h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I was a bit puzzled to see the definition at the beginning referring only to teen 'chavs' - it's not, as far as I'm aware, an exclusively teenage phenomenon.

There's a school of thought that the term itself is very offensive as it targets the working classes in a quite demeaning way. As a result, the entry comes across as aggressive and more ranting than informative. There are some paragraphs that wouldn't be out of place in a letter to the times from 'Angry of Tunbridge Wells' discussing 'the youth of today', which isn't necessarily something unique to 'chav' culture.

As you've rightly pointed out, the fashion of the 'chav' seems to be linked to certain brands - the distinctive check designs of burberry has been identified as one way to recognise a 'chav'. I would suggest that a more effective way of getting the point across would be to try for a more neutral 'voice' in the entry; try to avoid being quite so judgmental and aim towards a certain detachment. Try to imagine what leads a person to make those specific lifestyle choices even when the fashions have been mocked in some quarters. What is the appeal of bling - does it perhaps indicate wealth or status, or is it something else?

The term seems to have evolved within the last two years, replacing older terms like 'townies' and 'scallies' (and even the offensive term 'pikey', which is used to describe travellers). Similar to 'dole scum' in the 1980s, by proxy it's come to mean poor people - hence why some people understandably take offence at the term.

There's the 'Footballer's Wives' thing too, naming babies 'Chardonnay' or giving them strange combinations of names , like 'Billy-Wayne' that make them sound like American Hillbillies.

I think this is a difficult topic to write about and remain objective, but you've made a good start here. I don't think it will be an easy ride through Peer Review, but I do hope you stick with it. The rise of 'Chav Culture' does seem to have come from nowhere to the point where it's everywhere.

some EG entries to link to

A245521
A2265842

plus some info can be taken from ...

A3096641

"Was that supposed to be funny"

Was my first thought but as youve said Teamelectra it isnt meant to be. So then I feel slightly about your OTT exaggerated statistics.

some hints.


1 Dont be 18 months behind with your peices.


2 Be consistent, "At 14, the Chavs will begin to search for a good car with their new mobile phones they recieved in early years"

Early years means 1-5 if they have had these phones since the age of 5 how can they be new 9 years later?


3 Be funny or even mildly amusing I was looking for the gags and still havent seen one a few wittisims would help to break up the pathetic ranting.


4 Move from Birmingham the only funny Brummie Jasper Carrot stopped being funny many moons ago it will also help the bitterness you feel if you move around a bit and realise as Yelkbak pointed out that there is a dignity in all people regardless of mode of dress or the type of music we like.


5 Try moving to the Blackcountry us "yam-yams" spend a lot of our time laughing at you Brummies, mostly at the pathetic friendless teenage spods from who spend their time trying to write "funny" peices about passe cultural terms to quell their frustration at still being virgins while scruffier kids are going at it like knives.


6 Know your subject the other check very popular is aquascutum another premium brand first adopted by the "Scallys" and the "casuals" in the mid 1980s. These styles along with Sergio Techinni and Lacoste tracksuits became popular because a certain section of football followers went on the rob in expensive European clothes boutiques while abroad to follow their teams. Chavs are not a new phenomenon they are the same people chronicled by Harry Enfeild when he first being doing "Loads-a-money" and that was about 20 years ago.


8 Be accurate the real reason people are afraid to be on the streets is fear the group most likely to be attacked on the streets is young African/Carribean dissent men living in urban areas. The break down of manners in the UK can hardly be blaimed on white teenagers when two of the rudest men in the UK Prince Philip and Gordon Ramsey lie far outside the ddemographic you are singleing out.


14 Learn how to count.

I've learned something from this - I never knew where the word "bling" came from, but now I do.

I find it interesting that the Queen of Chav, Colleen McCullough (sp?) was interviewed and she denied being one - even professing ignorance to the culture by professing not to know what one was.

well written piece - a welcome break from the PC-world of today. Perhaps you might want to mention the term "pikey" in there too... pikey/chav are pretty much interchangable aren't they... or maybe thats just down here in Kent!

and you could link it to current news - the banning of hoodies at Bluewater would be a good news article to link it to.

While it is clearly amusing, I have to testify that this article is a remarkably accurate depiction of chav culture as I know it... and being 17 and going to school in Tonbridge we are far from inexperienced in the way of chavs... this pretty much summarises what we see every morning!

I'm afraid your wrong about the accuracy....
There are many people who are/have been stereotyped as chav's, who have infact done well for themselves...
Also, teen pregnancies are not that high.....
"In 2002 there were 39,286 teen pregnancies recorded." and I would proberly say there are well over 1 million female chav's out there(Depending on how you stereotype them).
The steoreotype of chav is randomly thrown around these day's.....from anyone listen's to drum n bass/RnB/Rap music, or annoying who enjoy's hooliganism....
I've met very intelligent 'hooligan's'. so judging people by their appearnce, can be misleading, or occassioanlly you will only see a snap shot of their personalities....

well you can spot a chav by their appearance from a mile away... and "normal" people do not wear chav clothing... and while its true that you do get some reasonably clever chavs, it doesn't stop them being chavs!

What are "normal" people?

Are you a normal person?

How do "normal" people differ from chavs?

one love

Ok a few suggestions, in order for it to be truthful you'd probably need to remove things like calling them chavlings, if you want to write the entry to that degree of attack (as much as i dislike them myslelf) Its probably better in the AWW but with a few changes it could quite easily make it into the guide, try and write it as if you are not against the Chavs (Hovever hard that may be) take a third person view of the whole situation and then write (pretend you are new to the country and then describe the behaviour). Finally how about a section describing the different names for "Chavs" across the country; I had not heard the word Chav until recently as they are called NEDs in Scotland. I have also heard them being called Tegs in certain parts of England.

*heretohelp/hinder*
d586
Paul

I'll see what can be done. I'm in the midst of my GCSE exams right now, so I'll just have to find the time.

Rear-Admiral X

The good thing is, there's no limit on how long you can work on this - we've had entries take a year to get through Peer Review. You might notice that this subject has suddenly become very popular as a first entry subject for a lot of people; maybe once your exams are finished you could collaborate with one or two of the other 'Chav' authors?

Best of luck with the exams, by the way!

(answering "One Love")

"normal" people are people who do not hang around in groups wearing baseball caps and then a hood on top.

"normal" people are people who do not attack other people with crow-bars over the cost of a beer.

"normal" people are people who don't think it is cool to throw frisbees at passing trains at 11.30pm at night.

"normal" people do not hold school-children at knife-point and take their mobile phones.

"normal" people don't think it is cool to trespass into a neighbouring school, steal some children's bags and run away. nor do they think it is cool to trespass out of hours and cover the walls in graffiti.

all of the above are examples of my experiences with chavs. when I talk about a chav, I talk about the people who do these kind of things. And I have no doubt that people all over the UK can recount much worse examples. So chavs do exist, and they differ from "normal" people in the fact that they commit acts like those above. regularly.

But those things (unfortunately) happened before the term 'Chav' was coined. What this entry needs to do is define and explain what makes 'Chav' different to other offensive terms like 'pikey' or 'scally'; it needs to do so dispassionately and avoid ranting or personal conjecture; and it needs to do so in terms of the cultural and historical perspective of working-class culture.

If it (or any of the other entries submitted on the subject in the last month) achieved the above, we'd be willing to accept it.

As this conversation is here to help improve the *quality* of the entry, not debate the *subject* of it, can we pleaae keep this civil and polite? Arguing about the worth or otehrwise of supposed 'chavs' is not helpful in this instance.

I agree perhaps a bit on where and who the chavs/neds/ tegs came from, why and how they have appeared recently. Were there chavs before but of a different name? Or have the thugs etc of the 80s/90s turned into the chavs of today.

*heretohelp/hinder*
D586
Paul

To me this reads as an entry of a chav.

You can link to my Ned entry if you like

Sadly, it looks like the author is headed down the AWOL path. If and when that point comes, I'm thinking the best bet might be to move the PR thread back to the entry.

2nded

A pity, because although the entry needs a lot of work to make it objective and therefore suitable for the EG, I'd be glad to see the subject covered. The term 'chav' seemed to pop up all of a sudden last year (maybe we're a bit behind the times down here in De'm!) and at the time I would have given large sums of money for an explanation in the Guide. I hear that the word has now been included in the OED, though I'm still unclear as to the origin - CHatham AVerage and Council House AVerage are just two of the derivations I've heard. I'd have thought that any entry would now need a mention of Vicky Pollard, too.

and The Sun's proclamation - "We're Chav and Proud!"