"Redneck chic" in the GLBT community? WTF?

[kweerwolf]

Over the past year or so I've seen more and more references to "redneck" in the gay community. Back when I was coming out in the '70s, "redneck" was something to be avoided at all costs. They were the people that would just as soon bash a gay person if they could find a convenient black to lynch. Now suddenly it seems like "redneck" has become chic and trendy. I notice guys using the word to describe themselves in their online profiles. Tonight while surfing the internet I actually found an online store that sells "Gay Redneck Outer Wear" (http://www.cafepress.com/gayredneck) like rainbow flags with the "stars and bars" on them and other images that seem incogruous.

WTF is up with this? Talk about your mixed messages! It's like saying, "Ya know, those two guys that killed Matthew Shepard are kinda hot."

Gay and redneck go together about as well as "Jewish Nazi" or "African-American klansman."

:rant:

[More Than A Feeling]

1. Maybe rednecks who don't accept gays will, if there are more gay rednecks

Just a thought :shrug:

[davidinalameda]

I grew up in West Virginia

I knew several gay rednecks

[Occulus]

5. yes, they're all over

you'd NEVER know most of them are gay, except among themselves.

[Syrinx]

7. "rednecks" aren't just in the South

I've never been out West much, but I've been to most states east of the Mississippi, and I've seen rednecks in every one of them. And probably most of them (or half of them anyway) were good people.

[Petrushka]

8. Any REAL "redneck" in West Virginia . . .

. . . would have to be a coal-miner who fought in the downstate mine wars in the early years of the 20th century--Battle of Blair Mountain, for instance--when the fed'rl guvm'nt sent in aircraft to bomb them dastardly, stiff necked, red-necked varmints. Yup, the coal-miners marched off to make war on King Coal with red bandannas 'round their necks.

Did the gay rednecks you knew in West Virginia work for Massey, perhaps? In the office, right?

;-)

(tsk! . . . gay chic, indeed!)

[davidinalameda]

9. not all rednecks are miners

I'm not quite sure what you mean by your post so I'll just let it go

[Petrushka]

12. Historically, the word "redneck" in West Virginia . . .

. . . referred/refers to a coal-miner who fought in the early 20th century mine wars. Think: Matewan. Think: Blair Mountain. The miners' identified themselves by wearing red bandannas.

As for rednecks, today? I don't think I know any rednecks because I don't know what "redneck" means these days. So . . . yes, let's drop it.

[readmoreoften]

13. In Texas, a redneck is a farmer with a sunburnt neck. n/t

[MADem]

2. Well, when you steal their symbols, they lose their power

Wasn't there a Black fashion outfit that appropriated the Confederate stars and bars and used African themed colors on the design? FUBU, or something like that...

Hey, if it pisses off the haters, it can't be all bad. But I can understand your angst...

[Syrinx]

3. that joke of yours is funny

Sick. But funny.

[Rowdyboy]

4. Sorry, but I've known several gay or bi rednecks....even dated a few

Rednecks aren't necessarily bigots. Pool shooting, beer drinking, dope smoking good ole boys who like to have a REAL good time without putting on airs. They work construction, drive trucks, even serve in the military. A few of them even drive pickup trucks!

Rednecks didn't kill Matthew Shepherd. Asshole, thug, thieving, bigoted bastards killed Matt.

[Syrinx]

6. amen to that

Not gay, but visiting. ;)

[noamnety]

10. How dare they mess with stereotypes!

I wouldn't want to drink bud from a can and shoot pool and spit tobacco, but if some other dude wants to, I guess it's his own business.

There is something that appeals to me about the image of a bunch of gay guys acting femme in public, then going home and secretly changing into flannel shirts and jeans with giant belt buckles in the privacy of their own home, where nobody can see them.

[readmoreoften]

11. My butch lesbian boyfriend is a punk redneck. n/t

[Terran]

14. Gayness knows no demographic.

Does that really have to be stated here? We don't all live in large urban gay ghettos. If you assume that "redneck" means a white person of lower socioeconomic status, then there are millions of gay rednecks.

Ands while I'm not too much into them sexually, my partner has a major thing for redneck types.