Why “the south?”
I’ve been trying to find a broad topic to guide this space for a while, but couldn’t narrow it down. When asked what folks were interested in, community suggestions ranged from learning about my new home to sustainability in food. Each of those felt either too broad, too narrow, or just not quite right for me to work on consistently for a longer but also still limited period of time.
And then I started a culture war on TikTok (once I start talking in that vid captions should come up automatically on TT for anyone who needs them). As with all the internet dust-ups I get involved in, it was unintentional. I attempted to address a nuanced topic with my signature sass and then was quickly smacked in the face with how little social media discourse makes room for nuance. My video was an attempt to point out that takes on “the South,” a region with 100+ million people and 16 states (plus the District of Columbia), that rest solely on broad negative generalizations and stereotypes such as “it sucks” and “it’s backward” are often just disguised classism and elitism. I also think there’s often some racism thrown in there but I left that alone in my video for the sake of trying not to make people too defensive.
I am very honored to be in this community space. I am very excited! And YES! This is the conversation that needs to have had. I have been living in Memphis for the past 4 years. There is such diverse food, community, and struggles unique to Memphis while it is still in the broader category of the South. It is very different than East TN feels, and there is deep pride for the 901. My dad's side of the family is from Louisiana, which is broadly considered in the South but the culture is very different than Tennessee or Georgia or Texas!
I am a recent resident of the beautiful state of Michigan. One of the major grocery chains near me has (American) "Southern Food" in the "International" aisle (which incited a lot of feelings in me that I won't unpack in a blog comment). Anyway, that is to say that I think an in-depth look at the American South, it's food, foodways, and food history is definitely warranted and look forward to it!
As someone born and raised in Georgia, I've had the "where does the south start" a lot with a lot of different people. I think an important consideration is what the people who live there consider themselves. As a Georgian, I've personally considered Delaware to be a part of the south and now I'm genuinely wondering if people in Delaware consider themselves southern. I guess in my brain I've always lumped Maryland, DC and Delaware into their own special category. I also think it's interesting that the question is always "where is the south" - not "where is the north" or "where is the Midwest" - it holds this different place in people's minds.
Absolutely loving being a part of this community, Anela! I love learning (and unlearning) about different cultures and their foods, and I’m so appreciative of all the hard work you’ve put into Magic At The Margins. Thank you for everything you do.
As someone from the Midwest whose family is from the South (NC, AR, TX (though Texas's inclusion in "The South" is often debated!)), I FEEL THIS theme for the year!
I also love the idea of exploring regional foods and traditions. One resource I've enjoyed exploring are community cookbooks from different community groups in the '40s through the '80s. It's so interesting to see how food has changed and evolved in different contexts in this country.