or (plural or ) is a Polish

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 ...

class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

of young males who

stereotypically In social psychology, a stereotype is a 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 be, for example ...

live in urban

tower block A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdiction. ...

s or tenement houses. They are usually portrayed as undereducated, unemployed, aggressive, and anti-social. Dialogi polityczne, ''O tym, dlaczego dresiarze noszą dresy. Rozważania nad antropologią odzieży sportowej w subkulturach chuligańskich''
The phenomenon was first observed in the 1990s and is sometimes compared to the British

chav "Chav" (), also "charver", "scally" and "roadman" in parts of England, is a British term, usually used in a pejorative way. The term is used to describe an anti-social lower-class youth dressed in sportswear. * * * * Julie Burchill descri ...

s, Scottish neds, Australian

bogan Bogan ( ) is Australian and New Zealand slang to describe a person whose speech, clothing, behaviour, or attitudes are considered unrefined or unsophisticated. Depending on the context, the term can be used pejoratively or in a humorous, self- ...

s or Russian

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. It would later partially merge with the

hooligan 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 ...

subcultures and is sometimes attributed to

football hooligans Football hooliganism, also known as soccer hooliganism, football rioting or soccer rioting, constitutes violence and other destructive behaviors perpetrated by spectators at association football events. Football hooliganism typically involves ...

. The term refers to

tracksuit A tracksuit is an article of clothing consisting of two parts: trousers and a jacket usually with a front zipper. Also known as ''sweatsuits'' or ''trackies'', tracksuits are designed to keep the body warm during and after athletic activity. It w ...

s, which in

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

is . ''Kark'' (pl. – napes), '' Seba/Sebiks/Sebix/Sebek'' and ''blocker'' (pl. – block-people) are related but not synonymous terms; see below. The term has a pejorative connotation in Polish

mass media Mass media include the diverse arrays of media that reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit information electronically via media such as films, radio, recorded music, or television. Digital media comprises b ...

Dorota Masłowska Dorota Masłowska (Polish pronunciation:; born 3 July 1983) is a Polish writer, playwright, columnist and journalist. She is the winner of the 2006 Nike Award, Poland's most important literary prize, for her novel ''The Queen's Peacock''. Life ...

's novel ''White and Red''''Wojna polsko-ruska pod flagą biało-czerwoną''. Warsaw 2002: Lampa i Iskra Boża, (UK edition: ''White and Red'', Atlantic Books, ; US edition: ''Snow White and Russian Red'', Grove Press, ) is one of the first books published featuring the phenomenon. have been a theme of (usually critical) songs by

Dezerter Dezerter, founded as SS-20 in May 1981 in Warsaw, is one of the most popular punk bands from Poland. The band was founded by three students of Warsaw's vocational high school ( technikum) - Robert "Robal" Matera (guitar), Krzysztof Grabowski (dru ...

and

Big Cyc Big Cyc ("Cyc" is Polish language, Polish for "Breasts, Tit") is a Polish Rock music, rock musical band, band formed in March 1988. The band is well known in Poland for their controversial behaviour. The cover of their first album, ''Z partyjnym ...

. They are also popular negative characters in the comic strip ''

Jeż Jerzy ''Jeż Jerzy'' (''George the Hedgehog'') is a popular Polish comic book title created by two young artists, (script) and (drawings). The comic strip first appeared as part of a children's magazine called ''Świerszczyk''. Originally, the stri ...

''.

Characteristics

The following traits are typically attributed to the stereotype: * Taste in music usually encompassing Polish

disco polo Disco polo is a music genre, genre of popular dance music, created in Poland in the 1980s. It was initially known as ''sidewalk music'' () or ''backyard music'' ('). This genre, a type of Polish urban folk music, had great popularity in the 1990s ...

and

rap Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...

, rarely

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

, house genres or

hardbass Hardbass or hard bass ( rus, хардбас(с), khardbas(s), xɐrdˈbas) is a subgenre of pumping house that originated in Saint Petersburg, Russia during the late 1990s, drawing inspiration from bouncy techno, hardstyle, as well as local Ru ...

. * Wearing

tracksuits A tracksuit is an article of clothing consisting of two parts: trousers and a jacket usually with a front zipper. Also known as ''sweatsuits'' or ''trackies'', tracksuits are designed to keep the body warm during and after athletic activity. It w ...

along with a

hoodie A hoodie is a type of sweatshirt with a hood that, when worn up, covers most of the head and neck, and sometimes the face. The most common 'pullover' style hoodies often include a single large knife pocket or muff on the lower front, whil ...

and

trainers Sneakers ( US) or trainers ( UK), also known by a wide variety of other names, are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but are also widely used for everyday casual wear. They were popularized by compani ...

; usually cheap counterfeit imitations of popular brands. * Shaved head. *

Weight lifting Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can i ...

and/or

strength training Strength training, also known as weight training or resistance training, is exercise designed to improve physical strength. It is often associated with the lifting of Weightlifting, weights. It can also incorporate techniques such as bodyweigh ...

in gyms. * Affection for automobiles — at first they were stereotypically associated with heavily modified

Fiat 126p The Fiat 126 (Type 126) is a four-passenger, rear-engine, city car manufactured and marketed by Fiat over a twenty-eight year production run from 1972 until 2000, over a single generation. Introduced by Fiat in October 1972 at the Turin Auto Show ...

cars (often with iconic

Pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a person who is among the first at something that is new to a community. A pioneer as a settler is among the first settling at a place that is new to the settler community. A historic example are American pioneers, perso ...

sticker covering the rear window), but recently they switched to older versions of

BMW 3 The BMW 3 series is a line of compact executive cars manufactured by the German automaker BMW since May 1975. It is the successor to the 02 series and has been produced in seven generations. The first generation of the 3 Series was only avail ...

and BMW 5 as well as

Volkswagen Golf Mk2 The Volkswagen Golf Mk2 is a hatchback, the second generation of the Volkswagen Golf and the successor to the Volkswagen Golf Mk1. It was Volkswagen's highest volume seller from 1983 and ended in (German) production in late 1992, to be replaced ...

and

Opel Calibra The Opel Calibra is a coupé, engineered and produced by the German automaker Opel between 1989 and 1997. In the United Kingdom, where it remained on sale until 1999, it was marketed under the Vauxhall brand as the Vauxhall Calibra. It was also ...

, and recently their taste switched to

Volkswagen Group Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of passenger and commercial vehicles, motorcycles, engines and turbomachinery. Headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxon ...

automobiles, especially

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. A subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. The origins of the compa ...

. Apart from German cars, Japanese and East-Asian made cars such as the

Honda Civic The is a series of automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1972. , the Civic is positioned between the Honda Fit/Honda City, City and Honda Accord in Honda's global passenger car line-up. The first-generation Civic was introduced in July 1972 ...

gained popularity due to the influence of the ''

Fast & Furious ''Fast & Furious'', also known as ''The Fast and the Furious'', is an American Action film, action media franchise centered on a series of films revolving around street racing, heist film, heists, and spy film, spies. The franchise also inclu ...

'' franchise. * Keeping aggressive

dog breeds This list of dog breeds includes both extant and extinct dog breeds, varieties and types. A research article on dog genomics published in Science/AAAS defines modern dog breeds as "a recent invention defined by conformation to a physical ideal ...

, such as the

Pit Bull Pit bull is an umbrella term for several Dog type, types of dog believed to have descended from bull and terriers. In the United States, the term is usually considered to include the American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, A ...

American Staffordshire Terrier The American Staffordshire Terrier, also known as the AmStaff, is a medium-sized, short-coated American dog breed recognized by the American Kennel Club, but not the United Kennel Club, which instead allows American Staffordshire Terriers to be r ...

as pets (sometimes used in dog fights). * Their female counterparts (''Karyna'') often have excessive solarium tans, bleached platinum

blonde Blond () or blonde (), also referred to as fair hair, is a human hair color characterized by low levels of eumelanin, the dark pigment. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some yellowish color. The color can be ...

or pitch black dyed hair and wear

artificial nails Artificial nails, also known as fake nails, false nails, acrylic nails, press ons, nail extensions or nail enhancements, are extensions placed over fingernails as fashion accessories. Many artificial nail designs attempt to mimic the appearance o ...

mini-skirt A miniskirt (or mini-skirt, mini skirt, or mini) is a skirt with its hemline well above the knees, generally at mid-thigh level, normally no longer than below the buttocks; and a dress with such a hemline is called a minidress or a miniskirt ...

s, and

crop top A crop top (also half shirt, midriff top, belly shirt or cutoff shirt) is a top that reveals and exposes the waist, navel, or abdomen. History Women The origins of the clothing are unknown, but midriff tops go back to at least the Bronze Age, d ...

s.Wprost.pl: ''Blachary atakują''
/ref>

Related terms

*''Kark'', meaning "neck" and a short for ''byczy kark'' ("bull neck"), is most used in connection with weight lifting; a person perceived as a ''kark'' may be wearing neither trainers nor a tracksuit, but shares most other elements of stereotypical ''dres'' behavior. The term may also refer to lower-ranked members of gangster groups, i.e. "thugs". *''Blokers'' – a term for a young person exhibiting anti-social behavior, living in commie blocks (''blok'' in

, also known as Soviet

Khrushchevka ''Khrushchevkas'' ( rus, хрущёвка, khrushchyovka, p=xrʊˈɕːɵfkə) are a type of low-cost, concrete-Panel building, paneled or brick three- to five-storied apartment buildings (and apartments in these buildings) which were designed ...

). This term was used first time circa 1995 by Robert Leszczyński, a Polish music critic and journalist. *''ABS'' – an acronym for Absolutny Brak Szyi ("Total Lack of Neck"). See ''Kark''. Often used pejoratively for heavily "pumped up" thugs and hooligans. The implied characteristic is anabolic steroid use.

External links

Wojciech Orliński Wojciech Orliński (born 24 January 1969 in Warsaw) is a Polish journalist, writer, and blogger. In the 1990s, he was a member of the Polish Socialist Party. Between 1997 and 2021, he was a regular columnist for Gazeta Wyborcza. From 2011 to ...

MUZEUM NARODOWE KULTURY MASOWEJ: Dresiarze

References

{{reflist Class-related slurs Crime in Poland Stereotypes of working-class men Working class in Europe Polish youth culture Counterculture of the 1990s Social class in Poland

Characteristics

Related terms

See also

External links

References