Low-life ( low-lifes or low-lives; also lowlife) is a term for a person or animal who is of low social status due to their low moral character. Examples of people typically referred to as ''low-life'' include
bullies,
criminals,
drug dealers,
freeloaders, bums,
drunkards,
gangster
A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''Organized crime, mob'' and the suffix ''wikt:-ster, -st ...
s,
sex offenders,
pimps,
aggressive panhandlers,
scammers, and
thieves.
Often, the term is used as an indication of disapproval of
antisocial or
self-destructive behaviors, usually bearing a connotation of
contempt
In colloquial usage, contempt usually refers to either the act of despising, or having a general lack of respect for something. This set of emotions generally produces maladaptive behaviour. Other authors define contempt as a negative emotio ...
and
derision. This usage of the word dates to 1911. The long-term origins of the ideas behind this in the Western world trace back to ancient times with the distinction of
high culture
In a society, high culture encompasses culture, cultural objects of Objet d'art, aesthetic value that a society collectively esteems as exemplary works of art, as well as the literature, music, history, and philosophy a society considers represen ...
associated with
aristocracy
Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats.
Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense Economy, economic, Politics, political, and soc ...
at the top of the social hierarchy who were regarded in aristocrat-dominated society as compared with low culture associated with
commoners at the bottom of the social hierarchy that included many impoverished people among them.
In common usage, the term can also be used for people associated with adhering to
low culture
Low or LOW or lows, may refer to:
People
* Low (surname), listing people surnamed Low
Places
* Low, Quebec, Canada
* Low, Utah, United States
* Lo Wu station (MTR code LOW), Hong Kong; a rail station
* Salzburg Airport (ICAO airport code: ...
, or used to describe a crass, overly casual person who exhibits a lack of grace and refinement. In this sense, individuals do not necessarily need to be criminally destructive or hold ethically questionable views to qualify for the term.
Similar terms used for the same type of person include the Australian/New Zealand term ''feral''.
Reputation
Upwardly mobile members of an ethnic group, committed to schooling, education and employment prospects, will often reject low-lifes who instead opt (willingly or unwillingly) for street or gang life.
Attraction
The lure of the low-life for those in established social strata has been a perennial feature of western history: it can be traced from the
Nero
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...
nian aristocrat described by
Juvenal
Decimus Junius Juvenalis (), known in English as Juvenal ( ; 55–128), was a Roman poet. He is the author of the '' Satires'', a collection of satirical poems. The details of Juvenal's life are unclear, but references in his works to people f ...
as only at home in stables and taverns–"you'll find him near a gangster, cheek by jowl, mingling with
lascars, thieves and convicts on the run"–through the Elizabethan interest in
cony-catching, up to
William Burroughs' obsession with the
hobo
A hobo is a migrant worker in the United States. Hoboes, tramps, and bums are generally regarded as related, but distinct: a hobo travels and is willing to work; a tramp travels, but avoids work if possible; a bum neither travels nor works.
Et ...
, bum, or urban outlaw, and through to the anti-heroes of
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting said to focus on a combination of "low-life and high tech". It features futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyberwa ...
.
Such interest may have a sexual component, based on the subconscious equation of socially low status with lack of inhibitions, as with the Roman ladies described by
: "Some women get heated up over the very dregs and can't feel any passion unless... among the lowest of the low".
[Petronius, ''The Satyricon'' (1986) p. 142]
References
{{Reflist
Further reading
* Luc Sante, ''Low Life: Lures and Snares of Old New York'' (2003)
Pejorative terms for people