The prejudiced Redneck: from barbarian southerners to American working class

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Abstract: The term “Redneck”, along with the election of Donald Trump in 2016, has gaining more and more attention in US. Known to most of Americans as an opprobrious epithet, this label carries with it a subtle transition in recent years which can be reflected in mass media. This essay tries to analyse how can these people in middle-east US change from the prejudiced minority and become “Hard-working” labor class whiteness by looking back on history. This may help us develop deeper understandings about those diligent and self-reliant workers.

Keywords: Redneck, American working class, whiteness, hard-working, self-reliance

1. Introduction

Researches about the etymology of redneck reckon that the word “Redneck” refer to white people living in southern states rural areas such as Alabama, Oklahoma and Mississippi. Their necks were burnt red because of too much exposure to the sun. Since the term is mainly used to describe whiteness instead of the black, the discrimination is more hidden and undetectable. Compared with inter-racial prejudice(e.g. the hatred towards the black), intra-racial prejudice like “redneck” in the meantime, exert tremendous impact on social disruption. For instance, when middle-class Americans talk about rednecks, they would naturally associate it with rural areas, low life standard and maybe a fat white male chewing tobacco. In fact, this perspective is narrow and incomplete. As China, India and many other Asian nations become competitive in low-end manufacturing, It’s unreasonable for Americans to neglect those common but hard-working whiteness who make great contributions to US agriculture and industry. Rednecks’ self-reliance and hard-work aroused Americans’ recognition about their basic values. Further investigation in this essay would link this phenomenon to rednecks’ history and give a comprehensive conclusion.

2. Literature Review

2.1 The Redneck as hard-working labor class whiteness and a group with revolt spirit

Despite the black who were enslaved and forced by plantation owners, southern rural whiteness also faced the same situation. Noble whiteness' faces were shaded by hats with extraordinary broad brims, in contrast, working class whiteness had to perform agricultural labor, which gave rise to their sun-burnt neck(Huber, 1995). If we look at redneck laborers from the factory owners perspective, we can see that this people, though have white skin, suffered even more discrimination especially after 1865 when the slavery was announced illegal. This can be exemplified by the argument that "Labor can civilize and transform poor white trash into productive citizens"(Hall, 1987). Nonetheless, they had strong sense of individulism and were enthusiastic to tough dirty job. Resistance against punishment of upper-class whiteness were too often seen to neglect. Unfortunately this only served to reinforce oppression. (Forest, 1968). In 1907, white workers even staged as least 50 strikes to protest employment of black workers in dirtiest, lowest-paying and most physically difficult jobs.(Huber, 1995).

2.2 The rednecks' socioeconomic status and self-reliance.

The redneck lived most of their lives in their current community and commit almost their whole life to family. While this is reckoned by Americans as backward, this is closely connected to nuclear family structure in which participants perceived as a commitment to family.(Holiday, 2018). Meanwhile, white racial prejudice has not changed overtime, not only inter-racial, but intra-racial. Redneck is strongly associated with marginalized social characteristics regarding class, and by claiming an ideal type of whiteness that is considered normative and superior. (Shirley, 2010). According to a survey to 420 "redneck", most of them believe male are more likely to be included, among them, people with lower status is especially typical. They call it "masculine lifestyle". However, the election success of Trump in 2016 justifies their social power and give more people chances to show their self-reliance.(Holiday, 2018). On one hand, we have to admit that redneck may be the latter 50% economically in US, on the other, those people make their lives on their own. They believe they deserved their sweat and blood. The red neck is their pride: they’re the symbol of their endeavor.

2.3 Americans' attitudes towards Southerners Statistically, according to a survey in 1951 by Wayne State University, 21 percent of those surveyed identified "Poor southern whites" as the most "undesirable people" who were "not good to have in the city", second only to "criminals/gangsters", much higher than "Negros"(13 percent)(Huber, 1994). Besides those northerners and westerners, Southerners tend to praise redneck for their characteristics. Nina Savin's article in 1981 put it that "Rednecks are cool, not in an affected way, but fundamentally"(O’Sullivan, 2016). After all, in southern states, these people served as blue-collar workers and once contributed a lot to U.S. Nevertheless, things began to change since the election of Trump in 2016. The core reason of Trump is to protect the employment of common American workers. In US, however, people usually reckon the Wall Street stock manager as “Success”, the call for more policy support on blue-collar workers gains more and more attention.

3. Research Question(s)

RQ1).How can “redneck” reflect hard-working and self-reliance? RQ2). How to explain the transition of “Redneck”?

4. Discussion

4.1 How can Rednecks represent so-called hard-working and self-reliant whiteness In the Introduction section, we’ve seen the negative comments on rednecks. But among common workers, we see the strongest solidarity of labor class. A widespread fact is that, when talked about working people, steel-mill workers in Pittsburgh (Northerners) sometimes use "redneck" to describe themselves because the term depicts a hardworking and diligent blue-collar worker instead of some dumb farmer who know nothing but cotton(a classic impression of redneck). In fact, a large number of so-called redneck were forced to work in factories where the environment is dirty and terrible. Their life span is shortened by too much work and the absence of protection. Their tradition of revolting against government impressed Americans too.Recent studies showed more evidence about their class solidarity. Those laborers fought for labor class welfare and equal-pay-for-equal-work through Labor Union. In Civil Right Movement, common whiteness chose to stand with the black and said No to the black exclusion. Cases listed above tell us that unlike many of us believe, these whiteness are no longer the represent of KKK and white supremacy, but some common Americans who deserve respect and honor. In contrast, it's those upper/middle class whiteness who kept on discrediting them that made "Redneck" a insulting word, this continued to cast shadow on American Values.

4.2 How to explain the transition? Reasons accounting for the transition is various. In my opinion, the first reason is rednecks’ self-reliance and hard-working value which is depicted in 4.1, common whiteness(or, working class whiteness) did made lots of efforts for US prosperity. When Wall Street elites counting their cash in luxurious houses, it’s labor workers’ hands and shoulder that build US industry system and heavy manufacturing. In a word, without the prosperity in Real Economy, Wall Street success is nowhere to be found. However the political reason shall never be overlooked. If we take a look at what US encountered in recent decades, an interesting phenomenon is that America's leading position in manufacturing & industry is challenged by Asian countries like China and India(in 2010s) and Japan(in 1980s). Some presidents would call for more attention on US native workers. A perfect example is Trump's victory in 2016. He gained almost every state which have large scale of Industry and retired workers because of his closeness to native America farmers and workers. For instance, In Trump's propagenda, he positioned himself as the defender of "Common White Man". His speech caters to those low-end manufacturing labor workers and always emphasize with them. “I can take your Jobs back from China!” This inevitably changed U.S. social attitudes towards whiteness workers in the South and some old industry states in the rust belt. In need of revitalizing America's industry, American Politicians need more Americans to make contributions like rednecks do.

5. Conclusion

This essay demonstrates some special parts about “redneck”, a group of southerners who suffer discrimination throughout history in US. Contrary to what many people might believe, these people served as the indispensable column of US industry and agriculture. They represent at least two of US basic values: hard-working and self-reliance. Though we have to admit that the transition of the term from negative to neutral one is largely affected by political factors, their quality of working hard and be independent shall be perished forever. (1420 words)

6. References

[1] Huber, P. (1995). A Short History of Redneck: The Fashioning of a Southern White Masculine Identity. Southern Cultures, 1(2), 145–166.doi:10.1353/scu.1995.0074

[2] Shirley, C. D. (2010). “You might be a redneck if...” Boundary Work among Rural, Southern Whites. Social Forces, 89(1), 35–61.doi:10.1353/sof.2010.0081

[3] Beech, J. (2004). Redneck and Hillbilly Discourse in the Writing Classroom: Classifying Critical Pedagogies of Whiteness. College English, 67(2), 172.doi:10.2307/4140716

[4] Holladay, H. W. (2018). Reckoning with the “Redneck”: Duck Dynasty and the Boundaries of Morally Appropriate Whiteness. Southern Communication Journal, 1–11.doi:10.1080/1041794x.2018

[5] O’Sullivan, S. E. M. (2016). Playing “Redneck”: White Masculinity and Working-Class Performance on Duck Dynasty. The Journal of Popular Culture, 49(2), 367–384.doi:10.1111/jpcu.12403

[6] Dent, A. (2006). [Review of Real Country: Music and Language in Working-Class Culture, by A. A. Fox]. Anthropological Linguistics, 48(2), 205–208.

[7] Huber, Patrick J. “Redneck: A Short Note from American Labor History.” American Speech, vol. 69, no. 1, 1994, pp. 106–10, https://doi.org/10.2307/455956. Accessed 19 Apr. 2022.

[8] Reynolds, W. M. (2014). Redneck piece of white trash: Southern rebels and music: Epistemologies of class, masculinity, and race identity. Counterpoints, 434, 67-77.

[9] Hardie JH, Tyson K. Other People’s Racism: Race, Rednecks, and Riots in a Southern High School. Sociology of Education. 2013;86(1):83-102. doi:10.1177/0038040712456554

[10] Jacquelyn Dowd Hall, James Leloudis, Robert Korstad, Mary Murphy, Lu Ann Jones, and Christopher B. Daly, Like a Family: The Making of a Southern Cotton Mill World(University of North Carolina Press, 1987), xvi.

[11]John William De Forest, A Union Officer in the Reconstruction, ed. James H. Croushore and David Morris Potter (Anchon Books, 1968), 157.