Inspired by the conversation in the First National Center thread, I wanted to start this topic in earnest.

Growing up in Oklahoma, I heard it variously referred to as part of the Great Plains, Midwest, Southwest, and South. I think there's an argument to be made that Oklahoma could be a part of any of these regions.

According to Wikipedia, the Great Plains are a "broad expanse of flat land (a plain), much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland, located in the interior of North America." I don't think it's controversial that it's not considered an American cultural region, as the Midwest and the South commonly are. So what do we consider Oklahoma's cultural region to be?

Usually when this topic is discussed online, I see comments expressing certainty that Oklahoma is absolutely in the South and not in the Midwest, or vice versa. Perhaps there's a fair amount of individual identity tied up in the outcome of what Oklahoma's region is, and that makes some posters dismissive or one-sided in their discussion.

With that being said, I do think there is more outright dismissal of Oklahoma being considered a Southern state, in spite of an abundance of evidence that it culturally fits in better than any other region.

Cheers.