Are "Hillbilly" & "Redneck" Nation's Last Acceptable Stereotypes?

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9. Thank you for sharing that anecdote.

It is interesting how the taboo against going barefoot can be local to particular regions and to particular times.

In the 60's in Hawaii, being shoeless was how my brother and I played outside and ran around. Of course, we had shoes for really rough terrain - hot pavement, lava rock, etc., but as far as I could tell, no one cared at all if someone was running around without shoes. People might have recognized us as being haole, but there never was a word said about not wearing shoes.

This shoeless behavior stopped in the Iowa, though, since bare feet and gravel roads are - in my recollection - not compatible. No one in my part of western Iowa used the term hillbilly as a derogatory term as far as I ever remember hearing, but redneck was prevalent as a putdown. I have never associated the term 'redneck' with being barefoot though. The term 'redneck' seemed to float around without any attachment to a particular set of characteristics. (Without looking up the term's origin, I cannot say to what group the term 'redneck' is supposed to refer.) It seemed to be synonymous with simply being ignorant.

I have heard the term 'farm boy' used against Iowans. However, since an awful lot of Iowans are from rural areas, this construct has no effect - it seems redundant and thus meaningless. Maybe this term is the closest in spirit to the term 'hillbilly', but 'farm boy' has never gained currency as a putdown.