{{Short description|Stereotype of anti-social youth dressed in sportswear}} {{Distinguish|Chad (slang)}} {{Pp-semi|small=yes}} {{Pp-move-indef}} {{Use British English|date=February 2013}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
"'''Chav'''" ({{IPAc-en|tʃ|æ|v}}), also "'''charver'''", or "'''scally'''", or "'''roadman'''" in parts of England, is a British term, usually used in a pejorative way. The term is used to describe an anti-social lower-class youth dressed in sportswear.<ref name="CHAV"> * {{Cite web |url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/chav |title=Definition of chav in Oxford Dictionaries (British & World English) |access-date=2013-05-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130902182511/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/chav |archive-date=2 September 2013 |url-status=dead }} * {{Cite web|title=Stop using chav: it's deeply offensive |url=http://www.fabians.org.uk/publications/extracts/chav-offensive |publisher= Fabian Society |access-date=30 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112002750/http://www.fabians.org.uk/publications/extracts/chav-offensive |archive-date=12 January 2012 }} * {{Cite web|last=Crystal|first=David|author-link=David Crystal|title=Chav|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1130_uptodate2/page7.shtml|work=Keep Your English Up To date|publisher=BBC World Service|access-date=1 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150228082430/http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1130_uptodate2/page7.shtml|archive-date=28 February 2015|url-status=live}} * {{Cite news|last=Heath|first=Olivia|title=Neets, asbos and chavs: labels of age discrimination|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/jun/19/neets-asbos-chavs-young-people|work=The Guardian|access-date=13 April 2012|date=19 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104164420/http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/jun/19/neets-asbos-chavs-young-people|archive-date=4 November 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> The term has been described as classist. Julie Burchill described the term as a form of "social racism".<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7-1488120,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081015162621/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7-1488120,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2008-10-15|title=Yeah but, no but, why I'm proud to be a chav |publisher= Times Online|date=15 October 2008|accessdate=12 January 2025}}</ref> "Chavette" is a related term referring to female chavs, and the adjectives "chavvy", "chavvish", and "chavtastic" are used to describe things associated with chavs, such as fashion, slang, etc.<ref name="BBC News">{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4074760.stm |title=UK | 'Asbo' and 'chav' make dictionary |publisher=BBC News |date=8 June 2005 |access-date=2011-08-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051110104408/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4074760.stm |archive-date=10 November 2005 |url-status=live }}</ref> In Australia, "eshay" or "adlay" has been described as a "try-hard chav".<ref>{{cite web|last=Willing|first=Julia|title=Australians Are Explaining What An "Eshay" Is To The Rest Of The World And I'm Cackling|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/juliawilling/wtf-is-an-eshay|access-date=2022-02-04|website=BuzzFeed|date=25 June 2021 |language=en-au}}</ref>
==Etymology== "Chav" is usually thought to derive from Romani,<ref>{{cite book|last=di Martino|first=Emilia|title=Indexing 'Chav' on Social Media: Transmodal Performances of Working-Class Subcultures|page=29}}</ref> either from the Romani word "chavo" (a boy or unmarried man) or the Angloromani "chavvy" (child).<ref>{{oed|chav, n.}}; {{oed|chavvy, n.}}</ref> It may have come into English through Polari, where "chavy" meant "child". "Chavi" is attested in English from the 19th century.<ref>{{cite book|last=di Martino|first=Emilia|title=Indexing 'Chav' on Social Media: Transmodal Performances of Working-Class Subcultures|page=32}}</ref> It may also be related to the northeastern dialect word "charver" (or "charva"), denoting members of a subculture of unemployed or lower-class youths in Tyneside.<ref>{{cite book|last=di Martino|first=Emilia|title=Indexing 'Chav' on Social Media: Transmodal Performances of Working-Class Subcultures|page=33}}</ref>
The word in its current pejorative usage is recorded by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' as first used in a Usenet forum in 1998 and first used in a newspaper in 2002.<ref name="oed">{{oed|chav, n.}}</ref><ref name=bbcchav>{{cite news|title=Why is 'chav' still controversial?|work=Magazine|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13626046|publisher=BBC|access-date=14 April 2012|date=3 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425064725/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13626046|archive-date=25 April 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> By 2005, the term had become widely used to refer to a type of anti-social, uncultured youth, portrayed as wearing excessive flashy jewellery, white athletic shoes, baseball caps, and counterfeit designer clothes. Similarly, girls are portrayed as commonly wearing clothes which expose their midriffs.<ref name=bbcworldservice>{{cite web|last=Crystal|first=David|author-link=David Crystal|title=Chav|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1130_uptodate2/page7.shtml|work=Keep Your English Up To date|publisher=BBC World Service|access-date=1 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150228082430/http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1130_uptodate2/page7.shtml|archive-date=28 February 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> In the 2000s, many neologisms derived from "chav" were coined, including "Chavsville" (an epithet for Romford, and later Bridgend), "chavette" (a female chav) and "chavvy" (characteristic of a chav).<ref>{{cite book|last=di Martino|first=Emilia|title=Indexing 'Chav' on Social Media: Transmodal Performances of Working-Class Subcultures|pages=43–50}}</ref>
Several folk etymologies for the word have developed. Many are abbreviations, most commonly for "council house and violent". It is also often connected with the towns of Chatham or Cheltenham, for instance as a contraction of "Cheltenham average".<ref>{{cite book|last=di Martino|first=Emilia|title=Indexing 'Chav' on Social Media: Transmodal Performances of Working-Class Subcultures|pages=34; 40–42}}</ref>
==Stereotype== {{Multiple image | image1 = Chav.jpg | image2 = TheGreatBritishMale-theChav.jpg | footer = Caricatures of the chav stereotype | total_width = 360 }}
Besides referring to loutish (ill-mannered) behaviour, violence, and particular speech patterns (all of which are stereotypes), the chav stereotype includes wearing branded designer sportswear,<ref name="AtkinsonYoung2008">{{cite book|last1=Atkinson|first1=Michael|last2=Young|first2=Kevin|title=Tribal play: subcultural journeys through sport|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ush9CBSByIcC&pg=PA265|access-date=12 August 2011|date=18 June 2008|publisher=Emerald Group Publishing|isbn=978-0-7623-1293-1|page=265|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615070802/http://books.google.com/books?id=ush9CBSByIcC&pg=PA265|archive-date=15 June 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> which may be accompanied by some form of flashy gold jewellery otherwise termed as "bling". They have been described as adopting "black culture".<ref name="Kapoor2013">{{cite book|author=Nisha Kapoor|title=The State of Race|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=858UfY4RJmIC&pg=PA50|date=28 June 2013|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-1-137-31308-9|pages=50–}}</ref>
In a case where a teenage woman was barred from her own home under the terms of an anti-social behaviour order in 2005, some British national newspapers branded her "the real-life Vicky Pollard" with the ''Daily Star'' running headlines reading, "Good riddance to chav scum: real life Vicky Pollard evicted",<ref name=Guardianchav>{{cite news|title=No but yeah but no|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/may/12/pressandpublishing.penal|work=The Guardian|access-date=13 April 2012|date=12 May 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219025526/http://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/may/12/pressandpublishing.penal|archive-date=19 February 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> both referring to a BBC comedy character {{xref|(see {{slink||In the media}} below)}}. A 2006 survey by YouGov suggested 70% of TV industry professionals believed that Vicky Pollard was an accurate reflection of white working-class youth.<ref name="bbcchav" />
Response to the stereotype has ranged from amusement to criticism, with some saying that it is a new manifestation of classism.<ref name="Wills Fancy Dress" /> ''The Guardian'' in 2011 identified issues stemming from the use of the terms "hoodies" and "chav" within the mass media, which had led to age discrimination as a result of mass media-created stereotypes.<ref name=agediscrim>{{cite news|last=Heath|first=Olivia|title=Neets, asbos and chavs: labels of age discrimination|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/jun/19/neets-asbos-chavs-young-people|work=The Guardian|access-date=13 April 2012|date=19 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104164420/http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/jun/19/neets-asbos-chavs-young-people|archive-date=4 November 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>
===Commercial effect=== In 2005, the fashion house Burberry, whilst deriding chavs, claimed that the widespread fashion in the UK of chavs wearing its branded style (Burberry check) was due to the widespread availability of cheaper counterfeit versions.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}
The large supermarket chain Asda has attempted to trademark the word "chav" for a line of confectionery. A spokeswoman said, "With slogans from characters in shows such as ''Little Britain'' and ''The Catherine Tate Show'' providing us with more and more contemporary slang, our 'Whatever' sweets — now nicknamed chav hearts — have become very popular with kids and grown-ups alike. We thought we needed to give them some respect and have decided to trademark our sweets."<ref name="Asda" />
==Criticism of the stereotype== A BBC TV documentary suggested that chav culture is an evolution of previous working-class youth subcultures associated with particular commercial clothing styles, such as mods, skinheads, and casuals.<ref name="stylegenius"/>
In a February 2005 article in ''The Times'', Julie Burchill argued that use of the word is a form of "social racism", and that such "sneering" reveals more about the shortcomings of the "chav-haters" than those of their supposed victims.<ref name="Burchill2005" /> The writer John Harris argued along similar lines in a 2007 article in ''The Guardian''.<ref name="Harris06" /> The widespread use of the "chav" stereotype has been criticised.<ref name="Hayward2006" /> Some argue that it amounts to simple snobbery and elitism.<ref name="Wills Fancy Dress"/><ref name="Hampson" /> Critics of the term have argued that its users are "neo-snobs",<ref name="Bennett" /> and that its increasing popularity raises questions about how British society deals with social mobility and class.<ref name=bbcnews>{{cite news|title=Stop use of 'Chav' – think tank|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7509968.stm|publisher=BBC News|access-date=13 April 2012|date=16 July 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090130042832/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7509968.stm|archive-date=30 January 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>
The Fabian Society considers the term to be offensive and regards it as "sneering and patronising" to a largely voiceless group. On describing those who use the word, the society stated that "we all know their old serviette/napkin, lounge/living room, settee/sofa tricks. But this is something new. This is middle class hatred of the white working class, pure and simple." The Fabian Society have been highly critical of the BBC in using the term in broadcasts.<ref>{{cite web|title=Stop using chav: it's deeply offensive |url=http://www.fabians.org.uk/publications/extracts/chav-offensive |publisher= Fabian Society |access-date=30 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112002750/http://www.fabians.org.uk/publications/extracts/chav-offensive |archive-date=12 January 2012 }}</ref> Use of the term 'chav' was reported in ''The Guardian'' in 2011 as "class abuse by people asserting superiority".<ref name=royalprinces>{{cite news|last=Toynbee|first=Polly|author-link=Polly Toynbee|title=Chav: the vile word at the heart of fractured Britain|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/may/31/chav-vile-word-fractured-britain|work=The Guardian|access-date=14 April 2012|date=31 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140524071109/http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/may/31/chav-vile-word-fractured-britain|archive-date=24 May 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> Writer Owen Jones also criticised the use of the term in his book ''Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class''.<ref name=bbcchav />
==In the media== By 2004, the word was used in national newspapers and common parlance in the UK. Susie Dent's ''Larpers and Shroomers: The Language Report'', published by the Oxford University Press, designated it as the "word of the year"<ref name="Noel-Tod" /> in 2004.<ref name="larpers" />
Characters described as "chavs" have been featured in numerous British television programmes, as well as films. The character, clothing, attitude and musical interests of Lauren Cooper and her friends in the BBC comedy series, ''The Catherine Tate Show,'' have been associated with the chav stereotype.<ref name="metro2009" /> The character Ali G, created by Sacha Baron Cohen originally for ''The 11 O'Clock Show'' and eventually gaining more popularity due to the ''Da Ali G Show'', is described as using "the chav's putative anti-intellectuality to critique radical political stances".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Peterson |first=James Braxton |title=In Media Res: Race, Identity, and Pop Culture in the Twenty-First Century |date=2014 |publisher=Bucknell University Press |isbn=978-1611486490 |location=London |pages=161}}</ref> The BBC comedy series ''Little Britain'' features the character Vicky Pollard (portrayed by Matt Lucas), a parody of a teenage female chav. In the British television series ''Misfits'', the character of Kelly Bailey is presented as a stereotypical chav.<ref name="E4MK">{{cite web|url=http://www.e4.com/misfits/characters/kelly.html|title=Misfits – Kelly|publisher=E4.com|access-date=24 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111113093701/http://www.e4.com/misfits/characters/kelly.html|archive-date=13 November 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> Lauren Socha, the actress who portrays Kelly, has described the character as being "a bit chavvy".<ref>{{cite news|title=Lauren likes her Misfits character|url=https://metro.co.uk/2009/11/11/lauren-likes-her-misfits-character-595435/|access-date=8 May 2009|newspaper=Metro|date=11 November 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140523225457/http://metro.co.uk/2009/11/11/lauren-likes-her-misfits-character-595435/|archive-date=23 May 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> ''The Times'' has referred to the character as "[a] chavvish girl",<ref>{{cite news|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article6914519.ece|title=Misfits review by The Times|work=The Times|access-date=23 November 2011|first=Sadie|last=Gray|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200501163446/https://www.the-tls.co.uk/|archive-date=1 May 2020|url-status=dead}}</ref> and the character has been said to possess a "chav accent".<ref>{{cite news|last=Laws |first=Roz |title=Misfits star Lauren Socha reveals why she's changing her accent |url=http://www.sundaymercury.net/entertainment-news/tv-news/2010/11/21/misfits-star-lauren-socha-reveals-why-she-s-changing-her-accent-66331-27682332/ |access-date=23 November 2011 |newspaper=Sunday Mercury |date=21 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111117001304/http://www.sundaymercury.net/entertainment-news/tv-news/2010/11/21/misfits-star-lauren-socha-reveals-why-she-s-changing-her-accent-66331-27682332/ |archive-date=17 November 2011 }}</ref>
In the "New Earth" episode of the BBC TV series ''Doctor Who'', the character Lady Cassandra is transplanted into Rose Tyler's body (Billie Piper). When Cassandra sees herself in a mirror, she exclaims "Oh my God... I'm a chav!"<ref name="newearth"/> In ''Kingsman: The Secret Service'', the main character Eggsy Unwin (Taron Egerton) is introduced as a stereotypical chav.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/02/kingsman-the-secret-service-review |title=''Kingsman: The Secret Service'' Is Crazy Violent, and Endlessly Entertaining |author=Lawson, Richard |magazine=Vanity Fair |date=12 February 2015 |access-date=4 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171130042556/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/02/kingsman-the-secret-service-review |archive-date=30 November 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>
==See also== {{div col|colwidth=20em}} * Rednecks in the US, Bogans in Australia, Neds in Scotland, Hosers in Canada particularly Skeet in Newfoundland, ''Rezzers'' in Manitoba and Saskatchewan and ''Surrey Jack'' in British Columbia * Ah Beng in Malaysia and Singapore, Alay in Indonesia, and Jejemon in the Philippines * British subcultures like the football Yob, Lad culture, Hooliganism, Bootboy, and Football casuals, the 1980s precursor to the chav subculture * Eshays in Australia * Gopniks in the former Soviet Union, Dizelaši in Serbia and Dresiarz in Poland * Harry in Norway * Ratchet in the southern U.S. * Talahons in Germany * Tokkie in the Netherlands, and Zef in South Africa * Westie, similar stereotype in Australia and New Zealand * Yankī/Ganguro/Gyaru in Japan {{div col end}}
==References== === Notes === <references> <ref name="Hayward2006">{{Cite journal |last1=Hayward |first1=Keith |last2=Yar|first2=Majid |title=The 'chav' phenomenon: Consumption, media and the construction of a new underclass |journal=Crime, Media, Culture |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=9–28 |year=2006 |doi=10.1177/1741659006061708|s2cid=145421834 |issn=1741-6590}}</ref>
<ref name="metro2009">{{cite web |url=http://metro.co.uk/2009/01/26/chav-free-holidays-cause-outrage-386663/ |title='Chav-free holidays' cause outrage |work=Metro |date=26 January 2009 |access-date=2009-11-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508233354/https://metro.co.uk/2009/01/26/chav-free-holidays-cause-outrage-386663/ |archive-date=8 May 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="stylegenius">{{cite episode |series=British Style Genius |title=Loud and Proud – The Street Look |network=BBC |airdate=2008-11-04 |season=1 |number=5 |minutes=59}}</ref>
<ref name="newearth">{{cite episode |title=New Earth |series=Doctor Who |network=BBC |airdate=15 April 2006 |season=2 |number=168}}</ref>
<ref name="Bennett">{{Cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/sneer-nation-574618.html |work=The Independent |date=28 January 2004 |title=Sneer nation |first=Oliver |last=Bennett |location=London}}{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
<ref name="Harris06">{{Cite news |first=John |last=Harris |author-link=John Harris (critic) |url=https://www.theguardian.com/comment/story/0,,2027396,00.html |title=So now we've finally got our very own 'white trash' |date=6 March 2007 |work=The Guardian |location=London}}</ref>
<ref name="Burchill2005">{{Cite news |first=Julie |last=Burchill |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7-1488120,00.html |title=Yeah but, no but, why I'm proud to be a chav |date=18 February 2005 |work=The Times |location=London |access-date=2 November 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081015162621/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7-1488120,00.html |archive-date=15 October 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref name="Asda">{{Cite news |url=http://news.aol.co.uk/article.adp?id=20060821161009990001 |title= Asda tries to trade mark "chav" |publisher=AOL NEWS |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011215623/http://news.aol.co.uk/chavda-bids-to-register-yoof-slang/article/20060821161009990001 |archive-date=11 October 2007}}</ref>
<ref name="Wills Fancy Dress">{{Cite news |first=John |last=Harris |author-link=John Harris (critic) |title=Bottom of the Class |url=https://www.theguardian.com/britain/article/0,,1751272,00.html |work=The Guardian |date=11 April 2006 |access-date=2007-02-24 |location=London}}</ref>
<ref name="Noel-Tod">{{Cite news |url=http://tls.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,25348-1888521,00.html |title=Colourful whitewash |last=Noel-Tod |first=Jeremy |date=3 April 2005 |access-date=2007-05-30 |work=The Times Literary Supplement |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060929210119/http://tls.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,25348-1888521,00.html |archive-date=29 September 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref name="larpers">{{Cite book |last=Dent |first=Susie |author-link=Susie Dent |title=Larpers and shroomers: the language report |year=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-861012-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/larpersshroomers00dentrich}}</ref>
<ref name="Hampson">{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/jul/15/equality.language |work=The Guardian |date=15 July 2008 |title=Ban the word 'chav' |first1=Tom |last1=Hampson |first2=Jemima |last2=Olchawski |location=London |access-date=11 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150916153737/http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/jul/15/equality.language |archive-date=16 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> </references>
==External links== {{Wiktionary}} {{Commons category|Chavs}}
===Audio=== * Professor David Crystal, [https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/uptodate/mp3/uptodate2_chav.mp3 "Chav"] (MP3). ''Learning English'', BBC World Service.
===Video=== * Plan B. "[https://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/TEDxObserver-Plan-B-Youth-music Youth, Music and London]" at TEDxObserver.
Category:2000s slang Category:2010s fashion Category:2010s slang Category:Anti-social behaviour Category:British slang Category:Class-related slurs Category:Fashion aesthetics Category:Social class in the United Kingdom Category:Social class subcultures Category:Socioeconomic stereotypes Category:Stereotypes of the working class Category:Youth culture in the United Kingdom