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Abstract
This essay is concerned with the construction of the “chav” in contemporary Britain, starting with an outline of the general preconception that the members of the new urban underclass share properties such as being aggressive, sexually promiscuous and drug abusive in addition to being constantly on the dole. It will suggest that the chav with all of these features is a creation of the middle classes who construct their own identity against the chav Other. It will move on to an analysis of two recent novels which treat the chav-phenomenon, namely Grace Dent’s Trainers V. Tiaras (2007) and J.K. Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy (2013).
Abstract
This essay is concerned with the construction of the “chav” in contemporary Britain, starting with an outline of the general preconception that the members of the new urban underclass share properties such as being aggressive, sexually promiscuous and drug abusive in addition to being constantly on the dole. It will suggest that the chav with all of these features is a creation of the middle classes who construct their own identity against the chav Other. It will move on to an analysis of two recent novels which treat the chav-phenomenon, namely Grace Dent’s Trainers V. Tiaras (2007) and J.K. Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy (2013).