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Out at the Barrel: The Search for Citizenship at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store

Young, Kyla Morgan
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1366281032

Abstract Details

2013, Master of Arts, Ohio State University, African-American and African Studies.
In 1991, the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store endorsed a heterosexual vision not only of the traditional family, but also of who it would employ. The then Vice-President of Human Relations, William Bridges, issued a policy memorandum that stated that Cracker Barrel would no longer “continue to employ individuals… whose sexual preferences fail to demonstrate normal heterosexual values.” Over the next decade, Cracker Barrel defended its heteronormative views, and emerged as crucial stronghold of Evangelical conservatism. In response to Cracker Barrel’s staunch position, queer activists confronted the sexual discrimination attempting to gain access to full recognition and participation in the cultural and political polity. I begin my work by examining the ideological and cultural shifts that occurred from the New Deal through to the Great Society programs that transformed the American landscape. The use of public space, particularly the workplace, as a site for contesting the legitimacy of racially and sexually-marginalized groups in America was a result of a confluence of events that began during the Great Depression. During this time, I argue that the American family transformed from a self-sustaining entity that was religiously-disconnected and production-driven, to a standardized familial unit that is understood through Christian morality and consumptive behaviors. Cold War attitudes and the rise of big business, then, reinforced this ideological transition of the family and secured its association as a qualifier for citizenship. iii Cracker Barrel capitalized on this philosophical shift by constructing a family-centric restaurant that catered to preserving an idyllic, American past that was based in a Southern Evangelical memory. This memorial presented the white, heteronormative, nuclear family as the prototypical American experience. By analyzing Cracker Barrel’s physical space, I have argued that Cracker Barrel serves as both an extension of neoconservative ideology and as an emblem of the religious Right. Through space, policy, and product offering, I contended that businesses like Cracker Barrel are utilized to moderate the meaning of American citizenship, especially within the context of sexuality. Cracker Barrel, in this project, is understood to represent a larger conservative contestation to define America. While activists secured a policy change through a decade of protests, I ultimately conclude that Cracker Barrel successfully protected its space and ensured the commodification of conservative ideals in the cultural marketplace of America into today.
Kenneth Goings, Ph.D. (Advisor)
Kevin Boyle, Ph.D (Committee Member)
Judy Wu, Ph.D (Committee Member)
74 p.
African American Studies; American History; Gender; Gender Studies; History; Labor Relations
Cracker Barrel; Conservatism; Evangelicalism; Sexual Discrimination; LGBT; Queer Nation; Sexual Citizenship; Dan Evins; Cheyl Summerville; Lynn Cothren

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Young, K. M. (2013). Out at the Barrel: The Search for Citizenship at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1366281032

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Young, Kyla. Out at the Barrel: The Search for Citizenship at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store. 2013. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1366281032.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Young, Kyla. "Out at the Barrel: The Search for Citizenship at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1366281032

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1366281032
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© 2013, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.