Bogan 858756 225956403 2008-07-16T05:09:54Z J Bar 1452350 not true {{otheruses}} The term '''bogan''' ({{pronEng|ˈboʊgən}}, rhyming with ''slogan'') is [[Australian English|Australian]] and [[New Zealand English]] [[slang]], usually pejorative, for a person who is, or is perceived to be, of a lower-class background. According to the stereotype, the speech and mannerisms of "bogans" indicate, poor education, cheap clothing (singlet, jeans and no shoes are the sterotypical bogan outfit) and uncultured upbringing. 'bogans' usually reside in economically disadvantaged suburbs (often outer metropolitan) or rural areas<ref>{{cite news| last =Lauder| first =Simon | coauthors =| title =Bogan Pl residents lobby for name change| work =| pages =| language =| publisher =[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]]| date =2008-04-12| url =http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/12/2215081.htm| accessdate = 2008-04-12}}</ref>. The term is a close regional equivalent to the British term [[Chav]], Irish term [[wikt:scanger|scanger]] and the North American term [[White Trash]]. However the term 'bogan' is occasionally used with some affection in Australia/NZ, whereas those corresponding terms are not. [[Image:page1.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Page 1, Issue 1 of Bogue Parody found in MDNW]] [[Image:page2.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Page 2, Issue 1 of Bogue Parody found in MDNW]] ==History== The origin of the term 'bogan' as a pejorative is unclear; both the Macquarie Dictionary and the Australian Oxford Dictionary cite its origin as unknown. In a name context, it means "soft" like a bog or "bow" as in bow and arrow. The name can be found in the records of the English Parliament, especially from Devonshire, and all over Ireland. The Australian National Dictionary Centre (ANDC) included the word in its Australian dictionary project<ref name="ANDC">[[Australian National University]]: [http://www.anu.edu.au/andc/res/aewords/aewords_ab.php#bogan Australian National Dictionary Centre]</ref> in 1991, attributing the earliest known reference to a 1985 surfing magazine. The 1902 poem "City of Dreadful Thirst" by Australian poet [[Banjo Patterson]] makes reference to a "Bogan shower" as a term meaning "three raindrops and some dust". However this is clearly a reference to the dry region around the Bogan River in Central Western NSW.<ref>Paterson, A.B.: [http://whitewolf.newcastle.edu.au/words/authors/P/PatersonAB_Banjo/verse/riogrande/dreadfulthirst.html "City of Dreadful Thirst"].</ref> There are places in western [[New South Wales]] that contain 'bogan' in their name — including [[Bogan Shire]], the [[Bogan River]] and the rural village of [[Bogan Gate]] — but they are not regarded as the source of the term.<ref name="ANDC">ANDC</ref> The term became widely known in the late 1980s, when the character ''Kylie Mole'' (played by [[Mary-Anne Fahey]]), from the popular Australian sketch comedy television program ''[[The Comedy Company]]'', popularised the term, using it frequently to disparage those she disliked: ''"[a bogan is] a person that you just don’t bother with. Someone who wears their socks the wrong way or has the same number of holes in both legs of their stockings. A complete loser."'' Kylie's use of 'bogan' is closer to the common use of "dag" ("dork" or "nerd") than "[[Westie (person)|westie]]," which apparently predated 'bogan' by some years.<ref name="BBSB">Moore, Bruce: [http://www.anu.edu.au/andc/pubs/ozwords/November_98/2._regionalisms.htm Of Boondies, Belgium Sausages and Boguns], [http://www.anu.edu.au/andc/pubs/ozwords/index.php Ozwords] ([[Australian National University]]), November 1998.</ref> Bogan was deemed one of twenty Australian colloquialisms by a selection panel and in an online poll to be most relevant to Australian users.<ref>Press release: [http://www.microsoft.com/australia/presspass/news/pressreleases/2006_05_15_microsoft_office_2007_recognises_dinkydi_words.mspx Strewth! Microsoft Office 2007 will recognise more dinky-di words], [[Microsoft Corporation]], [[15 May]] [[2006]].</ref> ==Elements of the stereotype== <!-- Note: To avoid introducing original research, please do not change the content of this section without discussing proposed changes on the talk page first. --> The bogan stereotype is roughly equivalent to the American [[white trash]], although the term bogan does not necessarily suggest violent or anti-social behaviour.{{Fact|date=May 2008}} Certain styles of clothing are stereotypically associated with bogans, including [[Moccasin]]-style slippers, jeans, black leggings. <ref> UTS Experts Making News July: http://www.uts.edu.au/new/experts/media/2003/july.html </ref><ref>The uggly side of life - The Age: http://www.theage.com.au/news/danny-katz/the-uggly-side-of-life/2006/09/27/1159337216912.html</ref><ref>Anatomy of the trend - leggings - The Age: http://www.theage.com.au/news/fashion/anatomy-of-a-trend--leggings/2006/10/05/1159641427417.html</ref> ==Non-pejorative usage== The term 'bogan' has been employed favourably to indicate being proudly un-fashionable or 'rough around the edges.' Radio station [[Triple J]] held a "National Bogan Day" on [[June 28]], [[2002]], which they commemorated by playing music by bands such as [[Cold Chisel]], [[Midnight Oil]], [[Rose Tattoo]] and [[AC/DC]].<ref>Griffin, Michelle: [http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/07/15/1026185158244.html Bogansville: meet the new in-crowd], ''[[The Age]]'', [[16 July]] [[2002]].</ref> Australian humour website [http://www.bogan.com.au/ bogan.com.au] was archived on the [[National Library of Australia]]'s [[Pandora Archive]] in August 2006,<ref>[[Pandora Archive]]: [http://pandora.nla.gov.au/tep/62263 Bogan.com.au]. Retrieved 11 September 2006.</ref> for it was considered to be "of significance and to have long-term research value."<ref>[[Pandora Archive]]: [http://pandora.nla.gov.au/selectionguidelinesallpartners.html Selection Guidelines]. Retrieved 11 September 2006.</ref> Residents of streets such as Bogan Place and Bogan Road have been moved to action by the negative connotations of their street names and lobbied to rename them. <ref>http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23533259-5013110,00.html</ref> ==References in Popular Culture== * Australian band [[Area-7]] released a single called "Nobody Likes a Bogan" in 2002, which listed several aspects of a stereotype bogan named "Bazza." The song reached #46 on the [[ARIA Charts]] in February of that year.<ref>[[Rage (TV program)|Rage]]: [http://www.abc.net.au/rage/playlist/archive/2002/20020223.htm ARIA Top 50 playlist], [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]], [[26 February]] [[2002]].</ref> * Melbourne band [[TISM]] released a song written from the point of view of a bogan beating up a [[Mod (lifestyle)|mod]], "The Fosters Car Park Boogie," on their 1988 album ''[[Great Truckin' Songs of the Renaissance]]''. Their later song [[whatareya?]] on the album [[www.tism.wanker.com]] can also be considered as a classist comparison between the lower (yob/bogan) and upper (wanker) classes.{{Fact|date=May 2008}} * The [[Special Broadcasting Service|SBS]] television show ''[[Pizza (TV series)|Pizza]]'' portrays a stereotypical bogan character named Davo (played by [[Jabba (Channel V)|Jabba]]). Davo is often depicted wearing a [[flannel|flannelette shirt]], [[thongs]] and a [[wifebeater (shirt)|singlet]]. He also undertakes stereotypical bogan activities including drinking Victoria Bitter beer, smoking cannabis, and talking bogan slang, and is often referred to as a bogan by other characters. * Australian comedian [[Chris Franklin]]'s public persona is a self-proclaimed "King of the Bogans," in which he frequently eats [[meat pies]], wears a flannelette shirt with its sleeves ripped off, and occasionally wears a football [[beanie]] over his permed [[Mullet (haircut)|mullet]]. In 1999, Franklin released a comedy single called "Bloke" (a parody of "[[Bitch (Meredith Brooks song)|Bitch]]" (1997) by [[Meredith Brooks]]), which expressed a bogan perspective on male/female relationships.[http://chrisfranklin.net/index.html] * In 2005 residents of the [[Victoria (Australia)|Victorian]] town of [[Colac, Victoria|Colac]] objected to the backstory of the fictional [[Kim Timmins|Timmins]] family (described by [[ABC Local Radio]] as a "bogan family") on the [[soap opera]] ''[[Neighbours]]'', which portrayed them as being from the town. Scriptwriter Ben Michaels denied regional stereotyping, stating "I think most people know there is a bogan contingent in every town, and we happened to take the piss out of the bogan contingent of Colac."<ref>Martin, Steve: [http://www.abc.net.au/southwestvic/stories/s1392873.htm Not happy with Neighbours: Colac residents say enough is enough], [[15 June]] [[2005]].</ref> In the story the family frequently refer to themselves as bogans, to the extent that youngest daughter Bree wrote a book (based on her mother Janelle's idea) entitled ''The Bogan's Tipped Hair''. * "Cricketer [[Shane Warne]] receives regular ribbings from the Australian media for his bogan persona. His struggles with weight loss and cigarettes, the unsophisticated dietary habits, are all fodder for commentators who recoil at his uncouth habits. But Warney is the ultimate Aussie bloke: all brawn and few brains when it comes to controlling his appetites, plus a blinding addiction to blondes who are typically clones of his attractive wife." (Emma-Kate Symons, "Spinning out of control," ''The Weekend Australian'' (2-3 July 2005), p 19. * In the [[ABC1|ABC TV]] show [[The Glass House (TV series)|The Glass House]], host [[Wil Anderson]] frequently made reference to bogans, their poor taste and their tendency to have really bad name choices for their children with correspondingly bad spelling of those names. * The British band [[Abdoujaparov]] released a song called "Let Bogans Be Bogans" as a b-side on their 2001 single "Emergency Medical Hologram." * Actress [[Holly Valance]], resident of [[Los Angeles]] for several years, once described herself as a bogan in an interview with the Australian press.<ref>Adams, Cameron: [http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,20175153-2902,00.html Holly, the bogan's hero], ''[[Herald Sun|Sunday Herald Sun]]'', [[19 August]] [[2006]].</ref> * American musician [[Ben Folds]] released a song on his 2004 EP ''Super D'' (and again on his 2006 ''Supersunnyspeedgraphic, the LP'') called "Adelaide" which includes the lyric "now I see the bogans at the motor race." * [[Bogan Pride]] is a 2008 comedy television series on [[SBS TV]], starring [[Rebel Wilson]]. ==Use in Marketing== The term "Cashed Up Bogan," or "Cub," has been used by one marketing researcher to describe people of a blue-collar background [[Nouveau riche|now earning a high salary]] and spending those earnings on [[Conspicuous consumption|conspicuously expensive]] consumer items. The media has cited tennis player [[Lleyton Hewitt]] and his actress wife, [[Bec Cartwright]], as examples. <ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2006/05/19/1147545524374.html|title=Snobbery alert: the 'Cub' is busy turning Melbourne into Boganville|work=[[The Age]]|date=[[20 May]] [[2006]]}}</ref> The Kaesler Winery in the Barossa Valley wine district make and produce a Shiraz wine called the 'Bogan.' ==Regional equivalent terms== Although the term ''bogan'' is understood across Australia and New Zealand, certain regions have their own slang terms for the same group of people. These terms include: *In [[Hobart, Tasmania|Hobart]], [[Tasmania]], the term ''chigger'' (also ''chigga'' or ''chig'') is used. This appears to be a reference to the Hobart suburb of [[Chigwell, Tasmania|Chigwell]].<ref name="BBSB">ref chigger</ref> * ''Booner'' or ''boon'' in [[Canberra]], [[Australian Capital Territory]].<ref name="BBSB">ref booner</ref> * ''Scozza'' in [[Geelong]], [[Victoria, Australia]].<ref name="BBSB">ref Scozza</ref> The term [[Westie (person)|''westie'']] (or ''westy'') is not synonymous with ''bogan''; however, westies are often stereotyped as being bogans. This term seems to predate ''bogan'' by some years,<ref name="BBSB">ref westie</ref> originating in [[Sydney, New South Wales|Sydney]], [[New South Wales]] in the 1970s to refer to people from that city's western suburbs. The term is now in wide use in many cities and towns across both [[Australia]] and [[New Zealand]], where it especially refers to the denizens of West [[Auckland]]. ==See also== * [[Bodgies and Widgies]] * [[Chozzie]], Also [[Australia]] & [[New Zealand]] * [[Nouveau riche]] * [[Dres (Polish subculture)|Dres]] ([[Poland]]) * [[White trash|White Trash]] ([[United States]] and [[Canada]]) * [[Redneck]] ([[USA]] and [[Canada]]) * [[Hoser]] ([[Canada]]) * [[Skid]] ([[United States]] and [[Canada]]) * [[Classism]] * [[Westie (person)|Westie]] ([[Antipodean|Australia & NZ]]) * [[Feral (subculture)|Feral]] ([[Australia]]) * [[Hoon]] ([[Australia]]) * [[Ocker]] ([[Australia]]) * [[Larrikinism]] ([[Australia]]) * [[Yobbo]] * [[Raggare]] ([[Sweden]]) * [[Skeet]] ([[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]]) * [[Headbanging]] * [[Mook]] (USA) * [[Chav]] (UK) * [[Ars]] (Israel) * [[wikt:scanger|scanger]] (Ireland) * [[Knacker]] (Ireland) * [[Slapper]] (UK) * Tappit (South Africa) * Rock Spider (South Africa) * [[Class conflict]] * [[Orange Order]] * [[Derro]] ([Australia]) ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * [http://www.bogan.com.au/ Bogan.com.au: Australian Bogan website] * [http://www.bogan.co.nz/ Bogan.co.nz: New Zealand Bogan website] * [http://www.lukasland.com/humour/Aussie/Save-The-Bogan.htm Save the Bogan] (humorous website classifying bogans as an [[endangered species]]) * [http://www.bogans.co.nz/mainpage.html Bogans - The Movie] (New Zealand short film, featuring [[Peter Jackson]]) * [[Warner Music Group|Warner Music Australia]]: [http://www.warnermusic.com.au/product,w_prod,5046791542AU ''Bogan! Simply the Best Pub Rock Album''] (compilation album: "...jam packed full of the best pub anthems that would get any mullet banging".) [[Category:Australian culture]] [[Category:Pejorative terms for people]]