redneck
Sign in to savethumb|250px|The term may come from the look of a sunburned neck. Redneck is a derogatory term mainly applied to white Americans perceived to be crass and unsophisticated, closely associated with rural whites of the southern United States. Its meaning possibly stems from the sunburn found on farmers' necks dating back to the late 19th century. Authors Joseph Flora and Lucinda MacKethan describe the stereotype as follows: Redneck is a derogatory term currently applied to some lower-class and working-class southerners. The term, which came into common usage in the 1930s, is derived from the red
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- Frank Tengle, Bud Fields, and Floyd Burroughs, cotton sharecroppers, Hale County, Alabama.jpg
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~11 min read
Article
13 sectionsContents
- 19th and early 20th centuries
- Political term for poor farmers
- Coal miners
- Late 20th and early 21st centuries
- As political epithet
- In popular culture
- Outside the United States
- Historical Scottish Covenanter usage
- South Africa
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- External links
thumb|250px|The term may come from the look of a sunburned neck. Redneck is a derogatory term mainly applied to white Americans perceived to be crass and unsophisticated, closely associated with rural whites of the southern United States. Its meaning possibly stems from the sunburn found on farmers' necks dating back to the late 19th century. Authors Joseph Flora and Lucinda MacKethan describe the stereotype as follows: Redneck is a derogatory term currently applied to some lower-class and working-class southerners. The term, which came into common usage in the 1930s, is derived from the redneck's beginnings as a "yeoman farmer" whose neck would burn as they toiled in the fields. These yeoman farmers settled along the Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina coasts.
Its modern usage is similar in meaning to cracker (especially regarding Texas, Georgia, and Florida), hillbilly (especially regarding Appalachia and the Ozarks), and white trash (but without the last term's suggestions of immorality). In Britain, the Cambridge Dictionary definition states: "A poor, white person without education, esp. one living in the countryside in the southern US, who is believed to have prejudiced ideas and beliefs. This word is usually considered offensive." People from the white South sometimes jocularly call themselves "rednecks" as insider humor.