Elizabeth Boyd & Margaret Freeman: Why has Southern beauty persisted, maintaining power & privilege?


We have a special treat for you today! Today we have two guests on a very similar topic. The first is Margaret L. Freeman, author of “Women of Discriminating Taste: White Sororities and the Marking of American Ladyhood”, which examines the role of historically white sororities in the shaping of white womanhood in the twentieth century. We did a whole show a while back on the book, episode 104. We also have with us Elizabeth Boyd, author of the brand new book called “Southern Beauty: Race, Ritual, and Memory in the Modern South”, which explains a curiosity: why a feminine ideal rooted in the nineteenth century continues to enjoy currency well into the twenty-first. Elizabeth Boyd examines how the continuation of certain gender rituals in the American South has served to perpetuate racism, sexism, and classism. Special discount code 08AUEV on the brand new book called “Southern Beauty”. It’ll provide our listeners with a 30% discount on the new book when you purchase it on the UGA Press website.

In episode 285 of the Fraternity Foodie Podcast, we find out why Southern Studies has been such a focus for Elizabeth Boyd, why we see racist themes recurring over history – especially in the South, why white southern womanhood has remained a valued performance, what changes are being made to prevent discriminatory behavior, why southern beauty has persisted above all other symbols of power and privilege, how we need leadership to take a stance in order to protect marginalized communities, how we can acknowledge our history and then make meaningful change going forward, and how big a role sororities have played in the grassroots conservative movement of the twentieth century.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQxarIa5mBs