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`From Molehills Mountains Made: An Examination of Red and Blue State Cultural Stereotypes

Hope College, Michigan, USA, kochp{at}hope.edu

Lala Carr Steelman

University of South Carolina, USA, Steelman{at}sc.edu

Since 2000, in the USA Republican voting states have been called red and the Democrat ones called blue. We explore whether or not the cultural stereotype that red states harbour more virtuous constituents than blue states has merit. We relate the extent to which electoral votes were cast for George Bush during the 2004 election, a variable that we specify as the degree of redness, to a scale of moral conduct at the state level. This scale is a composite of indicators of socially disapproved behaviours that conservatives in particular are more concerned about than are liberals in the USA. The scale is an equally weighted sum of ranks on 13 aggregated indicators of behaviours. Our scale includes activities that are most strongly advocated and campaigned against by conservatives and covers sexual behaviour, substance abuse, family breakdown, and crime rates. Data are extracted from a variety of sources in 2000. We examine the untested presumption that inhabitants of red states are more moral than those in blue states, as some commonly held stereotypes would lead us to believe. No matter how the analysis is conducted, we reach the same inescapable conclusion. The red state/ blue state dichotomy just does not pan out empirically.

Key Words: blue states • culture war • moral values • red states • stereotypes

Cultural Sociology, Vol. 3, No. 1, 165-189 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1749975508100676


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