Be a Redneck
"Redneck" used to be a derogatory stereotype for working class white people, usually from the American South, who live in primarily rural areas. Nowadays, the term is often used as a point of pride. Being a redneck doesn't have to be a stereotype. Learn to dress and act like a part of this culture, and how to distinguish yourself from a more stereotypical version of it.
Contents
Steps
Looking Like a Redneck
- Wear practical clothes, not stylish clothes. If you’re willing to get deer blood and mud on whatever you’re wearing, then you’re dressed good enough for a redneck. Redneck life is about being prepared and capable for what comes at you, not looking any particular way. There are some associated styles, brands, and “looks” with being a redneck, but mostly that just comes from those looks being functional.
- Try to wear “work clothes” as much as possible. That might mean jeans, but it might not. You just want to wear clothes that aren’t fancy, and can take a beating.
- For some people, North Face gear is pretty practical, if you work in a very cold mountain climate in the outdoors. For others, it’s luxury wear. Just make sure what you’re wearing serves a purpose for your lifestyle. Carhart and Cabelas brand clothing are some other options.
- Get some boots. Rednecks need practical footwear, appropriate for working on cars, trampling through the woods, and getting dirty. Rednecks don’t wear pumps, flip-flops, or sneakers. They wear work boots, and are ready to get ‘em muddy.
- Thick-soled low-top shoes are also perfectly appropriate, you just want to make sure you’re in some shoes that you’d be comfortable in if you ended up in some wilderness. Hiking boots, riding boots, or motorcycle boots will all work in a pinch.
- Cowboy boots are often worn for special occasions, or if you actually work on a ranch, but they’re not usually every day wear. Cowboy boots can be everyday wear if you live down south but mainly they are steel toe Justin's or Ariats.
- Wear denim and flannel. For men and women, redneck style can be pretty similar. You want to look like you’re ready to get to work, or like you’ve just stepped off the ranch. Flannel shirts, printed t-shirts, and denim jeans are the most common attire of the redneck, at any time of year. Camouflage pants are also a good choice or in colder climates along with a camouflage jacket.
- Given the option, opt for Wranglers. Boot cut.
- Layering a good deer hunting tee under your thin flannel shirt? Always looks good.
- Shop at the right stores. Rednecks fit clothes shopping in somewhere between town trips to the auto parts store, the feed store, Walmart, and a quick pit stop at an uncle’s house. The less time spent shopping for clothes, the better. Tighten up your clothes-shopping by getting clothes at sporting goods stores and rural outfitters, who sell outdoors gear. Two birds, one stone.
- The mall? Not so much. Rednecks love a deal, the type of which can be found at any box store with things on the cheap. Get clothes on sale at K-Mart, Walmart, and other places with good deals.
- To save money, wear hand-me-downs and second-hand clothes. New shirts are just going to get dirty and ragged, so you might as well use some old ones. Also, you can make your own clothes if you want to redneck-it-up a couple notches.
- Wear the right kinds of hats. The term “redneck” comes from the fact that blue-collar workers and laborers often get sunburned on the backs of their necks. Working outside is a common thing among rural people, and hats with big brims helps to keep you protected from the sun. Wear one, if you want to look like a redneck, without the burn.
- Mesh trucker caps and baseball caps are always common. Camouflage print is always a plus. Usually, redneck caps aren’t sports themed, like New Era caps, they’re more like trucker hats.
- Cowboy hats can look redneck, or they can just make you look like Kenny Chesney. Try to wear cowboy hats only if you actually do farm work and have actually ridden a horse before, or it might just seem silly.
- Keep your hair functional. For the redneck, hair is mostly something that gets in the way. Whatever style and length your hair, try to keep it as manageable and kempt as possible. Don’t use too much product, or go for an overly elaborate style. Just get it trimmed regularly to keep worried about other things.
- For women, long hair kept in a tight ponytail is probably the most common look. Curl it up for special occasions.
- For men, keep that hair high and tight. Facial hair is often trimmed into a goatee, or with long sideburns, but often very short. Unless you want to go for a Duck Dynasty kind of look.
- Get some gear from redneck brands. Again, redneck style has less to do with style and more to do with being practical, but there are a couple famous brands closely associated with being a redneck. If you opt for any of the following, you’ll be safe:
- Carhartt
- John Deere
- Remington
- Wrangler
- Hillbilly
Acting Like a Redneck
- Live in a rural area. In the United States, the term “redneck” is most commonly associated with people who live in rural areas, typically in the southeast portion of the US. Although rednecks can live everywhere, including in cities and small towns, it’s most often thought of as being a primarily rural culture.
- Lots of people self-identify as a part of “redneck” culture, who don’t live in the southeast and don’t work with their hands, or have an accent. Anybody can enjoy deer hunting and NASCAR.
- Work with your hands for a living. Rednecks typically aren’t the foremen, they’re the workers. The blue-collar, working class, salt-of-the-earth types. If you want to be a redneck, pick up a trade and use it. All of the following are commonly thought of as being “redneck” types of jobs:
- Appreciate the outdoors. Along with rural living comes rural entertainment. Rednecks typically work outside all day and stay outside when its time to have fun. All of the following are very common redneck hobbies:
- Hunting
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Gardening
- Four-wheeling
- Make a Trail in the Woods
- Drive a truck. One of the most visible signifiers of the redneck life is the kind of truck you drive. Trucks are capable, practical, and perfect for hauling hunting gear and being prepared. They’re perfect for the rural, redneck life. The bigger and more jacked, the better.
- American manufacturers are by far the most popular among rednecks. Chevrolet, GMC, Dodge, and especially Ford trucks are all common among rednecks.
- It’s not essential that it be American. Pick a car you’re familiar with and comfortable working on, and find the truck line for that manufacturer. You’re not less of a redneck for driving a Toyota. That can be a reliable vehicle.
- Listen to country music. Just as hip-hop and rap are closely associated with the inner cities, country music is associated with rural culture. Check out any CMT video or country album cover and you’re likely to see a lot of cowboy hats, pick-up trucks, and gravel roads. You’re in redneck territory.
- Pop country like Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves, and Eric Church appeals explicitly to contemporary rural tastes. But try to listen to classic country, like Hank Williams, George Jones, Ernest Tubb, and Loretta Lynn to get some history of redneck music. Listen to those tear-in-your-beer ballads.
- Lots of rednecks listen to T-Pain and Lil Wayne, or Led Zeppelin and Guns ‘n Roses just as much as they appreciate Luke Bryan or Tim McGraw. Listen to the music you like.
- Appreciate the finer things in life. Fine dining, ballroom dancing, and opera? Nah. For the redneck, hobbies are a little more down-to-earth. If you want to be a redneck, learning a bit more about redneck hobbies is a good idea. Here are a few:
- Enjoy a Nascar Race
- Football
- Buy Things at a Flea Market
- Join 4H
- Meet Fellow Teens at a Rodeo
- Become a Hardcore WWE Fan
- Demolition derby
- Dress for a Fair
Being a Good Redneck
- Work hard. Being a redneck isn’t about looking a certain way or having a particular accent. It’s about working and supporting yourself. It’s about being a capable contributing force in the world, and not a lazy bum. Rednecks are rednecks because they work hard and play hard for what they earn.
- Often, rural kids will start working early, as young as 12 or 13. If there’s something to be done, learn how to do it and make yourself useful to start contributing to your family.
- Look for little ways to contribute, if you’re too young to get a job. Volunteer for chores around the house. Learn to clean up the kitchen and do the laundry. Help out.
- Be capable of solving your own problems. If your car breaks down on the side of the highway, you want a redneck around, who’ll be able to diagnose that problem and come up with a bootleg solution to fix it and get back on the road. Rednecks know the practical skills necessary to quickly and cheaply solve their own problems, instead of calling for help. Here’s a good list of redneck skills to learn:
- Learn to appreciate different cultures. Rednecks sometimes get a bad reputation as closed-minded, or small-minded individuals, who aren’t open to different cultures and different types of people. It’s good to be proud of where you come from, but it’s also good to learn as much as you can about other places, and be tolerant of the cultures from those places.
- In general, American culture is deeply divided. A city-dwelling Californian is often just as ignorant, if not more so, about what life is like in a rural area, than a “redneck” is of life in the big city. Remember that.
- The American south is still deeply divided along racial lines in some places, and being a “redneck” can be a charged signal for some people. Keep in mind that the Dixie flag and other “redneck” stereotypes can be offensive to some people.
- Drink moderately and avoid drug abuse. Drinking alcohol, specifically beer and whiskey, is often associated with redneck culture. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a brew every now and then, especially a good Bud Lite or Keystone, but learn your limits and drink responsibly.
- Drugs are no longer a “city” problem. Cheap and available crystal methamphetamine, prescription pills, and other opiates including heroin, have flooded rural areas in recent years.
- Smokeless tobacco, including chew and snuff, is just as dangerous as cigarettes and other forms of tobacco. There’s nothing redneck about mouth cancer.
- Have faith in something. Typically, rural Americans are more religious than Americans from other parts of the country. For many people who identify as "redneck," religion is an essential part of not only being a redneck, but being a good person. Find some faith, attend church, and make religion a part of your life.
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