To be annoyed when people think the word ‘chav’

I thought "chav" was an anagram for "council housed and violent", or it originally was, anyway. So therefore, one must at least on a lower income to be able to live in council housing and therefore be able to e classed as a chav?

DH has a book called "Chavs", I think Owen Jones wrote it. I've been meaning to read it for ages but I believe the message is that the word chav is a way of demonising the working class and making them appear violent, stupid and something to mock. I have no idea if the book is any good, that's just what I got from DH and he's generally a good judge in these things.

I think of the word chav to be synonymous with a "hoodie" (person not the item of clothing) or "group of teenagers hanging around outside the corner shop being a bit too loud and swear-y", but I can't remember ever using it.

You need a word to describe Chavvy people & Chav does very well!!

All the other words of that ilk have been reclaimed by the Travelling community & aren't deemed appropriate anymore (in public anyway).

If I use it (can't pretend I don't) I use it as a synonym for " entitled" and apply it to anyone who fits the bill in the moment regardless of income, education or perceived status.
I avoid ever using it in front of my dd because it is as vile as the f-bomb. Which I also use. I often use them together. Not very proud of myself, there.

Chavvy to me is a behaviour rather than a social class I know lots of working class people who would never be described as chavvy

slutty 100% its a subculture. Exactly like how skinheads were seen violent thugs. They pride themselves on low intelligence and threatening behaviour. Clearly people defending them have never been violently assaulted on their way to school. In school. On their way home from school. In the park. On the way to friends house/shops. Haunts me still over 10 years later.

I thought 'pleb' related to intelligence, not class. It meant someone was stupid, when I was at school (the last time I heard it actually used towards someone).

Chav is an insult

Of course its insulting. Thats its entire purpose

Chav is the NON working class anyway, not the working class.

Chav however applied is pretty unpleasant. There is no acceptable way to use the word.

Nah.

Chav is an insult and meant to be. Just like Toff. Or fucking idiot. Or cunt.

I don't know why people get their knickers in a twist.
Chav,these days, is more an identity now and a way of dressing. Yes they are usually from council estates, dress in knock off or genuine branded/designer gear, are unemployed/from an unemployed family or one that is on minimum wage. Have a confident arrogance about them. It's a subculture.

I used to live on an estate years ago that was fairly full of them. They didn't see it as a derogatory word, in fact they were quite comfortable and proud of their identity.
It's seemingly the middle class that want to be seen as PC that claim it's an awful, derogatory word. Often they don't give a stuff if their education levels are lower and probably wouldn't give a fig about your upstanding claims of how awful the word is.

a person with an exaggerated respect for high social position or wealth who seeks to associate with social superiors and looks down on those regarded as socially inferior

Definition of a snob. It’s not an insult necessarily, it describes a few posters on here to a T.

It is offensive as it another way of saying 'common.'
The rich elite can be thuggish too!

Weirdly on here it seems to be the uptight middle classes telling us working classes this is all about class. Virtue signalling at its finest.

Anyone who thinks chav is insulting to working class simply dont understand the word.

Chav is not working class.

I was a teenager in the early 00s and nobody called themselves "chavs."

The only kids I knew who called themselves such were doing so because they thought it was funny. Usually followed by someone saying ‘you can’t be a chav, your parents work and you have a nice house’. People try and delude themselves into thinking it’s not about class, because they can’t admit they’re a bit of a judgmental snob, regardless of their own background.

Chav doesn’t mean violent thug, that’s just violent thug. You only have to read the endless ‘chavvy baby/kid names’ threads on here to see what people really think and use the word. ‘All Tylers are naughty’, ‘all girls with Mae in their name are pregnant by 13’, ‘you can really tell what the parents are like with kids like that, chavs’.

martha
Yeah it was awful. Luckily I was friendly with the chavs because I never really fit any of the labels. But none of them have changed, they’re all still horrible.

I was a teenager in the early 00s and nobody called themselves "chavs."

Mumsnet is the only place I've ever encountered someone considering 'chav' unacceptable.

notumbongo exactly. These people made mine and my friends lives absolute hell. They murdered sophie lancaster and tried to kill her boyfriend Rob. I myself lost teeth had multiple head injuries during the summee of violence. Its really strange to hear people defending them.

"Though this is still MN, and class will always be a factor even if we all pretend otherwise."

Ironic, eh.

Working class here and everyone I know looks down on chavvy people (though growing up in the middle of nowhere, I didn’t even know what a chav was til we went to university, there really weren’t any chavs near where I lived).

Chavs are basically people who talk loudly and have no social graces at all and make a nuisance of themselves.

Has fuck all to do with being working class.

Where i live Chav is used to describe people who sit around all day in tracksuits on benefits with multiple kids by multiple dads who aren't married and plaster their kids in Adidas and Nike knockoffs the minute their born and usually name them Kai or Lillie Mae or something equal vomit inducing

Well I’m sure little Kai or Lillie Mae would at least know the difference between ‘their born’ and ‘they’re born’.

This is a charming thread. Who knew it was into judge and look down on others, as long as you don’t bring class into it? Though this is still MN, and class will always be a factor even if we all pretend otherwise.

Maybe it's because the working class are more likely to be chavvy (according to your description).