created by Exact-Fig-2517 on 09/02/2025 at 21:55 UTC
12 upvotes, 7 top-level comments (showing 7)
I’m specifically looking for recommendations on women stereotyped as “hillbillies,” “rednecks,” “hicks,” “bumpkins,” “yokels,” etc. Most of the articles and books I’ve found discuss feminist country music, but I’d like to get recs outside of this perspective too.
I would also like any recommendations that discuss Black rural women from the South and Black women that are considered to be stereotyped as “from the hood,” “hood rats,” “thots,” “ghetto,” etc., who may not necessarily be from the South.
I do not condone any of these stereotypes and am interested in seeing how these stereotypes are imagined by women and combatted in feminism.
Comment by dataqueer at 10/02/2025 at 16:23 UTC
6 upvotes, 0 direct replies
bell hooks is from KY and has written books/essays/poems on feminism and class, with a lens of being from the rural south
this is an older book, but Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich still feels prescient - it looks at the impact of the 96 welfare reform act on people/working poor, esp. women
any writer from the affrilachia (black appalachia) movement - nikki finney, crystal wilkinson are 2 that immediately come to mind
bobbie ann mason - also a writer from KY that has written several short stories that touch on class, her memoir is also a good read
Comment by Small-Wonder7503 at 09/02/2025 at 22:27 UTC
4 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Hello,
A book that had done very well in Ireland is called 'Poor' by Katriona O'Sullivan. It is her story about growing up in poverty in the UK and overcoming those difficulties through education. She is now a professeur of psychology in Ireland.
Not a 'redneck' but a woman who lived in poverty.
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Also, would Educated by Tara Westover be what you are looking for? She has a similar story of Katriona O'Sullivan and is from the Apalacian mountains.
Comment by exaggeratedfragility at 10/02/2025 at 17:11 UTC
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
dorothy allison is number one for the first half of your request, and one of my favorite authors in general. the introduction to her collection "trash" addresses that in particular, but all of her writing is stunning. she has a particular way of writing class with complete dignity while remaining honest about the ways poverty (and trauma in general) can fuck people up. can't recommend enough really, but her books *will* make you cry. further back, meridel le sueur might be an option. her short stories and political writing are both very much centered on poor women's experiences, but might be a bit early for your specific angle here. it's gorgeous writing nonetheless and highly recommend for pleasure/background even if it can't be integrated into your project.
Comment by [deleted] at 10/02/2025 at 19:22 UTC*
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Comment by jredacted at 12/02/2025 at 15:10 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
For the social mechanics, I would recommend Federici’s “Caliban and the Witch.” Much of the focus is on Europe’s transition from feudalism into capitalism and how that impacted the average European woman. Many of the author’s conclusions are informed by Europe’s projection of its own transitional period onto the global south, and colonial acceleration of those inherently patriarchal dynamics. She draws modern day connections to gender politics of indigenous Africans, and details how African nations are exploited by financial organizations like the World Bank. The ideas she presents about how white femininity is forced onto women worldwide in order to benefit a few wealthy individuals is very relevant to modern day.
Comment by XMytho-LogicX at 12/02/2025 at 22:16 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
In my themes in women's literature, we've been reading poetry from Crystal Wilkinson and there's also discussions of generational trauma and family
Comment by daisyintegral at 24/02/2025 at 05:56 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Not sure if it's quite what you're looking for but Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is what I thought of when reading this