Those awful reality shows that poke fun at Southerners

[Nanny Goat]

All of TV stereotypes people. Exaggerates...That's part of the supposed humor. NY'ers are all from Brooklyn & eat pizza all day, Southerners are a certain way, Californians a certain way. The list goes on. Reality TV is dumbed down garbage, most of it.

[Minervah]

When I moved to Portland OR back in 1978, people here asked me if I knew anyone from the Mafia and sometimes would point their fingers at me as if they were shooting machine guns going ack-ack-ack. They asked about "The Mob." For Pete's sake that was well over fifty years ago. But Chicago has a stereotype too. Even today I hear stuff like that at times.

[Dayton Sux]

What do you think about them? Let us know if you're a Southerner or not. And have they had a negative impact on perceptions of Southerners/stereotypes?

I am not a Southerner by birth, but spent my Junior High, HS and college years in Kentucky. So I am somewhat qualified.

One thing you don't see much in the media are what I call the "Educated Southerner", who might have got his undergrad degree at a 4 year college then went to grad school at the big state university (like Kentucky, Ole Miss, etc) or a bigger private uni like Emory or Vandy or Tulane.

These folks sometimes are, sometimes, actually somewhat bohemian and intellectual. They are the ones who support public broadcasting like KET in Kentucky (presumably othern Southern states have somilar things), libraries, etc.

Sometimes they are big sports fans (like that lawyer who was that big GA Bulldogs fan in Midnight in the Garden of Good And Evil), or sometimes not.

This "Educated Southerner" type you see a lot of in the literary world...they are the writers and the readers of the writers....that made the South such a literary powerhouse in the 20th century.

They also support the "bohemian college town oasis" that one sees down there. Places like Athens, Chapel Hill, perhaps others. Places and a scene that produced a lot of good pop music (Indigo Girls ...Decatur/Emery. Connels...from Carolina, B52s, REM...Athens, GA, Tom Petty...based in Gainsville, etc).

[Dayton Sux]

That being said, I think Duck Dynasty is a hoot!

[CowsAndBeer]

This is a global issue that happens to every region. People generalize based on stereotypes. This isn't a north/south issue at all.

[Mightyqueen801]

Originally Posted by lerner

Whenever I hear small-minded people mocking New Jersey I get so offended, and wish I could sit them down for a minute and tell them OHHHHH AYYYY FUGHEDDABAHDDIT OHHHHHHHHHH ASSORTED TYPES OF PASTA EYYYYYYYYY

LOL!

But for New Jerseyans like me, this doesn't even make sense. The Italians are newcomers to Jersey.

[Hamtonfordbury]

Originally Posted by Trimac20

Ever since Jerry Springer, but I just saw another one of those 'dumb southerners/hicks' reality show which was hilarious and so cheesy/obviously staged, and it got me noticing there are an awful lot of these shows that make fun of Southerners/rednecks. From Swamp People to Honey Boo Boo Child, it's like Southerners are one group you can have a laugh at the expense of without feeling guilty. They perpetuate a lot of ignorant stereotypes about the South, even if they contain some truth.

What do you think about them? Let us know if you're a Southerner or not. And have they had a negative impact on perceptions of Southerners/stereotypes?

Ignorance most certainly extends north of the Mason Dixon line if people believe everything they see on the 'History' channel lmao.

I like them, because they fool Northerners and Left Coasters into underestimating the region. Let them think the area is backwards and toothless while their space shuttles, medicine, computers, and nuclear arsenal come from some mystery location.