Chav
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226059277
2008-07-16T17:22:23Z
Rex Mundi
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{{wiktionarypar2|chav|charva}}
[[Image:Chav.jpg|thumb|right|Caricature of a stereotypical chav]]
'''Chav''' ({{pronEng|ʧæv}})<!-- From Wiktionary http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chav -->, or '''Charv/Charver''' ({{pronEng|ʧɑːv}}), is a mainly derogatory [[slang]] term in the [[United Kingdom]] for a [[stereotype]] of a working-class youth associated with aggression, poor education, and a perceived "common" taste in lifestyle and clothing (often fake and counterfeit).
The term appeared in mainstream dictionaries in 2005.<ref name="BBC-20050608">{{cite news|publisher=BBC News|title= 'Asbo' and 'chav' make dictionary|date=2005-06-08|accessdate=2006-09-02| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4074760.stm}}</ref><ref name="Telegraph-20050810">{{cite news|first=Neil|last=Tweedie |publisher=The Telegraph |title= Don't be a plank. Read this and get really clueful |date=2005-08-10|accessdate=2006-09-02| url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/08/10/nwords10.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/08/10/ixhome.html}}</ref>
There are regional variations; in the [[North East England|North East of England]] the variant ''charv'' / ''charva'' is most commonly used (particularly in [[Newcastle upon Tyne]] and [[Sunderland]] areas, where the term originated.) and has been used since the early 1990s, while in the [[South East England|South East of England]] and [[South West England|South West of England]] ''chav'' is the usual form. The term differs depending on area and dialect; in Scotland, they are known as "[[Ned (Scottish)|neds]]" and in Ireland as "[[spide]]s" or "[[skangers]]".
Response to the term has ranged from amusement to criticism that it is a new manifestation of [[classism]].<ref name="Wills Fancy Dress"> {{cite news |first=Harris |last=John |title=Bottom of the Class |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/britain/article/0,,1751272,00.html |format=HTML |publisher=The Guardian |date=2006-04-11 |accessdate=2007-02-24 |language=English }}</ref> The term has also been associated with [[juvenile delinquency]], the "[[Anti-Social Behaviour Order|ASBO]] Generation", "[[Hoodie]] culture", and "[[Yob culture]]".
== Etymology ==
A possible etymology for "chav" is that it derives from the [[Romani language|Romani]] word "chavi", meaning a child.<ref name=quinion>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldwidewords.org/topicalwords/tw-cha2.htm|title=World Wide Words|first=Michael|last=Quinion}}</ref> Related words derived from the same source include "charva" meaning prostitute (used in north-east England in a similar sense). In modern [[Spanish language|Spanish]] "chaval", "chavo" or "chavón" means "lad" (eg: ''[[El Chavo]]'', a Mexican television comedy whose principal character is a street orphan).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dict_en_es/spanish/chaval;_ylt=AlXQu4Ue10guDV7rC5VoYwL_s8sF |title=''Chaval'' definition at Yahoo Education |accessdate=2007-07-28}}</ref> The term "chavvy", for child or young person, is known to have migrated from Romani into the local dialects of Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire in the post-war years, coming into common usage in the late 1940s.{{Fact|date=May 2008}}
Many [[folk etymology|folk etymologies]] have sprung up around the word. These include [[backronym]]s such as "[[Council House]]d And Violent" and "Council House Adolescent Vermin".<ref name="webchat">{{cite web|accessdate=2006-01-19|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/northeast/series7/webchat_charvers.shtml|work=Inside Out - North East|accessyear=2005-02-21|title=To charv or not to charver - that is the question|author=Anoop Nayak and Steve Drayton|publisher=[[BBC]]}}</ref> It has also been suggested that pupils at [[Cheltenham Ladies' College]] and [[Cheltenham College]] used the word to describe the younger men of the town ("Cheltenham Average").<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/12/13/nchav13.xml|publisher=Daily Telegraph |date=[[2004-12-13]]|title=Cheltenham ladies and the chavs |first=Neil|last=Tweedie}}</ref>
==Popularisation in the media==
From its origins as a slang term, use of the word spread so rapidly that by 2004 it had become a hugely popular word in national newspapers and common parlance in the UK. [[Susie Dent]]'s ''Larpers and Shroomers: The Language Report'', published by the [[Oxford University Press]], designated it as the "word of the year"<ref>{{cite news |url=http://tls.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,25348-1888521,00.html|title=Colourful whitewash |last=Noel-Tod|first=Jeremy|date=2005-04-03 |accessdate=2007-05-30 |publisher=The Times Literary Supplement}}</ref> in 2004.<ref name="larpers">{{cite web |url=http://www.askoxford.com/pressroom/archive/larpers/?view=uk |title=AskOxford: Larpers and Shroomers: the Language Report |publisher=Oxford University Press |accessdate=2006-03-04}}</ref> A survey in 2005 found that in December 2004 alone 114 British newspaper articles used the word. The popularity of the word has led to the creation of sites devoted to cataloguing and mocking the "chav" lifestyle.
The "chav culture" has been portrayed extensively in British media:
* The [[Wales|Welsh]] [[hip hop music|rap]] group, [[Goldie Lookin' Chain]], have been described as both embodying and satirising the chav aesthetic, though the group themselves deny any such agenda, simply making a mockery of the subject.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/music/features/article51484.ece|title=|publisher=The Independent |date=[[2004-08-13]]|title= Goldie Lookin' Chain: Chain reaction}}</ref> The British car tuning magazine [[Max Power]] once had a beige Mk3 [[Vauxhall Cavalier]] stickered to make it look like the Burberry check, named it the "Chavalier" and gave it to the band.
* Footballer [[Wayne Rooney]]<ref>{{cite news|first=Brian |last=Wheeler|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4077626.stm |title=Leave chavs alone, say MPs|publisher=BBC News |date=[[2005-06-30]]}}</ref> and his wife [[Coleen McLoughlin]],<ref>{{cite news|first=Guy|last=Patrick|url=http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005570777,00.html|title=Chav a merry Xmas, Roo|publisher=The Sun|date=2005}}</ref> rapper [[Lady Sovereign]],<ref>{{cite news |first=Johnny|last=Davis |url=http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/music/features/article357152.ece|title=Lady Sovereign: The country's fourth biggest chav|publisher=The Independent |date=[[2006-04-15]]}}</ref> glamour model [[Jordan (Katie Price)|Jordan]],<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4159/is_20050911/ai_n15367608|title=Say cheese! Camilla and the Queen of Chav enjoy two right royal |publisher=The Independent |date=[[2005-09-11]] |first=Sholto|last=Byrnes}}</ref> actress [[Danniella Westbrook]],<ref name=dissertation />, former ''[[Big Brother (UK)|Big Brother]]'' contestant [[Jade Goody]]<ref>{{cite news|first=Karen|last=McVeigh |url=http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=1213032004|title=Doff your caps to the chavs ...they're THE word of 2004 |publisher=The Scotsman |date=[[2004-10-19]]}}</ref> and [[Kerry Katona]]<ref>http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=409087&in_page_id=1773</ref> have also been labelled "chavs" by British tabloids. Jade Goody admitted in a magazine interview to having the burberry check pattern tatooed on one of her buttocks..{{Fact|date=May 2008}}
*The popular character [[Lauren Cooper]] and her friends Lisa and Ryan from the BBC's comedy series ''[[The Catherine Tate Show]]'' exhibit clear ''Chav'' style clothing, behaviour, mannerisms and musical interests, along with surly attitudes. Fellow sketch comedy series ''[[Little Britain]]'' features a character with some similarities, [[Vicky Pollard]].
* In the 2005 reality TV programme ''[[Bad Lads Army]]'': Officer Class, a number of small time thieves and street brawlers underwent 1950's style National Service Army training to see which of them would be worthy of becoming a British Army officer. The motto of the show was to convert "chavs" into "chaps".
* In the UK TV series ''[[Doctor Who]]'', the character [[Rose Tyler]] is referred to as a chav. When her consciousness is taken over by another character, she looks in a mirror and remarks "Oh my God, I'm a chav!" and later says upon re-entering her body "Oh great, chav-tastic again". This is apparently a reference to the character's attire rather than behaviour.{{Fact|date=May 2008}}
* The term "chav", or specifically "chavvy" appears in the lyrics to [[Sham 69]]'s 1979 single [[Hersham boys]], one of the earliest references in popular culture.
==Criticism of the stereotype==
The widespread use of the chav stereotype has come under criticism; some argue that it amounts simply to [[snobbery]] and elitism,<ref name="Wills Fancy Dress" /> and that serious social problems such as [[Anti-Social Behaviour Order]]s, teenage pregnancy, delinquency and [[alcoholism]] in low-income areas should not be scoffed at. Critics of the term have argued that its proponents are “neo-snobs,”<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_200401/ai_n9689872|publisher=The Independent|date=[[2004-01-28]]|title=Sneer nation|first=Oliver|last=Bennett}}</ref> and that its increasing popularity raises questions about how British society deals with [[social mobility]] and class.<ref name=dissertation>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4091478.stm|title=Media student 'expert on chavs'|publisher=BBC News|date=[[2005-06-14]]|first=Alison|last=Smith}}</ref> In a February 2005 article in ''[[The Times]]'', [[Julie Burchill]] argued that use of the word is a form of “social [[racism]],” and that such “sneering” reveals more about the shortcomings of the “chav-haters” than those of their supposed victims.<ref>{{cite news|first=Julie|last=Burchill|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7-1488120,00.html|title=Yeah but, no but, why I'm proud to be a chav|date=[[2005-02-18]]|publisher=The Times}}</ref> The writer [[John Harris (critic)|John Harris]] argued along similar lines in a [[2007]] article in ''[[The Guardian]]''.<ref>{{cite news|first=John|last=Harris|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2027396,00.html
|title=So now we've finally got our very own 'white trash'|date=[[2007-03-06]]|publisher=The Guardian}}</ref>
Burchill also produced a [[Sky One]] television programme on the topic where she sought to link the word with the entire working-class population. The controversy around the term was also the subject of a [[Channel 4]] documentary in July 2005, simply entitled ''Chavs''.
== Commercial effect==
[[Burberry]], the clothing company whose products were initially associated with the stereotype, has argued that it is linked to [[counterfeit]] versions of the clothing: "They’re yesterday’s news", stated Stacey Cartwright, the [[Chief executive officer|CEO]] of Burberry. "It was mostly counterfeit, and Britain accounts for less than 10% of our sales anyway."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.agendainc.com/mt-agenda/content/archives/2005/01/british_tabloid.html|title=Burberry not chavin' it|publisher=The Sun|date=[[2005-01-12]]|first=Ian|last=King}}</ref> The company has taken a number of steps to distance itself from the stereotype. It ceased production of its own branded [[baseball cap]] in 2004 and has scaled back the use of its trademarked checkered/tartan design to such an extent that it now only appears on the inner linings and other very low-key positions of their clothing.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9065-1827255,00.html|title=The £16m woman takes on Burberry|publisher=The Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/10/12/nburb12.xml|title= Check out the height of ferret fashion. Burberry has|publisher=The Telegraph}}</ref> It has also taken legal action against high-profile infringements of the brand. In August 2006, a company introducing [[tuk-tuk]] vehicles into the south coast resort of [[Brighton]], [[England]] named one the "Chavrolet" which had it painted in the distinctive Burberry tartan. However, the company soon had to withdraw this vehicle after being threatened with proceedings for breach of copyright by the [[Burberry]] company.<ref>{{cite news
| last = Kwintner
| first = Adrian
| title = "Burberry drives tuk-tuk off road"
| publisher = Brighton & Hove Argus
| date = [[13 September]] [[2006]]
| url =http://www.theargus.co.uk/search/display.var.915225.0.burberry_drives_tuktuk_off_road.php
| accessmonthday=18 September | accessyear=2006}}</ref>
In 2005, [[Bluewater Shopping Centre]] banned hooded tops from anywhere in their complex.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/4534903.stm|title=Mall bans shoppers' hooded tops|publisher=BBC NEWS}}</ref> Pubs in [[Leicester]] announced that they would ban young people wearing certain fashion brands, including Burberry, due to a link between some of these brands and [[football hooliganism]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/leicestershire/3583900.stm|title=Pub-goers facing 'Burberry' ban|publisher=BBC news}}</ref>
The large supermarket chain [[ASDA]] has attempted to trademark the word "chav" for a new 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.”<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.aol.co.uk/article.adp?id=20060821161009990001|title=<noinclude></noinclude> ASDA tries to trade mark "chav"|publisher=AOL NEWS}}</ref>
==See also==
*[[Stereotype]]
*[[Social class]]
*[[Moral panic]]
*[[Folk devil]]
*[[Lumpenproletariat]]
*[[Underclass]]
*[[Subculture]]
*[[Deviancy]]
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
== Further reading ==
* {{cite journal|title=The "chav" phenomenon: Consumption, media and the construction of a new underclass|author=Keith Hayward and Majid Yar|journal=Crime, Media, Culture|volume=2|issue=1|pages=9–28|date=2006|doi=10.1177/1741659006061708}}
== External links ==
===Articles===
* {{cite news|url=http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006160428,00.html|title=Future bling of England|publisher=The Sun Online|date=[[2006-04-10]]|first=Duncan|last=Larcombe|accessdate=2007-03-06|}}
* {{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1330487,00.html|title=Get hip to Chav as this year's wizard word|work=[[The Guardian]]|publisher=[[Guardian Unlimited]]|date=[[2004-10-09]]|first=David|last=Ward|accessdate=2007-03-06}}
* {{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4154711.stm|title=Music to deter yobs by|work=[[BBC News]] Magazine| publisher=[[bbc.co.uk]]|date=[[2005-01-10]]|first=Melissa|last=Jackson|accessdate=2007-03-06}}
* {{cite news|url=http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-13218423,00.html|title=End Of 'Hooligan' Cap |publisher=[[Sky News]]|date=[[2004-09-10]]|accessdate=2007-03-06}}
* {{cite news|url=http://opinion.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2004/02/01/do0109.xml|title=In defence of snobbery|publisher=Daily Telegraph|date=[[2004-02-01]]|first=Jemima|last=Lewis|accessdate=2007-03-06}}
* {{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2027432,00.html|title=So now we've finally got our very own 'white trash'|work=[[The Guardian]]|publisher=[[Guardian Unlimited]]|date=[[2007-03-06]]|accessdate=2007-03-06|first=John|last=Harris}}
[[Category:Youth culture in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Pejorative terms for people]]
[[Category:Social groups]]
[[Category:Slang]]
[[Category:Subcultures]]
[[Category:Stereotypes]]
[[Category:British culture]]
[[Category:Romani loan words]]
[[Category:Fashion aesthetics]]
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