No Place for a Feminist: Intersectionality and the Problem South: SWS Presidential Address

Abstract

Perceptions of the American South as being no place for a feminist continue to affect and inform decisions about research and activism in the region. By taking a closer look at Memphis and the American South, and by questioning longstanding assumptions, stereotypes, and omissions about the region, we create additional opportunities for further discussion about the complexities of feminism, intersectionality, and place. I challenge two common assumptions about the South. The first is the assumption that southern feminists are rare, or nonexistent, and have had little influence on developing feminist perspectives or pursuing social activism as local initiatives. The second assumption involves the concept of the Problem South and the propensity of scholars, journalists, and activists to fall back on old ideas about southern exceptionalism, and to emphasize continuities between the Old South and New South while minimizing discontinuities. In challenging these assumptions, I review the significance of intersectionality and suggest that paying attention to region and place offers an additional level of complexity and explanatory power for understanding social phenomena, including gender, sexualities, and social movements, as well as southern feminism and the Problem South.

Southern Rural Feminism: U.S. Women Farmers in Production Agriculture

“…The U.S. South has long been cast as problematic with its history of white supremacy and sexism (Rushing 2017). Contemporary surveys indicate that sexist attitudes toward women in the U.S. Southeast are higher than in other parts of the country (Charles, Guryan, and Pan 2022).…”

“…to a focus on region and place(Rushing 2017) to a concept we call Southern Rural Feminism. Participants verbalize women's equality yet acknowledge perceived gender differences, often framed as strengths and weaknesses between the binary gender categories of men and women, where the uniqueness of a woman's touch is understood as maternal and offers value to the agriculture industry.…”

“…To be clear, Christianity is not exclusive to women farmers or even female farmers in the U.S. South and continues to be the most reported U.S. religion (64%), but is declining(Pew Research Center 2022). At the same time, research indicates that the U.S. South tends to be more religious and specifically Christian and has a greater level of sexist attitudes than other parts of the U.S (Norman, 2018;Rushing 2017;. Charles, Guryan, and Pan 2022).Within the context of the traditional rural southern culture, all women experienced differential gendered treatment in the industry, from welcomed gentlemanly behavior and gendered slights to more severe discrimination and harassment.…”