A Look at Southern Kentucky

Courtney Ivey

Thesis: The people of the south (more specifically southern Kentucky) are commonly
stereotyped in a derogatory way such as uneducated, opinionated, rednecks or in a nicer way
such as being called religious farmers, but both stereotypes are only somewhat credible.

Introduction
All my life whenever asked the question Where are you from? I would undoubtedly respond
with northern Kentucky. Although this is exactly where Im from, most people that live in my
area would respond differently they would say theyre from Cincinnati, which is a city across
the Ohio River in Ohio not even in Kentucky. Some would claim the reason they say theyre
from Cincinnati is for geographical clarification, but even so it seems that they are avoiding
being identified with living in Kentucky. I believe this has to do with the stereotypes affiliated
with people living in the south, and Kentucky is included because it is the most upper state that is
considered southern. Im sure some twenty five percent of the people in this classroom live in
Kentucky, just assuming since were all attending school here in Kentucky, and will be able to
relate to what Im here to present to you today. That being said, people in the south have a
tendency to be judged by others as uneducated rednecks living on farms, and I believe this is due
to history past and the way the media portrays this region of the U.S.

Transition: First, I want to take a look at a couple of the stereotypes placed on southerners,
specifically in Kentucky, and compare them to statistical data. So, what image comes to mind
when you think of someone that lives in the south?

I. Everyone in the south either lives on or by a farm.

i.
ii.

This seems to me like a harmless judgment. Although its wrong to assume that everyone
lives by or on a farm, its true that a lot of people in the south do!
For example, acording to the 2010 U.S Census Bureau Kentucky had fourteen million
acres of farmland. To put this in perspective, thats approximately 22,000 square miles
out of Kentuckys 40,000 total square mileage!

II. People with southern accents are uneducated.

i.

ii.

Going back to the farmer stereotype, since we can agree that there is a lot of
farmland in Kentucky there must be a lot of farmers in the south. Farmers dont
need a college degree, so the majority of them dont pursue one.
There are many prime examples of intelligent men and women that come from
the south.

a. In an interview I conducted with a student here at UK, raised in Grayson

Kentucky, he told me that he graduated as the salutatorian of his class with a
4.3 grade point average, and he took honors and advanced placement classes.
Now hes down here studying mechanical engineering not an easy major.
b. Jaclyn is pre-nursing and a cheerleader so she must be really smart if she can
balance all of that.

Transition: Now that we know what exactly the stereotypes are, I want to explain why the south
may be perceived this way.

I. The media is a huge reason why the south gets critiqued the way it does.
i. Honey Boo Boo is (or at least was) a reality TV show on TLC about a toddler pageant
princess and her family. What makes this show so interesting is that Alana, the pageant princess,
is a wild country girl. Her and her family represent the south well, exactly the way America
stereotypes it to be.
ii. Another TV show that used to horribly portray people living in the south is the
Amanda Show. Let me show you all a clip from this. No wonder why people judge southerners
like so!

Transition: Seeing as how the media portrays the south in the stereotypical way we would
expect, I want to conclude by saying that no matter how right or wrong these stereotypes are, it
doesnt make it okay to judge a culture like so.

Conclusion
So maybe it is true that the south, and more specifically Kentucky, is full of farm land and people
that chose not to get a college degree because they knew farming was their future. But not
everyone in the south lives on a farm or chooses to pursue agriculture! There are so many smart
men and women that come from the south, including some of us sitting in this room right now!
And thats not to say that those that pursue agriculture arent as smart. The only reason that
stereotypes about people in the south are even a thing is because the media finds the sloppiest
southern family and exploits them all over the TV and internet. It seems that this is a common
trend. Cultures are judged by people that make their judgments based off of what they see in the
media, but dont really know anything about. Instead, I believe that we should first take the time
to find out real facts about a culture before believing the things that we hear. By doing so we can
avoid making assumptions, and know the reality behind the culture.