Chav
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"Chav" (), also "charver", "scally" and "roadman" in parts of
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, is a British term, usually used in a
pejorative A pejorative word, phrase, slur, or derogatory term is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hosti ...
way. The term is used to describe an anti-social lower-class youth dressed in sportswear. * * * *
Julie Burchill Julie Burchill (born 3 July 1959) is an English writer. Beginning as a staff writer at the ''New Musical Express'' at the age of 17, she has since contributed to newspapers such as ''The Daily Telegraph'', ''The Sunday Times'' and ''The Guardi ...
described the term as a form of " social racism". "Chavette" is a related term referring to female chavs, and the adjectives "chavvy", "chavvish", and "chavtastic" are used to describe things associated with chavs, such as fashion, slang, etc. In other countries like Ireland, "skanger" is used in a similar manner. In
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
(particularly in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
), the term is "hoodman", an equivalent of the term "roadman" used in England. In
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
, " skeet" is used in a similar way, while in Australia, " eshay" or "adlay" is used.


Etymology

Opinion is divided on the origin of the term. "Chav" may have its origins in the Romani word "chavi" ("child") or "chaval" ("boy"), which later came to mean "man". The word "chavvy" has existed since at least the 19th century; lexicographer
Eric Partridge Eric Honeywood Partridge (6 February 1894 – 1 June 1979) was a New Zealand–United Kingdom, British lexicography, lexicographer of the English language, particularly of its slang. His writing career was interrupted only by his service in the ...
mentions it in his 1950 dictionary of slang and unconventional English, giving its date of origin as c. 1860. The word in its current pejorative usage is recorded by the ''
Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...
'' as first used in a Usenet forum in 1998 and first used in a newspaper in 2002. By 2005, the term had become widely used to refer to a type of anti-social, uncultured youth, portrayed as wearing excessive flashy jewellery, white athletic shoes, baseball caps, and sham designer clothes. Similarly, girls are portrayed as commonly wearing clothes which expose their midriffs. In his 2011 book, '' Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class'',
Owen Jones Owen Jones (born 8 August 1984) is a left-wing British newspaper columnist, commentator, journalist, author and political activist. He writes a column for ''The Guardian'' and contributes to the ''New Statesman'', ''Tribune (magazine), Tribune ...
argued that the word is an attack on the poor. In the 2010 book ''Stab Proof Scarecrows'' by Lance Manley, it was surmised that "chav" was an abbreviation for "
council house A council house, corporation house or council flat is a form of British Public housing in the United Kingdom, public housing built by Local government in the United Kingdom, local authorities. A council estate is a building complex containing ...
d and violent". Others regard this as a
backronym A backronym is an acronym formed from an already existing word by expanding its letters into the words of a phrase. Backronyms may be invented with either serious or humorous intent, or they may be a type of false etymology or folk etymology. The ...
. This interpretation of the word was used in a 2012 public statement by rapper Plan B as he spoke out to oppose the use of the term. In 2013, linguist
David Crystal David Crystal, (born 6 July 1941) is a British linguist who works on the linguistics of the English language. Crystal studied English at University College London and has lectured at Bangor University and the University of Reading. He was aw ...
said on BBC Learning English:
People talk about "chav behaviour" or "chav insults" and that sort of thing. Oh, don't believe the popular etymologies that you read sometimes in the press and on websites. I saw one the other day, people said, "It's an acronym, 'chav', from 'council house and violent'"—well, no, it isn't, that was made up in recent times.
It has also been suggested that the term is derived from the name of the town of Chatham, in Kent, but the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' thinks this is "probably a later rationalization".


Stereotype

Besides referring to loutish (ill-mannered) behaviour, violence, and particular speech patterns (all of which are
stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalization, generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can ...
s), the chav stereotype includes wearing branded designer sportswear, which may be accompanied by some form of flashy gold
jewellery Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...
otherwise termed as " bling". They have been described as adopting "black culture". In a case where a teenage woman was barred from her own home under the terms of an anti-social behaviour order in 2005, some British national newspapers branded her "the real-life Vicky Pollard" with the '' Daily Star'' running headlines reading, "Good riddance to chav scum: real life Vicky Pollard evicted", both referring to a
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
comedy character . A 2006 survey by
YouGov YouGov plc is a international Internet-based market research and data analytics firm headquartered in the UK with operations in Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. History 2000–2010 Stephan Shakespeare and Nadhim ...
suggested 70% of TV industry professionals believed that Vicky Pollard was an accurate reflection of white working-class youth. Response to the stereotype has ranged from amusement to criticism, with some saying that it is a new manifestation of
classism Class discrimination, also known as classism, is prejudice or discrimination on the basis of social class. It includes individual attitudes, behaviors, systems of policies and practices that are set up to benefit the upper class at the expense of ...
. ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' in 2011 identified issues stemming from the use of the terms " hoodies" and "chav" within the mass media, which had led to age discrimination as a result of mass media-created stereotypes.


Commercial effect

In 2005 the fashion house
Burberry Burberry Group plc is a British luxury fashion house established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry and headquartered in London, England. It designs and distributes ready to wear, including trench coats, leather accessories, and footwear. It is l ...
, whilst deriding chavs, claimed that the widespread fashion in the UK of chavs wearing its branded style (Burberry check) was due to the widespread availability of cheaper
counterfeit A counterfeit is a fake or unauthorized replica of a genuine product, such as money, documents, designer items, or other valuable goods. Counterfeiting generally involves creating an imitation of a genuine item that closely resembles the original ...
versions. The large supermarket chain
Asda Asda Stores Limited (), trading as Asda and often styled as ASDA, is a British supermarket and petrol station chain. Its headquarters is in Leeds, England. The company was incorporated as Associated Dairies and Farm Stores in 1949. It expanded ...
has attempted to trademark the word "chav" for a line of confectionery. A spokeswoman said, "With slogans from characters in shows such as '' Little Britain'' and '' The Catherine Tate Show'' providing us with more and more contemporary slang, our 'Whatever' sweets — now nicknamed chav hearts — have become very popular with kids and grown-ups alike. We thought we needed to give them some respect and have decided to trademark our sweets."


Criticism of the stereotype

A BBC TV documentary suggested that chav culture is an evolution of previous working-class youth subcultures associated with particular commercial clothing styles, such as mods,
skinhead A skinhead or skin is a member of a subculture that originated among working-class youth in London, England, in the 1960s. It soon spread to other parts of the United Kingdom, with a second working-class skinhead movement emerging worldwide i ...
s, and casuals. In a February 2005 article in ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'',
Julie Burchill Julie Burchill (born 3 July 1959) is an English writer. Beginning as a staff writer at the ''New Musical Express'' at the age of 17, she has since contributed to newspapers such as ''The Daily Telegraph'', ''The Sunday Times'' and ''The Guardi ...
argued that use of the word is a form of "social
racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
", and that such "sneering" reveals more about the shortcomings of the "chav-haters" than those of their supposed victims. The writer John Harris argued along similar lines in a 2007 article in ''The Guardian''. The widespread use of the "chav" stereotype has been criticised. Some argue that it amounts to simple snobbery and elitism. Critics of the term have argued that its users are "neo-snobs", and that its increasing popularity raises questions about how British society deals with
social mobility Social mobility is the movement of individuals, families, households or other categories of people within or between social strata in a society. It is a change in social status relative to one's current social location within a given socie ...
and class. The
Fabian Society The Fabian Society () is a History of the socialist movement in the United Kingdom, British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in ...
considers the term to be offensive and regards it as "sneering and patronising" to a largely voiceless group. On describing those who use the word, the society stated that "we all know their old serviette/napkin, lounge/living room, settee/sofa tricks. But this is something new. This is middle class hatred of the white working class, pure and simple. The Fabian Society have been highly critical of the BBC in using the term in broadcasts. Use of the term 'chav' was reported in ''The Guardian'' in 2011 as "class abuse by people asserting superiority". Writer
Owen Jones Owen Jones (born 8 August 1984) is a left-wing British newspaper columnist, commentator, journalist, author and political activist. He writes a column for ''The Guardian'' and contributes to the ''New Statesman'', ''Tribune (magazine), Tribune ...
also criticised the use of the term in his book '' Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class''.


In the media

By 2004, the word was used in national newspapers and common parlance in the UK. Susie Dent's ''Larpers and Shroomers: The Language Report'', published by the
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, designated it as the "word of the year" in 2004. Characters described as "chavs" have been featured in numerous British television programmes, as well as films. The character, clothing, attitude and musical interests of Lauren Cooper and her friends in the BBC comedy series, '' The Catherine Tate Show,'' have been associated with the chav stereotype. The character Ali G, created by Sacha Baron Cohen originally for '' The 11 O'Clock Show'' and eventually gaining more popularity due to the ''
Da Ali G Show ''Da Ali G Show'' is a British satirical sketch comedy television series created by and starring British comedian and actor Sacha Baron Cohen. In the series, Baron Cohen plays three unorthodox journalists: faux-streetwise poseur Ali G, Kazakh ...
'', is described as using "the chav's putative anti-intellectuality to critique radical political stances". The BBC comedy series '' Little Britain'' features the character Vicky Pollard (portrayed by
Matt Lucas Matthew Richard Lucas (born 5 March 1974) is an English actor, comedian, writer and television host. He is best known for his work with David Walliams on the BBC sketch comedy series ''Little Britain (TV series), Little Britain'' (2003–2006) ...
), a parody of a teenage female chav. In the British television series '' Misfits'', the character of Kelly Bailey is presented as a stereotypical chav.
Lauren Socha Lauren Marie Socha (born 9 June 1990) is an English actress. She rose to prominence during her role as Kelly Bailey in the E4 comedy-drama television series '' Misfits'', for which she won a BAFTA TV Award in the Best Supporting Actress cate ...
, the actress who portrays Kelly, has described the character as being "a bit chavvy". ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' has referred to the character as " chavvish girl", and the character has been said to possess a "chav accent". In the " New Earth" episode of the BBC TV series ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'', the character Lady Cassandra is transplanted into Rose Tyler's body (
Billie Piper Billie Paul Piper (born Leian Paul Piper; 22 September 1982) is an English actress and former singer who is best known for her portrayal as Rose Tyler in ''Doctor Who'' (2005–2006, 2008, 2010). She initially gained recognition as a singer a ...
). When Cassandra sees herself in a mirror, she exclaims "Oh my God... I'm a chav!" In '' Kingsman: The Secret Service'', the main character Eggsy Unwin ( Taron Egerton) is introduced as a stereotypical chav.


See also

* Stereotypes like Rednecks in the US, Bogans in Australia, Neds in Scotland, Hosers and Skeet in Canada and Newfoundland * Ah Beng in Malaysia and Singapore, Alay in Indonesia, and Jejemon in the Philippines * British subcultures like
Lad culture Lad culture (also the new lad, laddism) was a media-driven, principally British and Irish subculture of the 1990s and the early 2000s. The term ''lad culture'' continues to be used today to refer to collective, boorish or misogynistic behaviour by ...
,
Hooliganism Hooliganism is disruptive or unlawful behavior such as rioting, bullying and vandalism, often in connection with crowds at sporting events. A hooligan is a person that engages in illicit reckless behaviors and is a public nuisance. Etymology ...
, Bootboy, and Football casuals, the 1980s precursor to the chav subculture * Eshays in Australia *
Gopnik A gopnik is a member of a Juvenile delinquency, delinquent subculture in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and in other Post-Soviet states, former Soviet republics—a young man (or a woman, a gopnitsa) of urban working-class background. The collectiv ...
s in the former Soviet Union, Dizelaši in Serbia and Dresiarz in Poland * Harry in Norway * Ratchet (slang) *
Social structure In the social sciences, social structure is the aggregate of patterned social arrangements in society that are both emergent from and determinant of the actions of individuals. Likewise, society is believed to be grouped into structurally rel ...
*
Social structure of the United Kingdom The social structure of the United Kingdom has historically been highly influenced by the concept of social class, which continues to affect British society today. British society, like its European neighbours and most societies in world history, ...
*
Subculture A subculture is a group of people within a culture, cultural society that differentiates itself from the values of the conservative, standard or dominant culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures ...
* Tokkie in the Netherlands, and Zef in South Africa *
Underclass The underclass is the segment of the population that occupies the lowest possible position in a social class, class hierarchy, below the core body of the working class. This group is usually considered cut off from the rest of the society. The g ...
* Westie, similar stereotype in Australia and New Zealand *
Wigger ''Wigger'', also ''wigga'', ''whigger'' and ''whigga'', is a term for white people who emulate the mannerisms, African American Vernacular English, language, and Hip hop fashion, fashions that are generally stereotypically associated with Af ...
* Yankī * Yob


References


Notes


External links

{{Commons category, Chavs


Audio

* Professor David Crystal
"Chav"
(MP3). ''Learning English'', BBC World Service.


Video

* Plan B.
Youth, Music and London
at TEDxObserver. 2000s slang 2010s fashion 2010s slang Anti-social behaviour British slang Class-related slurs Fashion aesthetics Social class in the United Kingdom Social class subcultures Socioeconomic stereotypes Stereotypes of the working class Youth culture in the United Kingdom