A quick google search of the term “hillbilly” renders three initial results: a Wikipedia page, an urban dictionary definition, and a brand name of clothing. Wikipedia gives a more professional definition of the term and provides its original “definition” found in the New York Times, “a free and untrammeled white citizen of Alabama, who lives in the hills, has no means to speak of, dresses as he can, talks as he pleases, drinks whiskey when he gets it, and fires off his revolver as the fancy takes him.” It goes on to discuss several of the positive connotations associated with the name, however Urban Dictionary provides a definition that sticks up for these “mountain-dwellers.” The result of the Hillbilly Brand suggests a sort of pride, a desire to embrace the stereotype.

Urban dictionary took it a step further, however, and contrasted Hillbilly and Redneck: “A Redneck lives in trailer park and goes on the Jerry Springer show; a Hillbilly lives in a shack or cabin out in the middle of nowhere and doesn’t even have a TV.”

Upon searching the term “redneck,” I came up with just several different definitions ranging from Merriam-Webster to Urban Dictionary. The more professional definitions spoke on the opinions of others and remained mostly unbiased, while Urban Dictionary provided several offensive examples of the qualifications to be a redneck.

Some members of each group take pride in the names, but I haven’t found much of a stereotypical argument as to why. Both terms are used to often indicate a person without an education who lives in a rural area, but other than that, can be very different. Urban dictionary (a more popular resource for teenagers and younger adults) finds it very important to emphasize the distinction, as I mentioned with the quote above. It also seems that the groups themselves find it very important to make it clear they are not the other. Overall, hillbillies and rednecks are pretty mutually exclusive.