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This paper examines how white middle-class individuals in Nashville adapt hot chicken as a cultural symbol and its implications on race and community identity.

May 26, 2026Open Access

Contesting a Changing Community with Traditional Foods : Race, Class, and Hot Chicken in Nashville, Tennessee, US

SSSarah ShultzMemorial University of Newfoundland

Key Points

This paper examines how white middle-class individuals in Nashville adapt hot chicken as a cultural symbol and its implications on race and community identity.
Qualitative analysis of food practices among different social groups in Nashville.
Exploration of social dynamics at hot chicken parties.
Discussion on the intersection of race, class, and culinary traditions.
White middle-class adaptation of hot chicken promotes a reclaiming of public space and cultural identity.
Some practices empower individuals but also perpetuate hegemonic whiteness.
‘White trash’ hot chicken parties illustrate a complex relationship between stigma and empowerment.

Abstract

This paper focuses on how white middle-class Nashvillians adapt hot chicken as a local symbol and explores how ‘white trash’ hot chicken parties make it possible to use food to reclaim public space and to play with stigma in a way that is empowering for some, while simultaneously contributing to a wider culture of ‘hegemonic whiteness’.

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