What does baton twirling symbolize in Terry Southern's story? That is, it isn't actually or only a story about baton twirling, is it? Can you think of an activity today that might symbolize something similar?
Your response is due by 4 p.m. this Wednesday, April 3,.
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In Terry Southern’s story, baton twirling symbolizes the distinct differences between two separate groups of people, that being the African Americans and the Whites. As depicted in the story, only white girls attended Ole Miss, practiced and competed in the baton twirling competitions. The act of baton twirling also symbolized the prestige and power that this group of people had over the African Americans. Through the use of imagery, dialogue amongst individuals in these separate groups, the overall distinction baton twirling had on the women, the use of “nigger” and the separate water fountains labeled “colors only,” showed this absolute division of the people. However, Southern does this by identify one difference, that being the baton twirling, and uses it as the symbol in representing this distinction amongst the people and the power they held in the South.
In today’s society an activity which might symbolize something similar could be lacrosse. Lacrosse could be seen as a sport that many white, prestigious, wealthy young boys play. It is a sport that can be seen as a distinction between people of class, due to the expense the sport has with it. Most people in lower income families could probably not afford to play the sport, or at least play for consecutive years until they had to get new equipment. Although this may not be seen as a sport that separates people based on color, it still could be looked at as a sport that separates people based on wealth, which is still a distinction of people in society.
What does baton twirling symbolize in Terry Southern's story? That is, it isn't actually or only a story about baton twirling, is it? Can you think of an activity today that might symbolize something similar?
More than a story about the simultaneous fascination and repulsion in witnessing the act of baton twirling, Twirling at Ole Miss is a commentary on the culture of the South, and more specifically social inequality and prejudice in Mississippi. Southern's assignment turns into something of a horror story for the educated New Yorker as he encounters several bits of social inequality and close/small-minded (or absolutely dreadful) individuals. As Jade said above, I totally agree that this piece gets at the divide between, not only two different races, but two different cultures and on top of that, adds the perspective of an individual who is well aware of injustice/horror in the divide. He recognizes that baton twirling is an art, and does possess an odd combination of concentration and expression (to each his own), but in adding vignettes from his personal visit (the library book, the fountains and the "pink faced man") Southern shows readers that baton twirling is another form of of making the social divide even greater. I think that lacrosse is a great example of this, as well as CREW, because these sports can only exists in communities of wealth. I went from a 100 person middle school without a football team to a 2000 person high school with with CREW, something I had never even heard before. It requires money, and it requires a certain culture around that money. I think that's some of what Southern is getting at.
Twirling at Ole Miss opens the discussion for the everlasting theme of racism in the south. How it never did disappear and has a hold on the community. It is though, in Southern's article one cant escape this perception. Everyone in the community is intertwined by these views, even law students, educated men are biased and are constructs of their racist community. They hold on separation. In every area that tries to breathe a new perspective, such as the library it is weighed down by the lack of tolerance for equality and racist structure. Where baton twirling comes in is that is provides a clear separation for race. It provides a facade of something pretty and theatrical to look at the boggle up the rest of the culture. People want something young and pretty to look at while the live in shit of old racist ties. It is part of the American experience to be distracted and brain dead.
An activity today that can be compared to baton twirling is almost as old as baton twirling. Horse racing is racism at its best. Betting and harvesting and breeding horse to compete in a very physically and competitive sport which is highly planted in the money and gambling. In Kentucky Derby, Thompson witnesses and records the mockery of the whole event and shows the true colors of rich whitey. The presentation of human live at its worse. Sucking the life out of beautiful creatures and use them for their own gain and pleasure or greed. It roots in racism is not obvious but reveals small truths in the trails of the races. In Steadman's illustrations of the races one can witness and visualize the pressure and intensity the horses are under. What an all-American sport! Doing nothing but shouting and reaping the rewards based on something's sweat.
In Southern's story, baton twirling symbolizes prejudice and social inequality in the South, during a time when that inequality was a killing matter. Southern disguises the true message of his story by commenting blandly on the baton twirlers, but the small details he drops into the story--the fountain he notices upon first arriving in the state, his trip for white lightning, the girl at the story's very end wearing a Confederate flag--reveal the true meaning of the story. It is definitely not simply a story of baton twirling; rather, Southern uses baton twirling to comment on the deep-set prejudices in the South. He uses the contrast between the rich, idyllic life at the school and the reality of the South's situation to comment on the South's seeming indifference towards their own prejudices.
As for a modern sport that might symbolize something similar, for some reason I really want to say football. Football has become sort of a staple of American culture, with people so invested in the games they might actually suffer psychotic breaks if their chosen team loses. While there's not so much of a prejudice about football, it does represent a certain niche of American culture where outsiders are shunned and looked down upon, and it definitely contributes to social stereotypes of masculinity, and indirectly, femininity. While that might not be the same thing baton twirling symbolizes, or to quite the same level, it has similar effects.
In Terry Southern’s story, baton twirling symbolizes the division between white people and african americans in the south. Using dialogue between Southern and the people he met in Mississippi, he makes the point that the whites saw themselves as superior. The two law students that he met gave him insight to what would happen if an african american student was admitted to their school by telling him that he would not even last a day. Students would plant something in his room and he would be kicked out promptly. After they revealed this to Southern, they began to sing, “oh we’ll bury all the niggers in the Mississippi mud...” This stuck out in the story for me because it was such a blatant example of racism. Southern’s use of symbolism drove the point home as well. He included the “for colored” drinking fountain that was always obscured by shadow as well as the book he found in the library with “nigger-lover” scrawled across the title page. These small details made it clear that the story was not exclusively about a baton twirling school in Mississippi.
An activity of today that may come close to the symbolism of baton twirling in the story is lacrosse. This sport is heavily populated by the upper class white males of society. It is an expensive sport that almost requires it’s players to be wealthy. To get into the higher leagues, you must be able to pay a large sum of money for the schools that are known for the sport. Much like the baton twirling institute in the story, you must come from a certain background and have a certain amount of wealth to enter the partially exclusive sport.
In addition to what has already been said - the symbolism of Twirling at Ole Miss is a commentary on racism, sexism and the subtle ways in which people may not consider themselves as being prejudiced but rather, intrinsiclly "better" in some way.
Baton twirling symbolizes a self-satisfied sense of power and success, among people whose own high opinionso of themseleves elevates them to that status without basis in fact. Although mainly addressing the divide of racisim, it also touches on the divide between North and South and men and women.
An activity today, from a journalism standpoint, would be the reporter's approach to a story with his sense of irony and sarcasm well prepared to make the reader feel the message, by showing them what to think rather than telling them.
"I take my leave of the excellent fellow, ... ready for anything." The use of words and imagery in Southern's story tell us he doesn't believe literally the words he puts on the page. So much the better.
I believe that the baton twirling at Ole Miss symbolizes a few different things. It symbolizes objectification of women, cultural adaptations, privilege, and superiority. The baton twirling symbolizes the objectification of women because of the suggestiveness of the dances. Southern makes a point to address how cute the girls are and how scantily clad they are. He compares it to Burlesque. This both empowers the women and degrades them. It ties in with cultural adaptations because these dance moves are based on colored culture, as Southern points out. I think it goes further than that. I think that it is representative of privilege and superiority in that only thin pretty girls who work an absurd amount to compete shows a particular drive that was almost a little uncommon in white culture during that time period. This relates to racism and prejudice. Borrowing from colored culture but pretending that its their own makes is indicative of the superiority complex the White South had over their African American counterparts. The comments about allowing or not allowing colored people into the University struck me in particular because of some of the characters' insistence on being open-minded. In someways I could see this, in that they have borrowed dancing techniques, and in many, I don't see it at all.
I feel like the story itself is about racism and sexism during the Civil RIghts period.
I think a present day activity that really gets at the heart of the sexism and possible even the racism in this story is stripping. Stripping is a choice women make that makes them feel empowered and at the same time objectifies them. I feel like this is exactly what the baton twirling is symbolizing. Not to be too graphic, but many different races of women tend to be stereotyped to be "good at" different things related to sex, movement, dancing, and other objectifiable activities.
Terry Southern’s story about visiting Mississippi in order to report on baton twirling at Ole Miss is rich with detail, deep thought, and symbolism. What’s more is it is a story taken from real life experiences. Southern makes an important observation early on about the irony of the “For Colored” water fountain sitting in the shadow of the courthouse’s justice symbol. He has made this trip to report on the ladies who have put so much into their baton twirling at Ole Miss; but his experiences and ability to understand their significance leads him to write a story about much more. Baton twirling symbolizes social inequality in the South. He does not neglect to tell the reader about the actual baton twirling—he describes the training, competitions, and majorettes. But his frank tone and his inclusion of accompanying experiences, such as buying “nigger-pot”, allow the whole story to be told. I think Southern feels bad for both classes of people portrayed in the story. On the one hand, the South is clearly still racist and African-Americans are hardworking but poor; but these young white girls are actually invested in baton twirling and “strutting,” dreaming of Memphis while their elders sing songs about “burying niggers”. As an outsider, he is really able to show the disconnection between people. I really enjoyed the ending, when he puts forth the idea that the best things about the South actually come from its colored culture.
A lot of activities today could be compared to baton twirling. One example is modeling. Women and men spend time and money trying to be appreciated for their beautiful forms, when the reality of it is that there is so much more going on below the surface. And like baton twirling, modeling and so many of today’s pursuits require specific traits or attributes, continuing the never ending cycle of detachment from one another.
Terry Southern's story is not simply about baton twirling, it symbolizes the segregation of black and white Americans in the south and larger than that, the struggle of any oppressed group.
As Cooper stated before, Southern's use of dialogue is key to create the stark contrast of segregation. The language of the child selling "nigger pot" juxtaposed to "Mister Baton" creates a clear picture of the status differences due to segregation.
Southerns comparison of baton twirling and the women's rights movement also encapsulates his tongue in cheek style utilized while describing such a complex issue. Southern explains that baton twirling is women's outlet to show their independence and capability, even if they have the be scantily clad to do so. The women have to practice for hours and hours a day to even be passably good at the sport. The struggle of oppressed groups is an everyday uphill battle of consistent trying, and Southern paints this picture through the sport of baton twirling.
"There is something almost insane about the amount of sheer effort and perseverance which seems to go into achieving even a nominal degree of real excellence- and practice of four hours a day is not uncommon."
I used to baton twirl so idea of competition like this is not far from my memory. The hours of practice to basically throw a stick in the air and smile are also forever ingrained in my head. But a similar activity today could be any kind of pageant work where women and girls are forced to learn how to walk, talk and appear to be poised in front of "judges" who award women for their femininity and outward appearances.
Terry Southern's piece "Twirling at Ole Miss" is obviously not just about baton twirling as everyone before me has said. Southern uses the hobby as a way to comment on the racial segregation in Mississippi, but also the class differences as well. Despite the more overt references to racism and racial differences, Southern uses something as simple as baton twirling as a way to establish an "other." Not only was there racism in the state and nation, but also on the most basic level (twirling at a university). Something that really doesn't matter in the long term (or even the short term) becomes emblematic of not only a national injustice, but a societal and moral one as well.
When thinking about today's world, the first activity that I would compare the baton twirling to is horseback riding. It's definitely a sport that draws a certain type of demographic—the rich. Not only are horses insanely expensive (if you were to buy your own), but the lessons, gear, and cost of competitions is insane. Children from lower-income families would not be able to participate in the sport which definitely serves as a segregating force. Today, I think there much more segregation in terms of class than race (although the articles I read every day and the things that happen—even on this campus—may challenge that).
Southern's examination of baton twirling touches on social inequalities in the South at the time, the racism and sexism that's been built into institutions such as Ole Miss. It's not always overt--it can be something as simple as a sign on a water fountain, or the impulse to identify a woman by her measurements rather than any other sort of physical description. But it can also be grotesquely and completely present, as when the undergrads speculate on how the black student hoping to enroll could be expelled following planted evidence of substance abuse, and then proceed to sing a racist song. Just because the institution is prestigious doesn't mean it's beyond serious criticism.
One point Southern makes is that most of the concepts of twirling had been absorbed from black culture--"strutting," for example, was taught best at "the colored schools of the South." An activity revered by its white adherents was in fact strongly influenced by the race they were so determined to shut out and discredit. The most recent example I can remember of this sort of prejudice is some of the criticism leveled at this year's Academy Awards. The Academy is mostly made up of white men, and their votes tip heavily in the favor of fellow white men--Katherine Bigelow was the first woman to ever win Best Director, only two or three years ago. This year, many were outraged that Life of Pi could get nominated for Best Picture and that its director, Ang Lee, a Taiwanese-American man, could win Best Director, but that the film's Indian lead actor could be snubbed for Best Actor. Other snubbed actors, white men such as Leonardo DiCaprio, will have plenty of Oscar-calibre roles in their future; promising young talent like Suraj Sharma probably won't, due to the paucity of non-white starring roles in motion pictures. No matter the contributions made by marginalized groups--women, minorities--to film, white men continue to rule the roost, as they did in Southern's time at Ole Miss.
As everyone has said before, baton twirling in Terry Southern's story symbolizes an elite, prestigious sport that only white people participate in. Through the dialogue in the story, it becomes apparent that white people see themselves as above black people. Baton twirling really does symbolize a clear separation between people of different races, and it becomes symbolic, as if the action itself isn't as important as what it represents. Something in today's world that could be compared to baton twirling is, like many have previously mentioned, lacrosse. Lacrosse is a sport that many upper-class white people participate in, and it represents a clear divide in races. On the other end of the spectrum, I would say that basketball has the reverse effect. Many people associate basketball as a sport played mainly by black athletes, and the stigma is perpetuated when a white athlete picks up the sport. There is very often a racial remark made when an athlete who is not black picks up the sport, and basketball becomes symbolic as well.
In the South especially, there are these strange activities people pretend innocent and prestigious. Often the continuous popularity of these traditions is due to masked perversion. Cheerleading, beauty pageants, and baton twirling fall into this category. For example, Miss America may have a bachelor’s degree from a Texas university and mildly entertaining talent or two, but by-golly if she ain't beautiful she ain't no Miss America, I mean to heck with all the other qualifications! Who better than the bustiest, most beautiful, blond southern bell to represent the American dream? For me, she is the physical embodiment of the modern American dream: not obtainable, airbrushed, cosmetic. What’s she hiding beneath the layers of make up? “World Peace”?
I’m going to go along with some of the others and say that Lax is pretty race exclusive. It’s really only accessible to people with enough money to buy the extensive amount of gear needed to play. This is why you typically find it in affluent predominantly white areas. Same goes for ice hockey. I have met a few black lacrosse players and a lot of Onadoga Lax players where I grew up in Syracuse, but nationally it’s mostly White dudes.
Field Hockey is oddly sexist. Why don’t Men play field hockey here ? They do in Europe.
A lot of good-ole-boy private Golf clubs in the South used to exclude “coloreds” up until the mid-90’s (some might still) when they were under pressure to let Tiger Woods play. Tiger was like the Jessie Owens of Golf. I think he opened up the game to a lot more people. It’s still a sport mostly synonymous with privileged whites though.
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