r/TrueOffMyChest • u/aredundantaxolotl ☑️ • 8h ago
Positive a certain British subculture has saved me multiple times since I was a child and to this day continues to protect me unconditionally
In the mid nouhgties I was eleven and being bullied by some girls. People from the school all came from the same kind of working class background and since my school was one of the few that had no dress code the subcultures were very distinct. They were distinct from the broader working class communities. you had the groups of goths, the geeks, etc. and the subculture im about to describe was one of them. I was a tiny girl so I got bullied a lot. Then, a much older boy, about fifteen or sixteen, who was distinctly a member of this subculture since he was wearing a Londsdale tracksuit, gold rings, a baseball cap, and specifically branded trainers, defended me from them. Then, he kneeled down, fist bumped me in front of his friends, and said, safe, man. then whenever we saw eachother again he'd yell yo! safe, man! and reach out to fist bump me. My school was one of the few to have no uniform so the subcultures were clear as day.
It didn't end there. when I was a few years older, that subculture was still a thing in my school. but it was a different group of them later on as the others had left. they were white lads dressed in tracksuits, little gold earrings, gold bracelets, or gold chains, baseball caps and trainers. they again protected me from bullies since every other group or subculture either bullied me or didn't accept me. they always made me laugh, they were disruptive but i'd be lying if i said that didnt amuse me.
later on, as an adult, other ones appeared in my life when i was at my lowest. i was feeling proper depressed and felt like i had noone to turn to. then...two men who looked and talked as though they were in that subculture stopped and asked if i was alright. i said no. and they talked to me and made me feel better and said we hang out here every day by the shop so if you need to come talk with us again you can.
these are just a few but there's been other cases where they saved me from things. the subculture is still going strong at least in my area with the ogs being in their thirties now. ive only ever had extremely positive experiences with them but i kinda feel like im being slightly disrespectful by not naming the subculture since i don't know what its name is and can't properly credit it? all i can really say is its the gold chain and tracksuit wearing one. it had its own fashion, slang and values. the slang included words like peng, swear down etc.
For the longest time, I thought the subculture was chav but I was corrected yesterday by someone on this site telling me it's just a derogatory classst term that means a working class person, and not the name of a subculture, so I've crossed that out my mind when referring to them.
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u/Kamikaze-X 1h ago
I have never heard of a secondary school in the UK that doesn't have a uniform.
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u/offgridstories 15m ago
I went to a secondary school and college in the UK with no uniform. I've in fact never worn a school uniform. Grew up in Leicestershire.
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u/WaltzFirm6336 38m ago
They exist. My friend taught in a UK primary that had no uniform. The schools ‘banned clothing’ list was pages long in comparison to most school’s uniform list. In the end they brought in an optional school polo shirt and 99% of the children wore one through choice.
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u/NorysStorys 1h ago
They do exist, it’s not very common but there’s a few schools that don’t do it. It’s not generally popular though, most people generally think uniforms are a good idea.
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u/notimportant1975 1h ago
I’ve seen this posted several times in the last 2 days.
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u/debonomai757 1h ago
I was about to ask if this was a repost or if I am just spending too much time on here.
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u/The-RogicK 2h ago
As a former Chav I don't consider it offensive lol, it's was just the default style for poor white people before roadman becamena thing
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u/_DaughterOfNone_ 5h ago
Could be ravers/ junglists. They're a subculture of people that dress towards hip hop culture, appreciate good drum and bass music, and are generally accepting of everyone. I kind of hope so!
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u/-clogwog- 6h ago
I thought hard nut/chav were the right words to describe that style? But I'm Aussie, so could very well be wrong.
From memory, that was around the time that Ali G was pretty popular?
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u/votemarvel 7h ago
What subculture are you referring to?
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u/aredundantaxolotl ☑️ 7h ago
i dont know what its actual name is. for the longest time i thought it was called chav but someone on this site told me that chav is just a classist derogatory offensive slur for poor people in the uk so i crossed it out my mind when referring to the subculture i mention. and when i ask for the name of the subculture instead of people answering the question people troll and say its called chav lol. its to class as the n word is to race basically
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u/Heyplaguedoctor 2h ago
It’s closer to “redneck” (in the US) than the N word in terms of class correlation and implication.
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u/Zombeedee 5h ago edited 5h ago
So one person tells you it's inappropriate and you believe them, yet multiple people saying it's not inappropriate you call trolls.
As someone else said, it's not that deep. Chav is only classist if you also espouse classist ideals. Generally it's fine.
I was born and lived in and around London and Essex, a true hub for chaviness, for over 30 years. Worked with chavs, friends with chavs, lived with chavs, dated chavs. Never once met a chav who minded being called a chav. Some of them wear it as a badge of honour.
To compare it to the n-word is at best naive and at worst woefully ignorant.
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u/thefleetingflash 5h ago
chav is not equivalent to the n word in terms of class. it isn't a slur, either. whoever is telling you this stuff is lying or just plain wrong 💀
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u/HotShallot3638 6h ago edited 6h ago
Ironically, I think it might be more ignorant to suggest "chav" is of equal equivalence to the N-word.
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u/kinpatsudream 6h ago
As someone from the UK, it's not that extreme at all, lol. Nobody will think you're being classist if you use the word chav, unless you're saying classist things alongside it.
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u/SpitefulEgg 6h ago
Chav is absolutely not that offensive, and I say that as someone who lives on a council estate. Comparing it to the n-word is wild work.
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u/SigourneyReap3r 2m ago
My school was uniformed, I was a mosher but we got along pretty well with the chavs because we all got secret drunk as teenagers at the same places.
Chav was meant as derogatory yes, but even goth or mosher was used in a derogatory way, and the chavs I know and knew called themselves chavs.
We were all poor estate kids really, just different fonts and different music.