to wonder if peoples definition of Chav/Chavvy varies greatly

[GirlOutNumbered]

This is a bit of a post about a post. Some one said that a girl in a barbour jacket would be chavvy. I have never, ever seen a Chav in a barbour jacket.

A chav down here is someone who wears a tracksuit most of the time and jeans with a polo shirt when going out on the town. The girls would wear tracksuit tucked into ugg style boots, the boys trainers.

Whats a chav where you are?

Ahh, now see I think some chavs would wear Barbour. In the same way they adopted Burberry.
I see a lot of Chavs pushing Bugaboo pushchairs now too! They also drive BMW's a lot of the time.
Chavs can have an eye for top end design.

I have never used the word and don't really understand it. I grew up on a council estate and remember when I was young, my mum saying that high heels with trousers were,"As common as muck!" I suppose chav is the modern equivalent but it is such a silly judgemental expression. I am sure all of us feel judgemental about aspects of other people's life choices but we should keep it to ourselves as far as possible.
I can be a bit like that over names but would never say so girl and shouldn't on here though I have been known to

That should have been the abbreviation for 'in real life 'not girl!

Anyone who feels the need to curl their lip at the brand of coat someone else chooses to buy for their child clearly has deficiencies and inadequacies of their own to attend to.

Sorry everlong but I haven't read all these threads and I am interested in peoples responses.

and to be fair I haven't seen any upset on this thread.

It's snobby MN bingo!

Earlier I said I think Chav has become another way of saying common and I still do think that.

But I probably should have pointed out that is in my area, and amongst certain groups.

I grew up and still live in the Eat London/Essex area, my family live in Brentwood etc am very familiar with TOWIE types.

Chav used to be this and when describing a person like that the word can still be used. I used to see people like this all the time, but much less now, but when I've stayed with friends who lived in Northumbria, Wales and Devon I saw a few more and my friends used the word chav. Apparently to them its rarely used outside of describing that group.

Chav however now, where I live, incorporates all sorts. My DHs colleagues who are all very MC (work in the city) chuck this word about to describe anyone beneath them. On investigation, DH found they meant common or rough. People are accused of chavvy behaviour, Essex is apparently full of chavs, a Bentley can be called chavvy (have genuinely seen this), its sort of become a combination of being Flash and Common and is always derogatory.

I do think its linked to the working class (something I am) but only by those who are not part of that group. Its people looking down.

Everlong I learnt it all at a Swiss Finishing School.
I've never been hung up about social typing unless it brings out real hatred. I can't help making the observation that some of the young Mums on the local estate are wearing better clothes than me and their 'boyfs' are all driving better cars (badly). I am clearly just jealous!

I have to agree with Girl actually, I'm amazed at how calmly this thread is pottering along - 110 posts in and people are still being polite and exchanging this opinions, I was expecting the whole thread to be tits up by 10.30 last night. Must be the absence of all the folk being discussed on that other thread

You are going to get absolutely murdered. Get this thread deleted now.

I'm going to get murdered by whom?

I have a feeling that in forty years time, that people will look back in horror at the way the word 'Chav' is casually flung about in everyday conversation (I am not taking the moral high-ground here, I have done it myself) in much the same way we look back at the abundance of 'Paki' and 'Coon' jokes on TV during the 1970s with a mixture of disbelief and horror.

There's nothing wrong with it, good for them if they like and can afford.
I understand that high end designer filters down, and sooner or later, the 'chav' label gets attached and blamed for said item of desire becoming undesirable.
I'm not outraged by this post. I'm working class, I'm northern but I'm not a chav. Call me a snob, I know better.
I like social observations and think posts such as this are actually really interesting. I can't see why anyone would be defensive about such a commonly used tribal definition. And chav clearly means different things to different people. Why shouldn't that be discussed? Chav's worry about being chavvy! Fact! It's no worse a tribal definition of 'goth' or 'townie' in my opinion. What's to get bothered about?

I think the word "chav" says more about the user of the word than the erson it s meant to describe.

Who cares what other people wear, and how you rank them accordingly.

Calling someone chav, based on whatever criteria, implies you are a snobbo.

ComposHat, I agree.

It's usually used in such an insulting way, it will be universally frowned upon in the future. Although it is now in my house.

wait until the wine hour. Chav is almost as offensive to some as driving a 4x4 or going to McDonalds. I didn't think you sounded condescending, but i know some people will kick off at some point and these threads often get really nasty. Hopefully not though, maybe lots of people are on holiday at the moment or something.

I also agree with Compost - as I said up thread, at the school I worked in it was treated as hate speech and earned a day in seclusion. My kids are absolutely not allowed t use it.

everlong you sound condescending, but then you know that.
Chav does mean different things to different people. I do make observations of types. The UK still has an ingrained class system which we can't seem to level. Therefore, 'Chav' is a way of describing a certain element of society, it is another word for 'oik' or 'scally' to my mind and I just can't compare it to a racial slur, because it's not generally used with hatred. There have always been definitions and terms used by different classes for different classes. Are you as offended by 'toff' for instance?