If a young woman is described as 'the Queen of Chav' (in British English) what is the speaker or writer trying to convey?

gdec1

The essential credentials of being a chav is of someone conspicuously "common" i.e. lower-class (as defined mostly by taste rather than income, although ). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chav#Chav_Stereotype Aug 22 06, 9:46 AM

satguru

Jordan is possibly a very good example (the model not the whole country). In the past they were called Pikeys or gippos, not because they necessarily were travellers but dressed and acted like they were. Common features are huge gold items such as sovereign rings, medallions and earrings, on both sexes. Technically I think any exam passes at all would also be likely to unqualify a person as a chav as they survive on their wits, are streetwise and often are involved in petty crimes. 21st century chavs have switched into cheap or fake designer tracksuits, usually with caps and hoodies, but that is just the current version. Queen of Chavs include Jade Goody, Jordan and anyone else who acts as a role model in the media, both representing and encouraging that particular style of taste. I used to work in a market in Elephant and Castle, and if anyone wants to see the genuine kings and queens of chav just watch a major inner city market to easily make many spottings. From personal experience some also like to pinch things from stalls or try and sell them on to others. It seems a uniquely British and Irish phenomenon though I may be enlightened from elsewhere. Aug 22 06, 11:10 AM

bloomsby

Many thanks to you both! A local model was recently described as the 'Queen of Chav', I looked up 'chav' online and found some joke to the effect that 'chav' stands for 'Council-housed, aggressive, violent'. It sounds a bit like the kind of thing that my parents would have described as 'brash and vulgar'. :) Aug 22 06, 12:03 PM

bloomsby

And, while on the subject of Jade Goody, here's a link. I love those quotes! http://www.jadegoodyonline.com/ Aug 22 06, 12:09 PM

lanfranco

I'd never heard of Jade Goody, but who on earth is going to patronize a beauty salon called "Ugly's"? And I'm a little confused. I recently read an article that referred to the girlfriend of one of the Wales princes -- Harry, I think -- as a "chav," and after looking up the term, I came away with the impression that it referred to someone with a lot of money but no taste. (In the U.S., we would probably just call such a person "nouveau riche.") The young lady in question seemed to come from a very affluent family. But that's incorrect? Aug 22 06, 5:22 PM

satguru

A wealthy chav is either as their father worked extremely hard with no academic qualifications, as with Victoria Beckham, won the lottery or by crime. She was called 'Posh Spice' as a typical British irony, as though her father was rolling in money and drove her to school in a Rolls, they were anything but posh. If Prince Harry is going out with a chav he's simply mixing beneath his class and definitely independent of her financial means. If she's a chav then it's only the one thing, no other type can qualify. Aug 22 06, 8:40 PM

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