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.
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?
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.
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.
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?)
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."
