Joe Sixpack

A Joe Sixpack is an average, working-class American male. He is often characterized—sometimes positively, sometimes negatively—as a guy who isn’t very highly educated, who likes sports, and who enjoys putting back a couple of beers.

Joe Sixpack dates back to at least the 1970s, used in political contexts for the average male voter. Joe calls up an average Joe, or regular guy, and Sixpack refers to beer, sold in six-packs.

In 1998, President Bill Clinton notably used Joe Sixpack for “private citizen” after the dismissal of Paula Jones’s sexual harassment lawsuit against him. It was in 2008, however, that Joe Sixpack went viral when Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin figured herself as a female Joe Sixpack (and hockey mom): “It’s time that a normal Joe Six-pack American is finally represented in the position of vice presidency.”

Given the fact Palin made notorious gaffes on the campaign trail exposing her inexperience or ignorance on important matters, critics countered that a Joe Sixpack was exactly what the country didn’t need in the White House. To this end, Palin was much satirized on Saturday Night Live, including for her Joe Sixpack remarks. In one particular sketch, Palin (played by Tina Fey) and her top-of-the-ticket John McCain himself were on a QVC shopping channel selling products, among them a Joe Sixpack action figure.

Politicians and political writers love to refer to average, male, beer-drinking voters who candidates want to win over as Joe Sixpack, a kind of working-class answer to the soccer mom. The term generally champions the man in this context, but in popular culture, it often disparages him.

Finally! Someone Joe Sixpack can relate to!

— Jeff O'Meara (@jomeara555) August 24, 2018

In a standup act in 2008, for instance, comedian George Carlin memorably knocked Joe Sixpack as overweight and stupid.

Remember Joe Sixpack? 😂

— Invisable Scourge 🌊🌊 🐓❤️🐝🐄🐶🦋 (@BohemianBeads1) August 27, 2018

This content is not meant to be a formal definition of this term. Rather, it is an informal summary that seeks to provide supplemental information and context important to know or keep in mind about the term’s history, meaning, and usage.