‘Chav’ seems to be one of the few socially acceptable slurs today. Regarded with disdain as yobbish, BNP-electing McDonalds Mums and binge-drinking ‘ladettes’, holiday firms now offer ‘chav-free holidays’ and a London gymnasium is able to put on lessons in ‘chav’ fighting. In this debate at the Battle of Ideas, panellists ask what really lies beneath this widespread perception that a significant section of society has values and norms of behaviour that are highly problematic. Do the discussions about ‘chavs’ or the ‘white working class’ describe real problems or are they symptomatic of less tangible cultural anxieties and our disillusionment with material culture?
Recommended link:
- Article by Nick Britten: Britain has produced unteachable ‘uber-chavs’
‘Chav’ seems to be one of the few socially acceptable slurs today. Regarded with disdain as yobbish, BNP-electing McDonalds Mums and binge-drinking ‘ladettes’, holiday firms now offer ‘chav-free holidays’ and a London gymnasium is able to put on lessons in ‘chav’ fighting. In this debate at the Battle of Ideas, panellists ask what really lies beneath this widespread perception that a significant section of society has values and norms of behaviour that are highly problematic. Do the discussions about ‘chavs’ or the ‘white working class’ describe real problems or are they symptomatic of less tangible cultural anxieties and our disillusionment with material culture?
Recommended links:
· Article by Tim Black: How to beat up chavs
· Article by Neil Davenport: You say underclass, we say white trash
· Article by Nick Britten: Britain has produced unteachable ‘under-chavs’
Report by Runnymede Perspectives: Who cares about the white working class?
