Queering Mayberry: An Exploration of Sexuality and Gender in the Andy Griffith Show

Queering Mayberry: An Exploration of Sexuality and Gender in the Andy Griffith Show is an interdisciplinary study which reexamines The Andy Griffith Show through the frame of queer theory, offering a fresh perspective on its cultural significance in the Southern Appalachians.

Amid current debates on Critical Race Theory and LGBTQIA+ rights, the nostalgic pull of the ＂Myth of Mayberry＂ remains potent. This work critiques the restorative nostalgia surrounding small-town southern ideals, arguing that disrupting the monolithic image of southern conservative, Christian, cisgender identity requires a critical look at the cultural artifacts that helped shape it. Through a combination of historical research, including original episode scripts with Andy Griffith’s notes, cultural studies, and performance theory, it uncovers a complex relationship between queerness and Southern Appalachian identity.

Queering Mayberry: An Exploration of Sexuality and Gender in the Andy Griffith Show will be valuable to scholars and students in Appalachian studies, media studies, queer theory, and social history.

Matthew Thomas-Reid is an associate professor in Leadership and Educational Studies and affiliate faculty with Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies at Appalachian State University. He began his career as a middle school social studies teacher, and his areas of research include philosophy of education, cultural studies, and gender and sexuality.