Hillbilly
Hillbilly is a term for people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas in the United States, primarily in the Appalachian region and Ozarks.
ix, July 1892),[2] an 1899 photograph of men and women in West Virginia labeled "Camp Hillbilly",[3] and a 1900 New York Journal article containing the definition: "a Hill-Billie is 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".
[4] The stereotype is twofold in that it incorporates both positive and negative traits: "Hillbillies" are often considered independent and self-reliant individuals who resist the modernization of society, but at the same time they are also defined as backward and violent.
In Scotland, the term "hill-folk" referred to people who preferred isolation from the greater society, and "billy" meant "comrade" or "companion".
The words "hill-folk" and "Billie" were combined and applied to the Cameronians who followed the teachings of a militant Presbyterian named Richard Cameron.
These Scottish Covenanters fled to the hills of southern Scotland in the late 17th century to avoid persecution for their religious beliefs.
"[8] The Appalachian Mountains were settled in the 18th century by settlers primarily from England, lowland Scotland, and the province of Ulster in Ireland.
Many further migrated to the American colonies beginning in the 1730s, and in America became known as the Scots-Irish although this term is inaccurate as they were also of Northern English descent.
Fueled by news stories of mountain feuds such as that in the 1880s between the Hatfields and McCoys, the hillbilly stereotype developed in the late 19th to early 20th century.
The period of Appalachian out-migration, roughly from the 1930s through the 1950s, saw many mountain residents moving north to the Midwestern industrial cities of Chicago, Cleveland, Akron, and Detroit.
This movement to Northern society, which became known as the "Hillbilly Highway", brought these previously isolated communities into mainstream United States culture.
In response, poor white mountaineers became central characters in newspapers, pamphlets, and eventually, motion pictures.
Films such as Sergeant York or the Ma and Pa Kettle series portrayed the "hillbilly" as wild but good-natured.
The popular 1970s television variety show Hee Haw regularly lampooned the stereotypical "hillbilly" lifestyle.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and its sequels has Leatherface and his family, the Sawyers, portray a particularly violent "Hillbilly" stereotype that is common in horror films.
The show's plots often included "hillbilly" tropes such as dimwitted and easily manipulated men, use of homemade drugs, and snake-handling revivalists.
[14] During the 1960s and 1970s, two superheavyweight wrestlers (and frequent tag team partners) Haystacks Calhoun and Man Mountain Mike both portrayed "country boys" in overalls and carrying lucky horseshoes.
A 2003 piece published by The Cincinnati Enquirer read, "In this day of hypersensitivity to diversity and political correctness, Appalachians have been a group that it is still socially acceptable to demean and joke about...
[20] Many video games feature plots, subplots or characters that utilize the Hillbilly stereotype for narrative purposes and cultural signifiers.
Feelings of shame, self-hatred, and detachment are cited as a result of "culturally transmitted traumatic stress syndrome".
On June 7, 1952, President Harry S. Truman received the medallion after a breakfast speech at the Shrine Mosque for the 35th Division Association.
[21] Other recipients included US Army generals Omar Bradley and Matthew Ridgway, J. C. Penney, Johnny Olson, and Ralph Story.
[22] Hillbilly Days[23] is an annual festival held in mid-April in Pikeville, Kentucky celebrating the best of Appalachian culture.
The term "Hillbilly" has been used with pride by a number of people within the region as well as famous persons, such as singer Dolly Parton, chef Sean Brock, and comedian Minnie Pearl.
To many native Appalachians, an outsider calling them "hillbilly" is highly offensive and the term is one of the oldest epithets in use in the United States.
