regions that can be found no where else in the country. In past years, the South received a inaccurate portrayal from the stereo-typed views of Hollywood movies painting a one-sided portrait and omitting the wealth of positive southern attributes. A bounty of good things can be found in most regions of our country if one makes the effort to look objectively.
We plan to relocate in Virginia this summer.