Title

Reckoning with the ”Redneck”: Duck Dynasty and the Boundaries of Morally Appropriate Whiteness

Abstract

In this essay, I use viewer response to the “redneck” reality program Duck Dynasty as a way to illustrate the intersecting identities of place, class, and race. Rather than labeling the Robertson family in the series as “working-class” or “white,” participants favor the “redneck” moniker, which serves as a euphemistic way to speak about rural, white working-class identity without explicitly naming it as such. Although “redneck” has historically been used as a pejorative term, participants suggest that “redneck” culture functions as one way to articulate the morally appropriate working-class whiteness of family values, faith, and hard work. Understanding the “redneck” in this way works to further uphold the dominance of whiteness.

Department(s)

Media, Journalism, and Film

Document Type

Article

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1080/1041794X.2018.1472797

Keywords

Redneck, rural, social class, television audience, whiteness

Publication Date

8-8-2018

Journal Title

Southern Communication Journal

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