There are things those who live in big cities will never understand. As the Town Mouse from Aesop's fable learned the hard way, country life often can be calmer, simpler, and even safer. But it also comes with its specific quirks, joys, and inside jokes you'd have to be a country boy or girl to understand.
The very aptly named Instagram page "Redneck Memes" deals in relatable humor about what it's like living in rural U.S. If you're a Panda who grew up outside of a metropolitan area, these pics might bring back some good memories. And if you're a proud 'redneck,' 'hillbilly,' or whatever you like to call yourself nowadays, these memes might be just right for you!
More info: Instagram
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The page calls itself "Redneck Memes," but what exactly does it mean to be a redneck? For '90s kids, one of the first images that comes to mind might be the band behind the hit song "Cotton Eye Joe." The band's name is Rednex, yet surprisingly, they're not even American and only play into the stereotypes of the American rednecks.
In reality, Rednex is a Swedish band that mixes the musical styles of American country and Eurodance. Still, their public image and appearance is a good reflection of what the rest of the world (or at least Europe) imagines the traditional 'redneck' to be: a bit ridiculous, rough, and unrefined.
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At its worst, the term 'redneck' is used as an insult and a slur to describe people from the American South. The Oxford English Dictionary labels the term as 'derogatory,' and the Cambridge Dictionary offers this description: "an offensive word for a white person who is considered to be poor and uneducated, especially one living in the countryside in the southern U.S., who has prejudiced (= unfair and unreasonable) beliefs."
One might quickly surmise why the term might be problematic. It lumps in a huge group of people living in one area as having the same beliefs, opinions, level of education, and social standing. According to dictionaries, 'rednecks' are prejudiced and bigoted, but referring to a part of the population in such generalized terms is surely prejudice in itself, is it not?
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Since dictionaries can't really explain the social context behind a word, let's explore further. The most straightforward origin of the term would point to the appearance of the people it's describing. It would refer to the sunburnt necks of farmers and farm workers. But later, the term used to be much more than just a slur against whites.
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There was a time when workers tried to reclaim the word 'redneck'. Did you know that the term 'redneck' also used to refer to the coal miners who used red bandanas during the West Virginia labor uprisings in 1921? "Many folks in Appalachia today reclaim the term," author of What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia Elizabeth Catte told Slate.
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Catte points to historian Patrick Huber's interpretation that, in the 1910s-1930s, the term 'redneck' sometimes also meant "Communist," or "a miner who was a member of a labor union." According to Huber, white, black, and immigrant miners referred to themselves as 'rednecks' and wore red bandanas to rebel against owners who benefitted from their divide (quite apt today too, huh?)
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During the 2018 West Virginia teachers strike, the strikers wore red bandanas, too. "It's a symbol of the unity of all the teachers right now," fourth-grade teacher McConihay explained. "But it was drawn from the Mine Wars and the miners who wore red bandanas to identify themselves as strikers. We've adopted that symbol because we feel that our fight is very similar."
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Educator and lecturer at Chicago's DePaul University Kelli Marshall writes that the redneck identity hasn't remained the same throughout the years. Since the 1970s, she observes, "Chic and upscale rednecks" started to pop up.
A redneck was no longer an American Southerner living in a trailer, but rather a "trendy South American" who adopted a fake Southern drawl, wore Levi's, listened to Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, and was into western-wear and bull-riding.
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Being a redneck, therefore, became a kind of aesthetic. The current, or post-modern, rednecks are the likes of country musician Tim MCGraw, comedian Jeff Foxworthy, and Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty. What do all of these men have in common? Foxworthy grew up in the Atlanta suburbs. Phil Robertson has a Master of Arts in Education. And Tim McGraw is certainly anything but poor.
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"These are the 'rednecks' who frosted their hair and wore camouflage; who played golf and ditched school to shoot and then eat deer, ducks, and turkeys; who wore suits and rode four-wheelers; who joined preppy fraternities and took their dates mud-hogging," Marshall writes.
"And today, these are the same 'rednecks' who post to social media photographs of their families in Grand Cayman and Disneyworld – right alongside shots of themselves disemboweling deer, wearing overalls, and chewing tobacco."
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But what does being a redneck mean to you, Pandas? Which definition do you agree with the most? And if you consider yourself a redneck, which description you feel would describe you the best? Let us know in the comments, and if you want to see some dumb ingenuity in the form of redneck engineering, head over here!
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