“It Takes a Lot of Money to Look This Cheap”: Authenticity at the Heart of the Tacky South

What is it about Dolly Parton that has made her universally beloved, admired, and grieved? Throughout her career, she emphasized both the fun fakeness of her physical appearance–her wigs, makeup, and rhinestone-studded wardrobe–as well as the very real values at the heart of her work: her creativity, charity, and caring for others. The contrast between her sparkling, burlesque visual presentation and the aims of her work grounded in rural community, Christian values, and a devotion to nature reveal a core authentic identity that accounts for her long-lasting appeal and role as a beloved cultural figure.

Join authors Katie Burnett and Monica Miller for a very special 2027 Martha Swain Lecture, an ode to Dolly Parton as well as an exploration of their edited volume, The Tacky South. Every March, the Swain Speaker Series brings a distinguished person to campus each spring to address issues important to women’s interests, lives, and experiences. The series is funded with a gift made in honor of Dr. Martha Swain, a scholar of Southern women’s history, and supported by the Center for Women’s Research & Public Policy, Fant Memorial Library, and the departments of History, Political Science, & Geography and Literature, Language, & Philosophy. This year, the Ina E. Gordy Honors College and the Women’s College are co-hosting.