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THE STEREOTYPE!
oh yes!
there must be more to life!
Stop dreaming.
CHAV’S: … !
YEY
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Chav is a slang term which has been in wide use throughout the United Kingdom since 2004. It refers to a subcultural stereotype of a person with fashions such as flashy "bling" jewellery and counterfeit designer clothes, an uneducated, impoverished background, a tendency to congregate around places such as fast-food outlets or other shopping areas, and a culture of antisocial behaviour.
In the past such people have been called yobs. Response to the term has ranged from amusement to criticism that it is a new manifestation of classism.
Though "chav" has similarities to American terms such as "white trash" and "trailer trash", it does not bear the racial overtones of its American counterparts, and, according to the stereotype, many supposed chavs belong to multi-ethnic inner city communities such as London council estates.
From its origins as a slang term use of the word spread rapidly so that by 2004 it had become a hugely popular word in national newspapers and common parlance in the UK. A survey in 2005 found that in December 2004 alone 114 British newspaper articles used the word. It was also voted "word of the year" in 2004 by GQ magazine. The popularity of the word has led to the creation of sites devoted to cataloguing and mocking the "chav" lifestyle.
These include ChavScum and its spinoff ChavTowns
The stereotypical chav is someone who:
- wears particular clothing, such as:
- Brand name athletic clothing and shoes. Stereotypically, this might include white trainers and tracksuits.
- Fake designer clothing and accessories, in particular the distinctive tartan of Burberry, similar to (and perhaps derived from) the casuals of football supporters.
- "Bling": that is, gaudy gold jewellery - in particular conspicuous earrings and trinkets on chains for women, and gold sovereign rings for men.
- Sports caps and hoodies. Often both are worn, the hood pulled up over the baseball cap, thus obscuring the wearer's face.
- Sports or jogging trousers, often tucked into white sports socks. These are also referred to as "tracky Bs", "trackies" or "tracky bottoms".
- if female, wears thickly applied make-up, makes heavy use of fake tan, and has a hairstyle in which the hair is pulled back into a tight bun or ponytail (called a "Croydon facelift" [8] or "council-house facelift"), and stilettos.
- is associated with crass, drunken behaviour and minor criminal activities. This includes unprovoked attacks on members of the public (see happy slapping), vandalism, verbal abuse, and drug abuse. This delinquency may be carried out under the influence of cheap alcohol, often after the pubs have closed.
- lives on housing estates and other low-income neighbourhoods, often supported by the "dole" [9] (unemployment benefit).
- owns a tastelessly modified car, usually with a basic original specification, but decorated in the style popularised by the film The Fast and the Furious. A high specification music system with amplified bass may also be included.
- takes part in under-aged drinking and sex (and, consequently, is associated with teen pregnancy).
- congregates and loiters in areas such as shopping centres, outside off-licences and fast food restaurant car parks.
- is fond of texting language slang.
- pronounces English in a style that is seen to be unsophisticated and characterised by slack diction - for example, the pronunciation of "thing" as "fing".