Dres
Encyclopedia
Dres drɛs or dresiarz drɛɕaʂ (plural dresy [drɛsɨ] or dresiarze [drɛɕaʐɛ]) is a term used in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 to describe a specific subculture
Subculture
In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong.- Definition :...

 or class of young males. Dresiarze stereotypically
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...

 live in urban tower block
Tower block
A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, office tower, apartment block, or block of flats, is a tall building or structure used as a residential and/or office building...

s or tenement houses
Kamienica (architecture)
Kamienica is a Polish term describing a type of residential building made of brick or stone, with at least 2 floors. The word is usually used to describe a building which is incorporated with other, similar buildings....

. They are usually portrayed as undereducated, unemployed, aggressive and anti-social. The dresiarz phenomenon was first observed in the 1990s. It would later partially merge with the hooligan
Hooliganism
Hooliganism refers to unruly, destructive, aggressive and bullying behaviour. Such behaviour is commonly associated with sports fans. The term can also apply to general rowdy behaviour and vandalism, often under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs....

 subcultures, especially football hooligans
Football hooliganism in Poland
Football hooliganism in Poland first developed as a recognised phenomenon in the 1970s, and has continued since then with numerous recognised hooligan firms and large-scale fights. Until 1997, the number of hooligan- related incidents steadily rose in Poland...

.

The term refers to tracksuit
Tracksuit
A tracksuit is an article of clothing consisting of two parts: trousers and a jacket usually with front zipper. It was originally intended for use in sports, mainly as what athletes wore over competition clothing and would take off before competition. In modern times, it has become commonly worn...

s, which in Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...

 is dres.
Kark (pl. - napes) and blokers (pl. - block-people) are related but not synonymous terms.. The term has a pejorative connotation in Polish mass-media * Their female counterparts are known as dupy, suczki or blachary, with all these terms having a pejorative connotation.

Dorota Masłowska's novel White and Red is one of the first books published featuring the dresiarz phenomenon. Dresy have been a theme of (usually critical) songs by Dezerter
Dezerter
Dezerter, founded as SS-20 in 1981 in Warsaw, Poland, is one of the most popular punk bands from Poland. They had to change their original name to Dezerter because of the reaction of the Communist authorities...

 and Big Cyc
Big Cyc
Big Cyc is a Polish rock band formed in 1988.The band is well known in Poland for their controversial behaviour. The cover of their first album, Z partyjnym pozdrowieniem , was an image of Vladimir Lenin with a Mohawk hairstyle...

. They are also popular negative characters in the comic strip Jeż Jerzy
Jez Jerzy
Jeż Jerzy is a popular Polish comic book title created by young artists - Rafał Skarżycki and Tomasz Lew Leśniak ....

.

Characteristics

The following traits are typically attributed to the dresiarz stereotype:
  • Wearing tracksuits along with a hoodie
    Hoodie
    A hoodie is a sweatshirt with a hood. The characteristic design includes large frontal pockets, a hood, and a drawstring to adjust the hood opening. They are sometimes worn with sweatpants. Some hoodies have zippers on them to allow easy removal much like a jacket...

     and trainers; usually cheap counterfeit imitations of popular brands.
  • Shaved head
    Head shaving
    Head shaving is the practice of shaving the hair from a person's head. At different times and places people have shaved their heads for very diverse reasons: practical, religious, cultural, or aesthetic—so a shaven head has widely varying connotations depending on the context.-Early...

    .
  • Weight lifting
    Weight training
    Weight training is a common type of strength training for developing the strength and size of skeletal muscles. It uses the weight force of gravity to oppose the force generated by muscle through concentric or eccentric contraction...

     and/or strength training
    Strength training
    Strength training is the use of resistance to muscular contraction to build the strength, anaerobic endurance, and size of skeletal muscles. There are many different methods of strength training, the most common being the use of gravity or elastic/hydraulic forces to oppose muscle contraction...

     in gyms.
  • Affection for automobiles, especially older versions of the BMW 3, BMW 5, VW Golf (most likely Mk2, recently also newer generations), or the Opel Calibra
    Opel Calibra
    The Opel Calibra, also known as the Vauxhall Calibra in the United Kingdom, the Chevrolet Calibra in South America, and the Holden Calibra in Australia and New Zealand is a sports car engineered and produced by German automaker Opel between 1989 and 1997, but sold until 1999 in the UK...

    , but also other older German cars (as e.g. Mercedes W124
    Mercedes-Benz W124
    W124 is the Mercedes-Benz internal chassis-designation for the 1985 to 1995 version of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class. The W124 models replaced the W123 models after 1985 and were superseded by the W210 E-Class after 1995.-History:...

     or Audi 80
    Audi 80
    The Audi 80 is a compact executive car produced by the German car manufacturer Audi, from 1966 to 1996. It shared its platform with the Volkswagen Passat from 1973 to 1986 and was available as a saloon car/sedan, and an Avant...

    ), or — in the case of the poorer dresiarze before accession to the European Union
    European Union
    The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

     — a modified Polish Fiat 126p.
  • Keeping aggressive dog breeds, such as the Pit Bull
    Pit bull
    A Pit bull is any of several breeds of dog in the molosser breed group.Many jurisdictions that restrict pit bulls, including Ontario, Canada,, Miami, Florida, U.S...

     or American Staffordshire Terrier
    American Staffordshire Terrier
    The American Staffordshire terrier is a medium-sized, short-coated American dog breed. In the early part of the twentieth century the breed gained social stature and was accepted by the American Kennel Club as the American Staffordshire Terrier in 1936...

     as pets (sometimes used in dog fights).
  • Their female counterparts often have excessive solarium tans, bleached platinum blonde or pitch black dyed hair, and wear artificial nails
    Artificial nails
    Artificial nails, also known as fake nails, false nails, fashion nails, nail enhancements, or nail extensions, are coverings placed over fingernails as fashion accessories. Some artificial nails attempt to mimic the appearance of real fingernails as closely as possible, while other designs may...

    , mini-skirts and crop top
    Crop top
    A crop top is a T-shirt or blouse with the lower part cut off, showing of some of the abdomen. The half shirt is a kind of shirt that is cut off from the bottom of the chest....

    s.

Related terms

  • Kark, meaning "neck" and a short for byczy kark ("bull neck"), is most used in connection with weight lifting; a person perceived as a kark may be wearing neither trainers nor a tracksuit, but shares most other elements of stereotypical dres behaviour. The term may also refer to lower-ranked members of gangster groups.
  • Blokers - a term for a young person exhibiting anti-social behaviour, living in towerblocks (blok in Polish
    Poland
    Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

    ). This term was used first time circa 1995 by Robert Leszczyński, a Polish music critic and journalist. Similar to the British chav
    Chav
    A chav is a term that is used in the United Kingdom to describe a stereotype of teenagers and young adults from an underclass background.-Etymology:...

    .

Other countries

Outside Poland the following words describe people from this social group:
  • Australia: Bogan
    Bogan
    The term bogan is Australian slang, usually pejorative or self-deprecating, for an individual who is recognised to be from a lower class background or someone whose limited education, speech, clothing, attitude and behaviour exemplifies such a background....

  • Chile: Flaite
    Flaite
    Flaite is a classist Chilean Spanish slang used to define urban youth of low-socioeconomic background by linking them to vulgar habits and crime...

  • France: Racaille
  • Ireland: Skanger (Spide
    Spide
    A spide , is a pejorative stereotype, in Northern Ireland, especially in Belfast, of a person who has a particular dress code and attitude. Spides are often young, unemployed, male adults...

     or Millie in Northern-Ireland)
  • Israel: Ars
  • Mexico: Naco
    Naco (slang)
    Naco is a pejorative word often used in Mexican Spanish to describe the bad-mannered and poorly educated people of lower social classes. It is equivalent to 'white trash' in American English and culture...

  • Netherlands: Tokkie
    Tokkie
    The word tokkie is used in The Netherlands as a pejorative noun for lower class people who often are seen as likely to engage in anti-social behaviour, similar to the British chav, the Irish skanger and the Australian bogan....

  • Norway: Harry
    Harry (derogatory term)
    Harry is a Norwegian derogatory term used in slang, derived from the English name Harry. The best English translation may be "cheesy" or "tacky". Norsk ordbok defines "harry" as "tasteless, vulgar"....

  • Russia: Gopnik
    Gopnik
    Gopnik is a stereotypical class of young males up to 30 years old found in Russia and post-Soviet countries, similar to a Chav or Ned in Great Britain, characterized by aggressive behavior, specifically towards the weak, predilection to the criminal subculture, abuse of alcohol beverages and...

  • Scotland: Ned
    Ned (Scottish)
    Ned is a derogatory term applied in Scotland to hooligans, louts or petty criminals, latterly with the stereotypical implication that they wear casual sports clothes. Such usage in Glasgow dates back to the 1960s or earlier.-Early use of term:...

  • Singapore / Malaysia: Ah beng
    Ah Beng
    Ah Beng, from , is a stereotype applied to a certain group of young Chinese men in Southeast Asia, particularly Singapore and Malaysia. The stereotypical view of an Ah Beng is a young Chinese man or teenager who lacks cultural refinement or indulges in criminal activity or is involved in brawls or...

  • United Kingdom: Chav
    Chav
    A chav is a term that is used in the United Kingdom to describe a stereotype of teenagers and young adults from an underclass background.-Etymology:...

  • United States: Wigger
    Wigger
    Wigger is a pejorative slang term for a white person who emulates mannerisms, language, and fashions associated with African-American culture, particularly hip hop in the United States or the Grime/Garage scene in Britain. The term is a portmanteau of either wannabe or white and nigger...

     or White trash
    White trash
    White trash is an American English pejorative term referring to poor white people in the United States, suggesting lower social class and degraded living standards...


External links

Wojciech Orliński
Wojciech Orlinski
Wojciech Orliński is a Polish journalist, writer, and blogger. Since 1997, he is regular columnist in Gazeta Wyborcza. He has published science-fiction stories and opinion pieces in Nowa Fantastyka.-Books:...

, MUZEUM NARODOWE KULTURY MASOWEJ: Dresiarze
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