IMO "Red neck" is an attitude. A style if you will. Comperable to "prep" or "yuppie".
There is country, and then there's redneck. Country is, well country. IMO country is a good ol' fashioned, what gramma taught, kinda simplicity. Red neck is a more "uneducated" country.
Red Necks are folks who LIVE in the country, but have to many unsupported opinions. For example, and this is ONLY an example not a profile, but racism. If I meet somebody from the country who is an OBVIOUS racist, my first impression is red neck. Potatos shooters, ---- fights, 5 cars that don't run in the driveway... Ooohh Jeff Foxworthy pretty much nails it!!
Hard working, horse riding, fence fixing, cow milkers aren't red necks IMO, they are country.
That is my perspective on what a red neck is.