What makes southern hospitality

And because we love company and, admittedly, talking, conversations with loved ones and guests are never rushed. The motto of the South is "what's the hurry? Entertaining and delicious food go hand in hand in the South. Every Southern woman knows how to whip up a warm peach cobbler or a classic Hummingbird Cake.

We make no apologies for loving our tub of lard and embracing tradition in the kitchen, often preparing time-tested recipes passed down through generations. Our thinking in the South is that one dish is never enough, because you never know when you'll have unexpected guests or relatives for dinner.

And you can rest assured, a slow cooker or cast-iron skillet is almost always involved in cooking comforting and soul-satisfying food emblematic of the South. We treat our guests like they're family in the South. As the saying goes, "There are no strangers, just friends we haven't met yet. The most powerful gesture of kindness in the South is often a simple handshake, where a good, firm grip still goes a long way here. You can forget about fixing your own plate or helping with the dishes as a guest in a Southern home.

A: Our idea of the South is largely imaginary, but it has real effects and consequences. We project both negative and positive things onto the region. The South today is incredibly diverse. A: Because the myth of Southern hospitality serves the rest of the nation as much as Southerners.

After the Civil War and during Jim Crow segregation, it helped white Northerners accept reconciliation with the South. Through most of the 20th century and continuing today, it has been a vehicle for economic development through travel and tourism, peddling Southern food and a romantic vision of a more leisurely, rural lifestyle. Q: The popularity of Southern Living magazine and the national obsession with Southern barbecue come to mind.

A: We often talk about pop culture in my classes, and students gave me some great examples for the book. A couple of years ago, I taught an honors seminar on the Southern plantation. We read plantation manuals, slave journals, pro- and anti-slavery novels and films.

We also looked at some of the commercial aspects of Southern hospitality today -- the big market for plantation weddings, for example. On some websites advertising authentic plantation weddings, we found photographs of white bridesmaids hanging out of old slave cabin windows. That was an eye-opener for all of us. Everyone lets you pat their dog or cat! People are happy to pose for a photo even the fire department! Real LA to San Francisco. View trip. Real Canada. Real Mexico.

Rachel Claire Rachel Claire is a travel photographer and journalist hailing from Perth. You might also like. Spooky stories: a guide to the most famous Meet Annette, the Intrepid traveller who created a Seeing Australia through the eyes of a traditional Be Together: Stories of love found and connections Be Together: a celebration of special travel friendships. Be together: a celebration of family travel memories.