Writing My Own Story: Why JD Vance’s Homogeneous Interpretation of Appalachia Is Problematic

In high school, I had a forty-five minute drive to school, where my eyes would automatically gaze towards Ormet Aluminum, the closed down steel factory where my father and grandfathers worked for the majority of their lives. Aside from the plant, I would pass exits to coal mines, lots of oil and gas hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) sites, and an abundance of trees.

People most accurately visualize my hometown when I compare it to District 12 from The Hunger Games. Many outsiders wrongly assume J.D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy paints an accurate image of my area, but they forget to consider the rich diversity of our society. J.D. Vance and other outsiders are wrong to assume every individual from Appalachia is the same.

Monroe County, where I am from, is 97% white. I am judged for simple acts of humanity such as declaring Black Lives Matter, but I know that I do not stand alone. Despite what J.D. Vance suggested in his memoir, everyone from Appalachia is not white with a Scotch-Irish background, everyone is not on drugs, and everyone does not support President Trump.

As historian Elizabeth Catte indicated in her rebuttal, What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia, Appalachians have a long history of working hard and organizing around change. Whether it be the Battle of Blair Mountain or black coal miners organizing in Southern West Virginia, our stories, identities, and ideologies are complex and diverse.

In my low-income household, we carefully ration our money. We do not splurge when times cannot allow for it, but we are grateful for what we have. My county is the second smallest in Appalachia and is very rural. For example, we do not have cell phone service in most areas and there are more churches than stop signs. Additionally, due to our lack of reliable broadband, my brother spent the first months of the pandemic doing his community college coursework in the Lowe’s parking lot forty-five minutes away.

The school district I grew up in is defined by its rural, low-income identity as well. We are officially the largest district geographically in the great state of Ohio, covering an astonishing 546 square miles. We receive the first day of hunting season off from school, as too many kids used to skip to hunt anyway. While I was in school, our textbooks were from a different millennium and over 60% of students in my district qualified for free and reduced lunch, and I assure you it is the same as it was when I graduated in 2021.

The lack of money and necessary resources in my area has told me who to be, but I refuse to have my life dictated by an unfortunate circumstance.

Many people do not understand what it is like to be exploited by outside corporations for resources and cheap labor. They do not know what it is like to live with the political and economic consequences of that exploitation. But I do.

J.D. Vance added fuel to the stereotype that Appalachia is nothing more than a camouflage-wearing, “rust belt” with a homogenous mindset. Catte reminded readers we can wear H&M’s latest outfits, think for ourselves, and decide whether we want to be a coal miner or anything else under the sun.

Growing up in Appalachia taught me that it is okay to explore my own identity and branch away from the zip code which currently defines me. I am proud of my Appalachian roots, and I will continue to share my story through the new environment my majors, minors, and University have presented me with.