Friend still believes in "chavs"?

[waytoooldforthisshite]

Had a funny (well, slightly depressing) conversation today. my friend came round all flustered, telling me that she'd been "harassed by chavs" outside the shop. One was some teenager who asked for her number 🙄

Tried to explain that "chavs" aren't even real, it's a tabloid invented stereotype/myth from the early 2000s that was basically used to demonise working class people. But she just went on about it like she was quoting The Sun from 2004. I ended up showing her this article. She's 39.... and I expected her to know a bit better but what can ya do eh?

Just feels so outdated now. You don't really hear anyone say "chav" anymore (thankfully), and it's weird how those old class-based stereotypes still linger. I honestly felt like I'd timetravelled back to the Little Britain era 😂

Anyone else still know people who talk like that?

My husband comes from a once-thriving Lancs town which is spiralling into depression. He notices when he returns that the whole character of the town has changed over the past 30 years. Basically everyone who can leave does so and those left behind are either a)not the most desirable citizens or b) people who are trapped with them due to age, ill-health or lack of employment.

Yep, I can't figure out which one it is.

Meanwhile in the real world everyone knows that chavs exist.

This

First post nails it once again!

I’d be proud of my son (as I am) for knowing exactly which kids not to hang around with.

No issue with the word at all and never noticed it had gone away.

A person who is a loud, rough accented adult wearing a polyester nike tracksuit every day.

Reminds me of when I (wc, northern) went to university many years ago and shared lodgings with a public school girl from leafy Bucks. She was constantly lecturing me about how society worked and telling me exactly the sort of thing OP tells her poor friend!

100% emphasise this this and it’s 🤮

That’s because it has never gone away. It’s only Mumsnet that lives in denial.

??? But what NAME would you call them?

Chav Experts?

Yes. 😆

So a chav then? You’re not insulting any class by saying the word (I certainly wouldn’t describe any low income/working class families I know as ‘chavs’). All have perfectly well raised kids/all polite families. But if you went to the centre of the nearest town to us, there’s areas to avoid where CHAVS do hang out and intimidate people.

The only person who looks silly by denying the word is widely used is you OP.

100% agree @Lauralou19 ^

Not Mumsnet - just @waytoooldforthisshite 🙄

OP are you like this is real life? Do you live alone? Did you lose your only friend today? 🤔

I grew up in South Yorkshire in the 90s. The kind of youths described in posts above used to hang outside the school (but rarely went in) and would call each other chav, eg greeting each other “alright Chavvie” or similar. Like kids might call each other “bro” nowadays. I think the phrase evolved from vernacular rather than being a media invention. Agree our kids use “road-man” for the same sort of character these days.

Very often it seems with language, slang words catch on, the usage evolves and eventually the term is kind of cancelled, either because the mums and teachers start using it and it becomes uncool, new words and terms replace them or it’s considered offensive over time.

I agree, it’s a poor analogy.

I also don’t think it has ever described the working class. It was for the underclass (as it was once known).

Apparently I am under- class because I don't work. I'm definitely not a chav though. A chav is a woman I see on tik tok sometimes. She talks like one, acts like one. She has a low class accent, is rough in demeanor. Low IQ. Wears £50 Nike t- shirts like a kid

You see, you could say that you do not like the term and argue that it should not be used as it might have classist connotations. People might disagree, or not.

But your saying that chavs are 'myth' and a made up concept, and comparing them to Nessie/warewolves is what is totally batshit.

Lol

Believe what you want, I've heard loads of ppl.use the word chat in recent times. And like it or not, everyone knows exactly who and what they mean and nobody gets all wound up and starts saying chavs don't exist and we're all classist.

Everyone in the country knows what a chav is even if they don't use the word themselves.

You can't make a word disappear just by quoting bullshit university articles 😆.

That's awful..I hope the government will do something to help these areas that have been neglected so much since the 80s

They are not experts in knowing what we understand by a word.

Sounds accurate : what would you define as a 'low-class accent' though?