I was watching a comedy film that included a brief bit about a "hick" family. It included some stereotypes, and it struck me how incredibly ubiquitous these stereotypes are. Especially references to incest (having a "small family tree"). Of course this also includes large families, meals of roadkill, and poor hygiene. Here's an example of what I'm talking about.
I know that accusing a group of deviant sexual behavior is an easy and widely-used way to other them (I'm thinking of how common accusations/jokes about bestiality have been throughout history), but I'm wondering if this specific image of hicks or hillbillies has any clear historical lineage.
Well during the reconstruction period after the American Civil War, the South failed to effectively rebuild itself and industrialize like the North, due to faults from all parties. The result of this is many Southernors living in small, agrarian communities, and a lack of education due to poverty, which correlates with the "hick" stereotype.