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Location: On the "Left Coast", somewhere in "the Land of Fruits & Nuts"
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mimimomx3
Do you feel good using the "N" word, too?
Well, thats the point, we have less offensive ways of describing other distinctive groups, but not for said ''bumpkins'', etc.... who still have distinct values and characteristics nonetheless. So what do you suggest... and let's not cop out with generic groups like ''Americans'', ''white'', etc.? Also I don't recall meeting a lot of Jewish cowboys lately (unless we include Billy Crystal in City Slicker)!
Quote:
Originally Posted by ellemint
There's even a research study that found that young men with Southern roots had a higher rise in testosterone or corticosteroids or something like that when they felt challenged, and were quicker to take offense when slighted, when compared to young men at the same college who had ancestors from Northeast U.S. !
And don't ask me for a citation, I'd have to dig for that one.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KathrynAragon
Well, I'm asking anyway, because that sounds extremely far fetched.
I found it !
[i]Insult, Aggression, and the Southern Culture of Honor: An "Experimental Ethnography"[/I]
"Three experiments examined how norms characteristic of a "culture of honor" manifest themselves in the cognitions, emotions, behaviors, and physiological reactions of southern White males. Participants were University of Michigan students who grew up in the North or South. In 3 experiments, they were insulted by a confederate who bumped into the participant and called him an "*****." Compared with northerners-who were relatively unaffected by the insult-southerners were (a) more likely to think their masculine reputation was threatened, (b) more upset (as shown by a rise in cortisol levels), (c) more physiologically primed for aggression (as shown by a rise in testosterone levels), (d) more cognitively primed for aggression, and (e) more likely to engage in aggressive and dominant behavior. Findings highlight the insult-aggression cycle in cultures of honor, in which insults diminish a man's reputation and he tries to restore his status by aggressive or violent behavior."
Very interesting. And very relevant for the transplanted southern culture of inner-city Chicago or Detroit.
I had to use asteriks for the 'bad' word but you can check it out in the original research article linked to below.
While looking for this one, I found an interesting research study that showed that inner-city black young men had higher testosterone levels than young black men who did not live in the inner-city. The authors suggested that the dangerous environment and the constant posturing and dominance behavior around "respect" kept the inner-city young men's testosterone levels elevated, and thus primed for further dominance behavior and perhaps aggression.
Well, thats the point, we have less offensive ways of describing other distinctive groups, but not for said ''bumpkins'', etc.... who still have distinct values and characteristics nonetheless. So what do you suggest... and let's not cop out with generic groups like ''Americans'', ''white'', etc.? Also I don't recall meeting a lot of Jewish cowboys lately (unless we include Billy Crystal in City Slicker)!
Are you trying to describe their ethnicity? There are lots of African American and Hispanic cowboys and farm workers, so we can't call them "European Americans".
You can't call them "Protestants", because they aren't all - and yes, there are Jewish cowboys (Museum celebrates Jewish cowboys) .
You can't even go for gender, because there are/were women farmers and cowboys.
You can't even call them Southerners, because there are plenty of cowboys in Wyoming.
What exactly are you looking for as the unifying characteristic?
Are you trying to describe their ethnicity? There are lots of African American and Hispanic cowboys and farm workers, so we can't call them "European Americans".
You can't call them "Protestants", because they aren't all - and yes, there are Jewish cowboys (Museum celebrates Jewish cowboys) .
You can't even go for gender, because there are/were women farmers and cowboys.
You can't even call them Southerners, because there are plenty of cowboys in Wyoming.
What exactly are you looking for as the unifying characteristic?
I'd say the unifying thread is some culture. Some shared aspects of culture.
I'd say the unifying thread is some culture. Some shared aspects of culture.
What culture is that? Texas is full of cultures- some overlap, many don't. I just don't think you can generalize, any more than you can generalize with any other group.
Just don't call them city types -- but redneck and country and cowboys aren't offensive terms -- even hillbilly can be a label worn with pride but isn't the same as redneck or cowboy.
"Redneck" ain't a bad word. There are store front businesses with "Redneck" in the name. Try THAT with the "N word" and so on.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ellemint
There's even a research study that found that young men with Southern roots had a higher rise in testosterone or corticosteroids or something like that when they felt challenged, and were quicker to take offense when slighted, when compared to young men at the same college who had ancestors from Northeast U.S. !
And don't ask me for a citation, I'd have to dig for that one.
I found it !
[i]Insult, Aggression, and the Southern Culture of Honor: An "Experimental Ethnography"[/I]
"Three experiments examined how norms characteristic of a "culture of honor" manifest themselves in the cognitions, emotions, behaviors, and physiological reactions of southern White males. Participants were University of Michigan students who grew up in the North or South. In 3 experiments, they were insulted by a confederate who bumped into the participant and called him an "*****." Compared with northerners-who were relatively unaffected by the insult-southerners were (a) more likely to think their masculine reputation was threatened, (b) more upset (as shown by a rise in cortisol levels), (c) more physiologically primed for aggression (as shown by a rise in testosterone levels), (d) more cognitively primed for aggression, and (e) more likely to engage in aggressive and dominant behavior. Findings highlight the insult-aggression cycle in cultures of honor, in which insults diminish a man's reputation and he tries to restore his status by aggressive or violent behavior."
Very interesting. And very relevant for the transplanted southern culture of inner-city Chicago or Detroit.
I had to use asteriks for the 'bad' word but you can check it out in the original research article linked to below.
While looking for this one, I found an interesting research study that showed that inner-city black young men had higher testosterone levels than young black men who did not live in the inner-city. The authors suggested that the dangerous environment and the constant posturing and dominance behavior around "respect" kept the inner-city young men's testosterone levels elevated, and thus primed for further dominance behavior and perhaps aggression.
What culture is that? Texas is full of cultures- some overlap, many don't. I just don't think you can generalize, any more than you can generalize with any other group.
Isn't that precisely the point of this thread --- as in "rednecks,hillbillies, southerners, cowboys etc...what do those things mean"...?
I'd say the unifying thread is some culture. Some shared aspects of culture.
It's going to be very tough to find one nonoffensive aspect of culture that is going to accurately encompass both rednecks, hillbillies, and cajuns. There's a way big difference between the cowboys in rural Texas, the mountain dwellers in rural West Virginia, and the swamp hunters from Louisiana. I can't think of anything that does unify them except they're all in an ignorant, unsophisticated stereotype. It's kind of like trying to find one aspect of culture to combine a farmer in Idaho and an inner city maid in Chicago. Both are lower class, relatively uneducated midwesterners. But their culture is vastly different. About the only things they do share are the offensive ones.
"Redneck" ain't a bad word. There are store front businesses with "Redneck" in the name. Try THAT with the "N word" and so on.
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