Rednecks - who are they? What does this slang word mean?

Mentioned in the mass culture of the American Rednecks makes most Russian-speaking people wonder who they are, how they differ from others, and what place they occupy in the social life of the United States. Many have already encountered representatives of this population in films, video games and songs, but do not know where the name came from and what features they have. Nevertheless, for American citizens Rednecks seem to be the same widespread subculture, as, for example, gopnik and zloby in the CIS countries. Labels labeled on them often become the basis for jokes, humorous shows and memes, often not completely understood by foreigners. In this article we will understand what these people are and why they are so often mentioned in popular culture.

Redneke is who?

In each culture, you can find slang words describing social groups about which certain stereotypes have developed in society. Such names can not always be found even in extensive dictionaries, but their meaning is known to everyone. So, at the mention of the word "Gopnik", each of us represents a young man in a sports suit from a local market, with a shaved head and a packet of seeds in his hands. The same phrases are also common in the English language, but they are rare in the CIS countries, it is difficult to understand them without understanding the specifics of the social structure of American society. Meeting such names, we are long puzzled: "Redneke is who?"

This word means white inhabitants of American villages - farmers from the south of the country and areas in the Appalachian Mountains. Representatives of this already established subculture can often be found in computer games and cheap comedies.

Where did the name come from?

Originally, the name "rednecks" in the US sounds like redneck. This word was formed from two parts, which are literally translated as red-necked. Where did this name come from?

As already mentioned, Rednecks are farmers who provide themselves with agricultural activities, that is, they spend a lot of time in fields and orchards. And if their backs and hands are securely protected by a shirt (naturally, checkered), and the head is a shabby baseball cap, then the neck remains only to burn under the hot summer sun, why it is always red. In Russian, such a distinctive color is called "tanning tractor driver".

It is worth noting that in English-speaking countries people who hang similar, seemingly offensive labels, use slang words for self-designation. Therefore, white farmers often call themselves rednecks, while experiencing pride.

Russian alternative

In the countries of the former Soviet Union, the existence of rednecks is out of the question. This social group exists only in the United States of America. Nevertheless, people involved in the agrarian sphere are in any country, and therefore it is possible to say with certainty that we have our own rednecks. The CIS is distinguished by a large number of "collective farmers", or "peasants", on which a considerable number of labels are also hung. They are much easier for us to distinguish, guided by a whole set of stereotypes: rural talking, red faces, tasteless clothes from the local bazaar. They are always drunk, hamovatye, women look vulgar, and men - brazen and slovenly.

Therefore, the shortest way to answer the question "Redneki is who?" Is to draw a parallel with the "peasant". However, each culture has its own characteristics, so making an analogy is not enough to understand what a typical white American farmer looks like.

Appearance

About the color of the skin and the nape of the redneck already mentioned. Over an inaccurate or short haircut, a baseball cap, a hat from popular westerns or a cap, often backwards, or an ordinary handkerchief, is always tightened. The brightest individuals constantly go with a spikelet in the mouth. The main attributes of redneck are checkered shirt and denim overalls. Nevertheless, it is not necessary to generalize - sometimes they wear simple shirts, gray t-shirts, and in some cases do not bother to wear their extra clothes. Redneki wear high boots, but in good weather merge with nature, not wearing shoes at all. In the pockets of the overalls you can always find a pack of cheap cigarettes and a folding knife. Every normal redneck boasts a large beer belly. The appearance of women in this case is not very different. A stereotyped representative of white farmers does not bother to observe the rules of hygiene, which makes it not particularly pleasant to smell from him. To better understand what the rednecks look like, the photo in the article will help in that.

Stereotypes

External signs are not enough to understand the big picture. In addition to this set of clichés, it is important to understand how the rednecks live. Behavioral stereotypes about them are even greater than about the appearance. They relate to virtually all spheres of life, from hobbies to political preferences.

According to the prevailing cliche, rednecks are fond of hunting, fishing and dirt racing. To do this, they contain trained dogs and always keep a rifle in the closet. Nevertheless, weapons are seldom used without a cause - villagers use it at their earliest opportunity. Redneke ride on old pickup trucks, they got from their grandfathers, trailers and small trucks. In addition, motorcycles are very popular with red-russia farmers.

They talk about rednecks in special slang, often tightening their words and swallowing the endings. Each of them is necessarily an ardent sports fan. Naturally, the favorite genre in music is country music.

Policy

According to the stereotypes, rednecks are ardent patriots of the USA, insanely proud that they are Americans. Farmers, as a rule, differ in their right-wing views. Supporters of the traditional way of life, they often oppose immigrants, homosexuals, feminists, intellectuals. A lot of rednecks are racists, and they can often be expected to attack African Americans. In addition, many rural residents are deeply religious people who are not ready to accept new social norms. Therefore, they are opponents of socialists, communists and democrats.

One of the most common cliches is the positive attitude of the Redks to the Confederates. There are rumors that each of them houses a red flag with a blue diagonal cross. At the moment, many conservative farmers support the policy of Donald Trump.

Hillbilly

This social group is a conditional subspecies of rednec, which includes all the above labels, only in a doubled size. In the original, Hillbilly translates as "Billy from the Hills". This expression can be compared to something like Vasya from the village. Such people come from a deep village, not distinguished by their literacy and high level of development. Stereotyped villagers are so vivid individuals that they are often cited as an example, answering the question: "Redneki is who?"

The name explains the reason Hillbilly is considered a savage. The hills are called the Appalachian region, in which, unlike the locality where the rest of the Redks live, agriculture is much worse developed. Stereotype Hillbili is a hopeless drunkard. He walks in a straw hat, shirtless, in overalls only, holding ears in his mouth.

A big problem among Hillbilly is ignorance. For this purpose, special cognitive programs and educational programs have been conducted in the Appalachian area since Bush's time, but this did not change the situation much.

Cajuns

This social group is also a kind of rednecks, but in some respects it differs greatly from them. The Kajuns live in the Acadian area of southern Louisiana. They are the repressed inhabitants of the former French colonies, which differ in many respects from patriotic rednecks, proud to be Americans. The Kajuns are also not distinguished by their education and culture, but this is justified by their hostile attitude towards state policy and American institutions. They talk in their own jargon, which is extremely difficult to understand. The expressions of English and French are mixed in it. The Cajuns perceive themselves as a separate ethnic group, and therefore sacredly preserve their traditions, cuisine and culture. Also, unlike stereotyped rednecks, they are quite tolerant of African Americans, since they used to have a common language before.

Jargon

At the real American Rednecks hardly intelligible for the ordinary person, and especially the foreigner, a dialect. Their vocabulary is well understood by fellow villagers, but many of the words they use are not even specified in the English-Russian dictionary. They are simple, vulgar and rude. Below is a table with some popular words from the jargon rednekov.

In mass culture

Unlike us, Americans are well aware of who are the rednecks. Subculture is widely represented in video games, films and music. The life of American farmers is depicted in the reality show Duck Dynast. Culture of rural people in all its glory is observed during the traditional Olympiad "Summer Rednec Games", where the participants hold competitions in stereotypical sports games - they jump into the mud, throw lids from the toilet bowls and try to catch pieces of pork from their mouth with water.

American farmers are present in the popular worldwide series of games - GTA. In the second part they form a separate gang, and in the part of San Andreas, the protagonist went through many assignments in the countryside, where the bright representatives of Hillbilly wandered in the streets. Also redneki appear in Fallout 3, Borderlands 2, etc. There are games entirely dedicated to this subculture, for example, Redneck Rampage. Rednecks often appear in songs. So, in the USA the country band Rednex is widely known.