A redneck as we would think of them today would be someone poor, white and uneducated, and stereotypically from the southern end of the united states. Although these days it is also associated with 'trailer trash', being poorer people that live in trailer parks and generally anyone that is considered backward or unintelligent, and ironically now someone that doesn't work hard or very often have a job. It can also be used slightly less offensively to describe anyone from outside the major towns and cities, and anyone thought to be associated with country and western or the cowboy culture, as well as radical pro gun enthusiasts.

The original phrase came from the low income farmers and farm hands from the south that got sunburned necks or 'rednecks' from working in the sun so often without protection. This name then became a way to stereotypically describe them as a group or as almost a defined social class, as them having a redneck could easily identify the kind of work they did and where they came from, as well as their likely social class and income etc. The ironic thing about it being that when it was originally used it donated someone hardworking, and now it often denotes someone slow witted and lazy.

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