Sunday, August 7, 2011
Southern Women
Southern-themed magazines and books proliferate on news stands, bursting with advice on how to brighten your home with Southern culture. Belk department stores have a new motto: "Modern. Southern. Style." As the meaning of "American" dissolves into the tepid meaninglessness of "multiculturalism," it’s no wonder people are attracted to the most enduring and distinctive culture in the crumbling DC Empire. From Garden and Gun:
Sex in the City may have been revolutionary for the rest of America, but not for Southern women. Of course we bond and adore each other, and talk about all topics savory and otherwise. That’s what being a woman means.
In Terms of Endearment, a dying Debra Winger visits a friend in New York and is immediately bewildered by the alternately indifferent and aggressive way the women relate to each other.
“Why do they act like that?” Winger asks a friend, genuinely confused. Why indeed.
Southern women see no point in the hard way. Life is hard enough. So we add a little sugar to the sour. Which is not to suggest Southern women are disingenuous cream puffs. Quite the opposite. When you are born into a history as loaded as the South’s, when you carry in your bones the incontrovertible knowledge of man’s violence and limitations, daring to stay sweet is about the most radical thing you can do.
Any culture that can thrive despite what the South has endured is worthy of respect, not to mention preservation. That’s why the League of the South was founded.
On The Web: http://lsrebellion.blogspot.com/2011/08/southern-women.html
