ABSTRACT
Planet USA, as exemplified in the perceptions given by respondents from Tennessee, accentuates this North/South divide, giving secondary consideration to the California variety, but always maintaining the importance of Northernness and Southernness for Tennesseans. For example, references to ‘Southern belles’ are almost necessarily references to media presentations of Southerners as espousing certain beliefs related to gentility and civility, and as people who participate in a particular kind of Southern culture tied up with those beliefs. Content creators in countless media outlets use shorthand images and misconstrued discourse to portray linguistic minorities and other non-standard speakers in a negative light. In this sense, the stereotypes not only loom large in the minds of people who have little experience with the groups being stereotyped; the stereotypes become the reality, especially for those people who have not had the interactions that could change them.
