To think 'chav' is not an okay thing to call people?

[enternow99]

I find the use of chav on Mumsnet shocking. Is this name chavvy? Is this holiday destination chavvy? Is this outfit chavvy? Chavs moved in next door (I'm a leaseholder, they rent!!!!)

I understand its snobbiness but isn't it a bit horrible?

Obviously thinks all WC people are thickos who wouldn't care about such things.

Fair enough. My experience is that I have Romani heritage, and that word holds a significance for me that's not positive.
You can use it to describe yourself in a semi-comedic way, sure. That's your business.
But understand that for some, it essentially has origins in a racist slur.

@chav1, I am working class. I suspect that as a teen, my very middle class best friend's parents considers my family to be chavvy (council estate, not uni educated etc). But they are awful people, whose opinions are of no consequence. And they were wrong.
I can't see the point in getting hung up on it or offended by it.

I was talking to DH about this, someone used the phrase the other day to me (not at me) and I was a bit surprised, I didn’t think it was acceptable anymore. But then I don’t like gammon or karen etc either.

So a middle or upper class criminal waster within our society is represented by the term Chav - and it's utilised for them? Where?
Chav is a particular representation of the working class, utilised.

As a working class person I think it's even worse when working class people use it as well, it's a way to try and "differentiate" us from them and it's a very insecure way of thinking. I don't need to call anyone a "chav" because I don't need to feel like I'm better than others.

My BF and I joke that I’m one of ‘them’ because I live in social housing but we use the term HillBilly because he is American

According to that argument Boris Johnson should be called a chav. I have never heard anyone call him that. Because he is rich.

I've no doubt that many posters being holier than thou over the use of the word 'chav' to describe someone would have absolutely no problem with describing someone who votes differently to them as 'scum'.

I would not

@wellno you are wrong.

@Screamingabdabz you still haven't said exactly what it's supposed to mean though and what type of people it's actually referring too.....
(I have an idea of what your interpretation of the word probably is but my point was other people may use it to describe a different social group - because it's such an outdated phrase no one knows really what it's meant to me)

This is hilarious. The people falling over themselves to claim it's a 'class issue' and only ever aimed at 'poor people' have no idea what they're talking about. Rich people can be chavs too. Not Boris though, he's just a Tory wanker.

I went to a University where most of my peers were privately educated and very posh. They used to have "chav night" at the Students Union where all these posh kids thought it was hilarious to cos-play their idea of working class. This basically involved the boys wearing baseball caps and gold chains, the girls dressing like "slags" and them all putting on stupid accents and saying "innit" a lot, making jokes about benefits and council houses. It was pathetic then and I still find it pathetic when I hear people use the word Chav now.

My DD is 12 and she used it yesterday 🙈

to me chav is not about money or wealth but about behaviour. A lot of rich celebrities behave in a way i would call chavy. if someone does not want to be called a chav they should behave like decent people when in public

It’s nothing to do with money. It’s a behaviour. There are plenty of rich people who can be called a chav.

@motherofbabydragon so is Boris Johnson a chav? He along with friends smashed up a drinking club.

Boris Johnson's behaviour was chavvy imo - cheating on his wife, babies all over the shop with various mothers, the police coming out to his flat because the neighbours could hear him arguing with his missus. Yep, I'd have no trouble using that term.

Is Prince Andrew a chav? He allegedly raped a trafficked teenager.

@ImthatBoleyngirl I hope you told your daughter it's rude and inappropriate.

Rich people are not described as chavs. Stop changing the meaning of the word chav to make its use acceptable.

Was Winona Ryder a chav, shoplifting from an exclusive clothes shop.

Interesting because I have never heard anyone refer to a rich person as a chav. I have heard many, many rich people refer to WC people as chavs though. Usually it was linked to appearance rather than behaviour.

And yet of all the epithets I have heard used in reference to him, chav has never come up.