Could you please explain me the difference between a "chav" and a working class person ?

[quiveutmabonnebaguette]

???

[Tortington]

how ill educated can a person be.

and rude

read your history before you utter such disgraceful insults at the working classes.

[margoandjerry]

chavs don't work.

working class people work.

[quiveutmabonnebaguette]

I really didnt mean to offend anyone...I'm new to all that class system, I guess, it was always here but I was always with people like me..I must say. I'm a working person so by definition a working class person. It's just that lately I have noticed that some person (friends of DH) were looking down at me because I was not a barrister, doctor but an office worker. I swear I didnt imagine it.. I was just wondering what these people was considering me like..sorry to the people who fonds the title threads offensive, I didnt mean too.

[Moomin]

BEing looked down on by people is nothing to do with being 'chav' or 'working class' or whatever, it's down to ignorance or snobbery by those people, or even down to low self-esteem and paranoia by you!

Chav was a phrase coined to describe a kind of 'underclass' and is definitely NOT anything to do with working class. A lot of people take offence at the term 'chav' and it's quite misused IMHO. I first heard and saw the term 'chav' actually used on mumsnet some years ago and was directed to this website.

[meemar]

IMO

Working class is a descriptive (if vague and open to interpretation) term used to describe people who fit within a certain economic category. It used to be based on type of job (manual/professional) or salary, but the boundaries are very blurred now.

Chav is an (sometimes acceptable )insult term targeted at any of the following:
Working class
People who were working class but now have money
People with money but no taste
People with poor social skills/who are ignorant
People on benefits

But that's just my interpretation of it!

[Moomin]

sorry wrong one. Try www.chavscum.co.uk

and hope you don't think i was being rude by implying you were paranoid! I just think some people are quite sensitive and I can't quite come to terms with other people who might be so ignorant as to look down on someone just because they work in an office!

[pipsqueeke]

right, where IO come from a chav is some one who goes about steeling/taking things etc and it's slung about like an insult- least it was when we were at school (some 12 or so years ago) now I think the term is used when young people wear the designer labels don't nec work - some prob do, are bit rude, and rough around the edges, also wear lots of 'bling' apparently? my brother is considered/would be considered a chav by most- he likes labels and chunky jewlery althou he's not rude so I guess it depend on the person who's doing the insulting/name calling as to what they mean

[Aefondkiss]

"Social criticism of the chav and the chav lifestyle

The chav, chav culture and life style originated from within the working class culture of England. Despite this it is widely viewed as a negative by working class people. Many from within the working classes of England view the chav fad as a negative manifestation of working class culture. The chav style has been usurped by even those from other social classes. On the left, many see the chav and the chav lifestyle as turning working class identity into a commodity to be exploited. The homophobia, sexism, xenophobia and hijacking Hip-Hop culture that define the chav are seen as negatives. On the right, the anti-social behaviour and disrespect for social norms by chavs leads to so called "social snobbery". Many from within the Chav "community" are trying to paint criticism of chavdom as "snobbery" or "classisism". Some politically correct social commentators have embraced the chav as a valid social grouping deserving of the same respect as any other protected minority grouping. This has lead many to reject all that is chav, regardless of the political correctness of such social rejection."

[Aefondkiss]

from wikipedia btw, there was a lot on there, it is worth a look

I don't like the word chav....

[squiffy]

Good grief. Am stunned by the question.

Please tell me you come from a different country or live in a different country before other MNers see this post and all hell breaks loose....

[divastrop]

being on benefits does not make you a chav

where im from,it was used to refer to those who always wore certain types of clothes,in my day it was shell suits,now its sports gear/burberry etc,and who listened to popular music,at the time it was rap and hip-hop,basically the groups of intellecually challenged teens who hung around outside mcdonalds,smoking silk-cuts and drinking diamond white.

nowadays,i would use the term chav to decribe males who wear their trackie bottoms halfway up their legs and tucked into their socks,with baseball caps on their heads and a large gold chain round their neck.and possibly with a staffy on a studded leather lead.or females who wear very cheap versions of the latest fashion,or trackie bottoms tucked into socks,overly-gelled hair scraped up inot a high ponytail,and about 6 huge gold hoops in each ear.and possibly with a mini version of herself in bright pink pushchair.

there are many of them round here,and not all of them are unemployed.

[DontlookatmeIamborrrring]

I didn't realise 'chav' was such a derogatory term, I thought it was more a fashion style with brand names, caps, bling etc.. I would use the term in the same way that I would use Goth, Punk etc... just like minded people with the same sense of style. I wouldn't assume a 'chav' didn't work, in fact, I don't assume anything about anyone that I dont know - don't judge a book by it's cover.

[EffiePerine]

Because chav is a racist term?

[twinsetandpearls]

I am working class and not worked so am I a chav then?

[quiveutmabonnebaguette]

Moomin - Ermmm, yes maybe I'm paranoid and have a low self-esteem..I'm 3 months post-bith and still feeling blue ! I never know how to be with some middle class people who had their houses bought by Daddy !

Squiffy - Yes I'm from a french suburb

[SpacePuppy]

my guess:

Chav: 3 liter Ford, 2 liter coke and 1 liter brandy.

Working Class: Boden, Cornwall and caravans.

[margoandjerry]

oops. OK.

Chavs don't work, on principle.

Working class people work, work at home, aspire to work but can't find work, would like to work but can't work due to ill health or disability.

Does that cover it?

[lionheart]

Don't let them bug you, quiveutma, perhaps you could talk to some people on the post-natal threads if you're feeling low?

[divastrop]

i didnt know chav was derogatry either,i also use the word in the same way i use goth,punk etc.i dont see how it could possibly be racist?i have known chavs from different ethnic backgrounds.

quiveut-hope you are feeling better soon,have you read some of the threads on 'feeling depressed' ?or started one?i am 4.5 months post natal and being treated for PND,its not nice

[electra]

Isn't "chav" a term used to describe someone's style/lifestyle rather than what social "class" they are?

[mamazon]

should there now be a new "class" created? the "dole class"

those who most would consider to fall under the term "chav" (whether they would use that term or not) very rarely seem to work, or make any attempt to do so.

i still don't like the way "chav" is banded about as often as it is....it is offensive and deliberatly so.
why is it ok to use such an offensive term to someone of (apparant) low social standing, but its not ok to use other terms that are linked to race, sexuality or religion?

[MyTwopenceworth]

my understanding of the word chav is that it is used in relation to someone like Vikki Pollard, the character from little britain.....a dozen kids, each with a different father, foul mouth, aggressive, on benefits - as a lifestyle choice (some choice !), not through hardship or necessity, steals, not well educated, goes around hurling abuse at people......

Basically, a nasty, selfish, irresponsible thug who harms (either through harrassment or physical violence) other people and who always has their hand out for anything they think they are 'entitled to'.

That's how I've understood it, based on what I read and see on tv.

I've always seen such people, but just saw them on an individual level, not as a group, iyswim. i.e., he's a nasty bastard.

Thing is though, there are nasty, selfish, irresponsible thugs from all walks of life - I have never known more thuggish pricks than the Hoorah-Henries of the upper classes, yet they are not looked down on.

Why? Because they have money - and it must be inherited money btw, earning your own gets you sneered at in those circles. Nothing worse than New Money to them - and speak in that awful drawl of the Eaton/royal family/Hyacinth Bucket sort and are seen to be Educated. (although they are plainly ignorant as hell)

So basically, if you are a thug and you're poor, you're a chav. If you're a thug and your great great great great grandad licked the arse of some king or other or stabbed enough people in the back, then you're a toff. Yayayahahayahk



And working class people are just normal people. Average Joe, living their daily life, nothing to do with any of it.

[harpsichordcarrier]

don;t worry the terms are interchangeable.
or even if not, don't worry either, the working classes are too thick to care.