Happy-slapping hoodies with ASBOs and ringtones, etc etc

[kateorman]

Obviously, in a population of millions, there must be some young people who match the "feral animal" stereotype. But the danger of that stereotype is that, when you see someone who looks and sounds like a "chav", you immediately connect them to theft, violence, breeding like rabbits, etc - when in fact you almost certainly know nothing about them

Comments

[swiftangel]

I think part of the problem lies in the use of the word "chav". The usage is not consistent. Different people apply it in different ways. To me (and Ash) it applies more to behaviour than age or economic status. Yes, we would use it to refer to the ASBO brigade, and to many teenage mothers (but I should stress that teenage mother does not always equal single mother), but also to people like Mr Pimp

[kateorman]

It's true - there's "chav" as in "dresses like a prole" and "chav" as in "irresponsible criminal". By conflating the two, the stereotype gives pollies and the media a useful internal enemy. It's not behaviour which becomes the marker - otherwise Brits would just say "petty thief" or "noisy neighbour". The idea of the "chav" means that any teenager who conspicuously dresses, talks, and acts like a teenager becomes suspicious.

[alawston]

It's also a Hampshire dialect word for a gypsy.

[kateorman]

Quoth the Oxford Dictionary: "Probably either from Romani chavo unmarried Romani male, male Romani child, or shortened from CHAVVY noun (baby, child)." If the former's the derivation, that's shameful. I had no idea.

[almostwitty]

Throughout the UK, from the bottom to the top, there is unfortunately a perception that you're earning less than your peers, or that you're just scraping by. Which is ridiculous when you find city boys complaining they don't earn enough...