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ABSTRACT
In the 2010s, multiple media outlets declared Nashville an “It City.” No longer simply the home of country music, Nashville became a popular tourist destination with particular appeal to white women bachelorettes. Nashville’s bachelorette party culture encourages women to “celebrify” themselves by supporting scopic economies through public amenities and social media sharing—while simultaneously reinforcing white, Eurocentric, cisheterosexual beauty norms refracted through fantasies about Southern womanhood. This tourist industry, which has dramatically altered Nashville’s public image, relies on and reaffirms centuries-old fantasies about white women that are designed to be detrimental, if not dangerous, to Black lives.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 Stephanie Langston, “Bachelorette Party Accused of Behaving Badly, Coughing on Employee at Nashville Restaurant,” WKRN, August 3, 2020, https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/bachelorette-party-accused-of-behaving-badly-coughing-on-employee-at-nashville-restaurant/.
2 Joseph Hudak, “Hayley Williams Urges People to Stay Out of Nashville During Pandemic Spike,” Rolling Stone, August 4, 2020, https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/hayley-williams-dont-come-to-nashville-pandemic-1039061/.
3 Joseph Hudak, “Welcome to Nashville, Where We’re Just Realizing There’s a Pandemic,” Rolling Stone, August 10, 2020, https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/nashville-broadway-bars-party-pandemic-masks-1041693/.
4 Marshall Benson, “Nashville ranks #1 in ‘Top 10 Bachelor and Bachelorette Cities for 2021,’” WSMV, May 18, 2021. Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20210519034627/https://www.wsmv.com/news/nashville-ranks-1-in-top-10-bachelor-and-bachelorette-cities-for-2021/article_fe024a7c-b810-11eb-bebd-435e601ccf45.html and Stacy Lastoe, “There’s a New Bachelorette Capital, and It’s Not Vegas,” CNN, May 1, 2019, https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/bachelorette-party-nashville-tennessee/index.html.
5 “Tourism in Tennessee Shattered Records with $23 Billion in Travel Spending and 126 Million Domestic Person Stays in 2019,” Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, August 25, 2020, https://www.tn.gov/tourism/news/2019/8/6/tourism-in-tennessee-outpaces-the-nation-with--22-billion-in-travel-spending-and-119-million-visitors-in-2018.html.
6 “Tennessee: 2020 Tourism Decline Not as Bad as Nation’s Rate,” AP News, August 11, 2021, https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-health-travel-coronavirus-pandemic-tennessee-9855ed8092f2074ded0c48f16573265e.
7 Steve Haruch, “Introduction,” in Greetings from New Nashville: How A Sleepy Southern Town Became “It” City, ed. Steve Haruch (Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 2019), 1–2.
8 John D. Stoll, “Nashville Mayor’s Unorthodox Promise: Slow Corporate Handouts,” Wall Street Journal, October 15, 2019, https://www.wsj.com/articles/nashville-mayors-unorthodox-promise-slow-corporate-handouts-11572029641.
9 Nate Rau, “5 Things to Know About Nashville’s Tourism Development Zone,” Tennessean, August 8, 2019, https://www.tennessean.com/story/money/2019/08/08/5-things-know-nashvilles-tourism-development-zone/1954526001/.
10 Christine Kreyling, Mark Scimmenti, and Gary Gaston, The Plan of Nashville: Avenues to a Great City (Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 2005), 44–5.
11 Other businesses include Jack White’s Third Man Records, a record label, performance venue, and retail store in the gentrified Pie Town neighborhood; television personality Kristin Cavallari’s Uncommon James, a clothing boutique in the gentrified Gulch neighborhood; country star Blake Shelton’s Ole Red, a bar and restaurant in downtown; country band Florida Georgia Line’s FGL House, a bar and music venue in downtown; country star Alan Jackson’s AJ’s Good Time Bar, a bar and music venue in downtown; Miranda Lambert’s Casa Rosa, a bar and restaurant downtown; and the eponymous Kid Rock’s Big Ass Honky Tonk & Rock N’ Roll Steakhouse, a bar and restaurant downtown.
12 Wm. Ferguson, “Where is the New Brooklyn: It Seems Just About Everywhere,” New York Times, March 11, 2009, https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/realestate/keymagazine/15keyHSbrooklyn-t.html.
13 Joel Kotkin, “The Next Big Boom Towns in the U.S.,” Forbes, July 6, 2011, https://www.forbes.com/sites/joelkotkin/2011/07/06/the-next-big-boom-towns-in-the-u-s/?sh=6d7c48725e42.
14 “Let the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach Show You How to Eat Like a Rock Star in Nashville,” Bon Appetit, January 17, 2012, https://www.bonappetit.com/columns/the-foodist/article/let-the-black-keys-dan-auerbach-show-you-how-to-eat-like-a-rock-star-in-nashville.
15 “Nowville: The GQ Guide to the New Nashville,” GQ, July 2, 2012, https://www.gq.com/gallery/nashville-guide-travel-fashion.
16 Kim Severson, “Nashville’s Latest Hit Could Be the City Itself,” New York Times, January 8, 2013, https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/09/us/nashville-takes-its-turn-in-the-spotlight.html.
17 Chris Ingraham, White Weddings: Romancing Heterosexuality in Popular Culture (New York and London: Routledge, 2008), 38.
18 Andrea McDonell, “As Long as We Both Shall Love: The White Wedding in Postwar America,” The Journal of American Culture 37, no. 3 (September 2014): 335–6.
19 Liza Graves, “Nashville: Queen of the Bachelorette Parties,” StyleBlueprint, https://styleblueprint.com/nashville/everyday/bachelorette-party-nashville-guide-itinerary/.
20 Lizzy Alfs, “Bachelor, Bachelorette Parties Mean Big Business in Nashville,” Tennessean, July 25, 2015, https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2015/07/25/bachelor-bachelorette-parties-mean-big-business-nashville/30653483/.
21 Steve Hale, “Welcome to Bachelorette City,” in Greetings from New Nashville: How A Sleepy Southern Town Became “It” City, ed. Steve Haruch (Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 2019), 90.
22 Hale, “Bachelorette City,” 91.
23 The company’s owner changed its name in conjunction with plans to expand the business to other cities, including New Orleans and Miami.
24 Between November 9, 2018 and September 15, 2021, BACH made 351 posts on its Instagram account, 46 of which specifically feature Nashville by name, tag, and/or hashtag as a bachelorette party destination. The Instagram account also highlights a range of other cities but none as frequently as Nashville. Miami, Florida, the second-most referenced city, received 21 posts, and Scottsdale, Arizona, the third-most referenced city, received 18 posts.
25 Ian Centrone, “Feast Your Eyes on America’s Top Destinations for Outdoor Art,” Men’s Journal, https://www.mensjournal.com/travel/americas-top-destinations-for-outdoor-art-and-murals-mens-journal/.
26 See “The 20 Best Attractions and Sights in Nashville,” Nashville Guru, August 26, 2020, http://nashvilleguru.com/73938/best-attractions-and-sights-in-nashville; Alyssa Dicicco, “5 Reasons Why Nashville is a Top Bachelorette Party Destination,” Lulus, September 5, 2019, https://www.lulus.com/blog/lifestyle/nashville-bachelorette-party/; and Stephanie Weers, “A Nashville Bachelorette Party Itinerary,” Wedding Wire, October 30, 2020, https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-ideas/nashville-bachelorette-party.
27 D. Patrick Rodgers, “How Did Nashville Get to Be the ‘It’ City? Our Timeline is Full of ‘It,” Nashville Scene, February 7, 2013, https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/article/13046814/how-did-nashville-get-to-be-the-it-city-our-timeline-is-full-of-it.
28 Steve Haruch, “High Rises vs. Honky Tonks,” New York Times, December 5, 2014, A35.
29 Chloe Stillwell, “What Nashville Is Now,” Slate, June 11, 2021, https://slate.com/business/2021/06/nashville-political-transformation-gigi-gaskins.html.
30 Cameron Hightower and James C. Fraser, “The Raced-Space of Gentrification: ‘Reverse Blockbusting,’ Home Selling, and Neighborhood Remake in North Nashville,” City & Community, 19, no. 1 (March 2020): 224–5.
31 Hightower and Fraser, “Raced-Space,” 234.
32 Ibid.,237.
33 Andrew Krinks, ed., Driving While Black: A Report on Racial Profiling in Metro Nashville Police Department Traffic Stops (Nashville: Gideon’s Army, 2016), 7.
34 Krinks, Driving While Black, 43.
35 Stillwell, “What Nashville Is.”
36 Hightower and Fraser, “Raced-Space,” 240.
37 Steven Hale, “Honky Tonky Blues: The Pandemic and the Changing Culture of Lower Broadway,” Nashville Scene, February 25, 2021, https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/coverstory/honky-tonk-blues-the-pandemic-and-the-changing-culture-of-lower-broadway/article_fe49fa6b-e240-5f00-a7d0-8957eb4f4e08.html. See also Steve Cavendish, “R.I.P. ‘It City,” Nashville Scene, May 23, 2019, https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/coverstory/r-i-p-it-city/article_c8b7bfb6-495a-5f52-899f-39b0df9c1543.html.
38 Ashley Haugen, “Nashville Pedal Tavern, Party Barge & Everything in Between,” StyleBlueprint, June 27, 2017, https://styleblueprint.com/nashville/everyday/nashville-pedal-tavern-party-rides/.
39 Stillwell, “What Nashville Is.”
40 Justina Latimer, “Petition Urges Lawmakers to Prioritize ‘Party Bus’ Safety,” WSMV, August 10, 2021. Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20210811001643/https://www.wsmv.com/news/davidson_county/petition-urges-lawmakers-to-prioritize-party-bus-safety/article_8e176dba-fa31-11eb-ba60-b3cc9ee35359.html and Mye Owens and Lucas Wright, “Nashville Passes First Legislation for Transportainment Vehicles,” WKRN, October 19, 2021; https://www.wkrn.com/news/transportainment-ordinance-passes-metro-council-new-regulations-set-for-party-buses-wagons/.
41 Brittany Baird, “Bachelorette Business Boom: ‘Woo Girls’ Could Play Pivotal Role in Nashville’s Economic Comeback,” WKRN, May 19, 2021, https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/bachelorette-business-boom-woo-girls-could-play-pivotal-role-in-nashvilles-economic-comeback/ and Cortney Moore, “Bachelor and Bachelorette Parties to See 2021 Boom Just Like Weddings,” Fox Business, July 11, 2021, https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/bachelor-bachelorette-parties-2021-boom.
42 Rick Rojas, “In the Heart of Nashville, Roaring Parties Rage at Every Stoplight,” New York Times, September 19, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/19/us/nashville-party-vehicles.html.
43 Lizzie Alfs, “Why Bachelorette Parties Love Nashville,” Tennessean, August 25, 2016, https://www.tennessean.com/story/money/2016/08/25/why-bachelorette-parties-love-nashville/88476408/.
44 Anne Helen Petersen, “How Nashville Became One Big Bachelorette Party,” BuzzFeed, March 29, 2018, https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/annehelenpetersen/how-nashville-became-one-big-bachelorette-party#.pswR2ZGqQ.
45 Hale, “Bachelorette City,” 93, 90.
46 Ambriehl Crutchfield, “Slim & Husky’s Brings Black Culture to Nashville’s Lower Broad,” WPLN, January 25, 2021, https://wpln.org/post/slim-huskys-brings-black-culture-to-nashvilles-lower-broadway/.
47 Marq Burnett, “Nashville Nonprofit Leader: ‘I Don’t Feel Welcome in My Own City,” Nashville Business Journal, June 11, 2020, https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2020/06/11/charlane-oliver-equity-alliance-nashville-racism.html.
48 Rachel Wegner, “Morgan Wallen Returns to Kid Rock’s Nashville Bar After Racial Slur Controversy,” Tennessean, May 20, 2021, https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/2021/05/20/morgan-wallen-surprises-crowd-kid-rock-nashville-honky-tonk/5179731001/.
49 Rachel Wegner, “Expert: Isolation, Trauma, Uncertainty Spur Hate Groups Like One That Marched in Nashville,” Tennessean, June 10, 2021, https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/2021/06/10/expert-weighs-in-after-white-supremacist-march-nashville/7615779002/.
50 Petersen, “One Big Bachelorette Party.”
51 Amanda Mull, “Blonde Ambition: On Dismantling the Southern Beauty Ideals of My Upbringing,” Nylon, August 13, 2018, 69). See also Cintra Wilson, “Decoding the Southern Belle: ‘I Have Always Thought About Southern Belles as a Super-Elite Task Force of Disciplined Beauty,’” Salon, September 8, 2015, https://www.salon.com/2015/09/07/sartorial_codes_of_southern_belles_i_have_always_thought_of_southern_belles_as_a_super_elite_task_force_of_lethally_disciplined_femininity/.
52 Mardi Schmeichel, Stacey Kerr, and Chris Linder, “Selfies as Postfeminist Pedagogy: The Production of Traditional Femininity in the US South,” Gender and Education 32, no. 3 (2020): 371.
53 McPherson, Reconstructing Dixie, 152.
54 Although they share the same name, Photowalk’s Nashlorette packages are distinct from the bachelorette party planning service.
55 Jad Abumrad, “Dollitics,” Dolly Parton’s America, podcast audio, December 3, 2019, https://www.npr.org/podcasts/765024913/dolly-parton-s-america.
56 Heran Mamo, “There’s Now a Dolly Parton Mural in Nashville Honoring her Stance on Black Lives Matter,” Billboard, August 17, 2020, https://www.billboard.com/music/country/dolly-parton-mural-nashville-honoring-her-black-lives-matter-stance-9435581/.
57 Theresa M. Senft, “Microcelebrity and the Branded Self,” in A Companion to New Media Dynamics, ed. John Hartley, et al. (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2013), 346–54.
58 This emphasis on sexual spectacularity also takes shape in the common practice of bachelorette parties visiting gay clubs and/or attending drag shows. The popularity of this practice depends on the presumed allowance for straight women’s transgressive behaviors in spaces imagined as “safe” for them; but this practice has also prompted considerable critique for its potentially exploitative and appropriative implications. For more, see Miz Cracker, “Beware the Bachelorette! A Report From the Straight Lady Invasion of Gay Bars,” Slate, August 13, 2015, https://slate.com/human-interest/2015/08/should-straight-women-go-to-gay-bars-a-drag-queen-reports-on-the-lady-invasion.html; Jim Farber, “How ‘Gay’ Should a Gay Bar Be?,” New York Times, June 24, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/24/fashion/how-gay-should-a-gay-bar-be.html; and James Michael Nichols, “RuPaul Has Some Choice Words About Bachelorette Parties in Gay Bars,” HuffPost, March 27, 2017, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rupaul-bachelorette-parties-gay-bars_n_58d92b01e4b03692bea7efbc;
59 Haugen, “Nashville Pedal Tavern.” The “toplessness” Haugen describes refers literally to the fact that transportainment vehicles typically do not have roofs, but this word choice also alludes to the fact that the riders of these vehicles have been known to remove articles of clothing while on board and/or to “flash” passersby.
60 Beth Montemurro, “Sex Symbols: The Bachelorette Party as a Window to Change in Women’s Sexual Expression,” Sexuality & Culture (Spring 2003): 6.
61 Jennifer Devine and David Ojeda, “Violence and Dispossession in Tourism: A Critical Geographical Approach,” Journal of Sustainable Tourism 25, no. 5 (2017): 606, 611.
62 Honggang Xu, “Moving Toward Gender and Tourism Geographies Studies,” Tourism Geographies 20, no. 4 (2018): 721.
63 Xu, “Gender and Tourism,” 723.
64 Schmiechel et al., “Selfies,” 365.
65 Michelle White, Producing Women: The Internet, Traditional Femininity, Queerness, and Creativity (New York and London: Routledge, 2015), 2.
66 Casey Leins, “Who’s a Sharing Economy Worker?,” US News and World Report, August 21, 2015, https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2015/08/21/uber-airbnb-etsy-who-are-the-sharing-economy-workers.
67 Gina Masullo Chen, “Don’t Call Me That: A Techno-Feminist Critique of the Term Mommy Blogger,” Mass Communication and Society 4 (2013), 510–32.
68 Schmeichel et al., “Selfies,” 364.
69 Haruch, “Introduction,” 8.
70 Brittney Cooper, Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2018), 175, 187, 244.
71 Cooper, Eloquent Rage, 196.
72 Rachel Alicia Griffin, “I AM an Angry Black Woman: Black Feminist Autoethnography, Voice, and Resistance,” Women’s Studies in Communication 35, no. 2 (2012): 148.
73 Tara McPherson, Reconstructing Dixie: Race, Gender, and Nostalgia in the Imagined South (Durham: Duke University Press, 2003), 152.
74 Virginia Kent Anderson Leslie, “A Myth of the Southern Lady: Antebellum Proslavery Rhetoric and the Proper Place of Women,” in Southern Women, ed. Caroline Matheny Dillman (London and New York: Routledge, 2017), 32.
75 Patricia Hill Collins, Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment (London and New York: Routledge, 1990), 69.
76 See Merlin Chowkwanyum and Adolph L. Reed, “Racial Health Disparities and Covid-19—Caution and Context,” New England Journal of Medicine, 383: 201–3 and Michele K. Evans, “Covid’s Color Line—Infectious Disease, Inequity, and Racial Justice,” New England Journal of Medicine, 383: 408–10.
77 David Peisner, “A New Generation Pushes Nashville to Address Racism in its Ranks,” New York Times, February 12, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/12/arts/music/country-music-racism-social-media.html.
78 Elizabeth Dale, “National Museum of African American Music Opens in Nashville,” NAMM, https://ww1.namm.org/playback/advancing-music-making/national-museum-african-american-music-opens.
79 Staff, “Black Music Museum Belongs on Jefferson Street,” Tennessee Tribune, November 18, 2016, https://tntribune.com/black-music-museum-belongs-jefferson-st/.
80 Seena Sleem, “Slim & Husky’s Coming to Broadway in Downtown Nashville,” NewsChannel5, February 8, 2021, https://www.newschannel5.com/news/slim-huskys-coming-to-broadway-in-downtown-nashville.
81 Crutchfield, “Slim & Husky’s.”
82 Chakita Patterson, “Popular Nashville Walking Tours,” United Street Tours, https://unitedstreettours.com/.