Internet Trolls & an Identity Crisis
There’s a gatekeeping that happens in mountain communities; a set of invisible, unspoken rules about who truly belongs here. Pass through any hollow or downtown strip, and you’ll find people quick to hand out labels. Tourist. Out-of-towner. Not a real local.
For generations, mainstream media defined what "Appalachian" meant. Then over the years, we’ve allowed that definition seen in movies, social media, and even lyrics of songs define who we are. We even do the exact same thing to each other. We build a rigid picture in our minds of what an authentic mountain person is supposed to look like, act like, and live like. If you don't fit that narrative, your roots get questioned.
Judging someone's mountain credentials based on a single picture, a quick glance, or how they spend a weekend, overlooks the actual thread that binds us together: a shared connection to these ancient mountains and the culture built around them.
The Weight of Code-Switching
This desire to label each other hits even harder when you consider how many Appalachians feel like they have to change their appearance and hide their accents.
Countless Appalachians practice code-switching daily. The moment they step into a corporate boardroom, a college lecture hall, or a professional setting, they intentionally soften their accents, swap out regional phrasing, and alter their cadence. They do it to avoid being stereotyped as uneducated or slow; a bias that remains quietly acceptable in professional circles.
It’s an exhausting tightrope walk. You alter your voice to be taken seriously at work, only to return home and be accused of "forgetting where you came from" because you don't sound "mountain enough" anymore. Because even locals are guilty of holding people to a “check-list” of how a person should look, sound, and live to be considered real Appalachian.
Different Flavors, Same Roots
It’s time to retire the idea that there is only one way to be from here. There are endless “flavors” of Appalachian, and every single one is valid. Belonging isn't about fitting into someone else's narrow expectation. It comes down to something much deeper: being pulled toward these mountains, honoring the heritage, and standing proud in who you are no matter how you talk, how you look, or what path brought you here. It’s time to reclaim what it means to be Appalachian!
Appalachia Ramblin: Mini Episode
We dig even deeper into mountain identity, regional gatekeeping, and our own experiences with code-switching on our latest podcast release. Check out our very first mini-episode, Just Ramblin', to hear the full, unscripted conversation.
Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your audio fix.
