A Big-Haired Southern Girl

I don't know if I'm upset with Grey's Anatomy for dragging out southern stereotypes and having popular characters endorse them or if I'm glad the bias against southerners was shown. I'd definitely be glad if I thought viewers get it. Instead I figure more people will be reassured that we're all just hicks, rednecks, one of the last groups it's okay to make mean jokes about in public.

There are some common targets. There's the accent. If someone looks at it honestly, a southern accent doesn't make anyone ignorant anymore than a New York, Chicago, or a Midwestern accent (and yes, everyone has an accent). The drawl is like seasoning food. We like it a little slower and syrupy. It's not a sign of intelligence anymore than eating Cajun food is a sign you're not as intelligent as someone who eats scrapple.

Then there's Mama and Daddy. First; Mama is not the same as Mommy. It's not a child's word. It's not a sign of immaturity or weakness. It's more like 'Mom'. A Southerner who calls their parent Mother or Father either has a stick up their ass or there are problems in the relationship. Mama and Daddy are words of love, respect, and affection.

And Big Hair? It's humid here! If the hair starts big there may be something left at the end of the day. True strory: mentioned to a friend in another part of the country that the weatherman was promising low humidity for the weekend. "Oh," he asked "how low?" "It's going to be down to 58%!" Since the friend lives where the average humidity is @ 10%, he wasn't that impressed. At least not in the same way.