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Rah or yah is a pejorative term referring to a stereotypical affluent young upper class or upper-middle class person in the United Kingdom. [1] The term "rah" originated as a contraction of "Hoorah Henry" (sometimes "Hoorah Henries and Henriettas"), a pejorative description of a social stereotype similar to the Sloane Ranger stereotype also recognised in the UK, though a rah is generally younger, typically around university age (18–25), and less associated geographically with London. The use of the term is likely to have been furthered by onomatopoeic correlation with the way in which those fitting the stereotype are perceived to talk, with the word 'rah' being associated with upper-middle class affluence since at least the early 1980s. [2] An important feature of the rah stereotype is the enjoyment of an affluent/party lifestyle with excessive financial assistance from their parents.
At St Andrews and Edinburgh the term more frequently used is 'yah'. [3] The use of the term 'yah', similarly, is likely to have been furthered by a perceived and much-parodied upper-class pronunciation of the word 'year' in the phrase 'gap year'.
Rahs stereotypically study at prestigious institutions such as Russell Group universities, having previously attended a private boarding or day school, or sometimes a grammar school or faith school in an affluent area. Another stereotype is that rahs have taken a gap year, usually in Africa, South America, or South East Asia.
Certain clothing is often associated with rahs; mid-market names such as Jack Wills and Tom's Trunks are common. For girls, pashminas, jodhpurs, Ugg boots, flares and cable-knit jumpers combined with scruffy hair arranged in a bun or drastic side partings are common. Boys are stereotyped with chinos, board shorts, boat shoes, and sports team clothing. Gilets (usually Schöffel), quilted jackets, jogging bottoms, sunglasses, and flip-flops are common for both sexes. In colder seasons, country attire and outdoor wear is popular, especially brands such as Hunter Boot and J. Barbour & Sons.
Rugby union and cricket are popular for male rahs. Other sports such as skiing, sailing, rowing, tennis, rugby fives, Eton fives, canoeing, fencing, lacrosse, polo, shooting, and yachting are also popular.
Bill Rah, DJ and Journalist from Glasgow
Sissy, also sissy baby, sissy boy, sissy man, sissy pants, etc., is a pejorative term for a boy or man who does not demonstrate masculine traits, and shows possible signs of fragility. Generally, sissy implies a lack of courage, strength, athleticism, coordination, testosterone, male libido, and stoicism. A man might also be considered a sissy for being interested in typically feminine hobbies or employment, displaying effeminate behavior, being unathletic or being homosexual.
In the United Kingdom, a Sloane Ranger, or simply a Sloane, is a stereotypical upper-middle or upper-class person, typically although not necessarily a young one, who embodies a very particular upbringing and outlook. The Sloane Ranger style is a uniform, effortless, and unambitious although sophisticated one. Its counterpart in the US is the preppy style and in France is bon chic bon genre.
Tomboy is a term referring to girls or young women with masculine traits. It may include wearing androgynous or unfeminine clothing and engaging in physical sports or other activities and behaviors usually associated with boys or men.
Faggot, often shortened to fag, is a derogatory slur used to refer to gay men but expanded to other members of the queer community. In American youth culture around the turn of the 21st century, its meaning extended as a broader reaching insult more related to masculinity and group power structure.
Greasers are a youth subculture that emerged in the 1950s and early 1960s from predominantly working class and lower-class teenagers and young adults in the United States and Canada. The subculture remained prominent into the mid-1960s and was particularly embraced by certain ethnic groups in urban areas, particularly Italian Americans and Hispanic Americans.
Bogan is Australian and New Zealand slang for a person whose speech, clothing, attitude and behaviour are considered unrefined or unsophisticated. Depending on the context, the term can be pejorative or self-deprecating. The prevalence of the term bogan has also been associated with changing social attitudes towards social class in Australia.
"Chav", also "charver", "scally" and "roadman" in parts of England, is a British term, usually used in a pejorative way. The term is used to describe an anti-social lower-class youth dressed in sportswear. The use of the word has been described as a form of "social racism". "Chavette" is a related term referring to female chavs, and the adjectives "chavvy", "chavvish", and "chavtastic" are used to describe things associated with chavs, such as fashion, slang, etc. In other countries like Ireland, "skanger" is used in a similar manner. In Ontario, the term is "hoodman", an equivalent of the term "roadman" used in England. In Newfoundland, "skeet" is used in a similar way, while in Australia, "eshay" or "adlay" is used.
Adolescent cliques are cliques that develop amongst adolescents. In the social sciences, the word "clique" is used to describe a group of 3 to 12 "who interact with each other more regularly and intensely than others in the same setting". Cliques are distinguished from "crowds" in that their members socially interact with one another more than the typical crowd. Crowds, on the other hand, are defined by reputation. Although the word 'clique' or 'cliquey' is often used in day-to-day conversation to describe relational aggression or snarky, gossipy behaviors of groups of socially dominant teenage girls, that is not always accurate. Interacting with cliques is part of normative social development regardless of gender, ethnicity, or popularity. Although cliques are most commonly studied during adolescence and in educational settings, they can exist in all age groups and settings.
Naco is a pejorative word often used in Mexican Spanish that may be translated into English as "low-class", "uncultured", "vulgar" or "uncivilized ".
Guido is a North American subculture, slang term, and ethnic slur referring to working-class urban Italian-Americans. The guido stereotype is multi-faceted. At one point, the term was used more generally as a disparaging term for Italians and people of Italian descent. More recently, it has come to refer to working-class urban Italian-Americans who conduct themselves in an overtly macho manner or belong to a particular working-class urban Italian-American subculture. The time period in which it obtained the later meaning is not clear, but some sources date it to the 1970s or 1980s. The term is not used in Italy.
LGBTQ stereotypes are stereotypes about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people based on their sexual orientations, gender identities, or gender expressions. Stereotypical perceptions may be acquired through interactions with parents, teachers, peers and mass media, or, more generally, through a lack of firsthand familiarity, resulting in an increased reliance on generalizations.
Gay is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
In British English slang, Hooray Henry or Hoorah Henry is a pejorative term, comparable to "toff", for an upper-middle class or upper class man who exudes loud-mouthed arrogance and an air of superiority, often flaunting his public school upbringing. It is cited as the male equivalent of a "Sloane Ranger", although the female equivalent of a Hooray Henry is sometimes referred to as a Hooray Henrietta.
Black American princess (BAP) is a (sometimes) pejorative term for African-American women of upper- and upper-middle-class background, who possess a spoiled or materialistic demeanor. While carrying "valley girl" overtones of the overly materialistic and style-conscious egotist, the term has also been reclaimed as a matter of racial pride to cover an indulged, but not necessarily spoiled or shallow, daughter of the emerging buppies or black urban middle class. At best, such figures carry with them through life a sense of civic pride, and of responsibility for giving back to their community.
The 21st-century hipster is a subculture. Fashion is one of the major markers of hipster identity. Members of the subculture typically do not self-identify as hipsters, and the word hipster is often used as a pejorative for someone who is pretentious or overly concerned with appearing trendy.
Oppositional culture, also known as the "blocked opportunities framework" or the "caste theory of education", is a term most commonly used in studying the sociology of education to explain racial disparities in educational achievement, particularly between white and black Americans. However, the term refers to any subculture's rejection of conformity to prevailing norms and values, not just nonconformity within the educational system. Thus many criminal gangs and religious cults could also be considered oppositional cultures.
Gap Yah is a comedy sketch that gained widespread popularity and press coverage, especially in the United Kingdom, after being published on the video-sharing site YouTube in February 2010. It was created and performed by the University of Oxford graduate Matt Lacey of sketch comedy theatre troupe The Unexpected Items. The video was produced and directed by VM Productions and The Unexpected Items. The video became a viral hit, with 660,000 views in its first month and around 50,000 views a day in late March 2010. As of January 2024, the original video has been viewed over 6.9 million times.
Chonga is a Spanish-derived term used especially in South Florida, often to indicate a working-class, sexually liberated, very sassy, and emotionally expressive young woman.
"Basic" is a slang term in American popular culture, used pejoratively to describe culturally unoriginal people, particularly young women, who are perceived to prefer products, trends, and music that will make them look upper class even though they are not. "Basic bitch" originated in hip hop culture and rose in popularity through rap music, songs, blogs, and videos from 2011 to 2014. The male counterpart can often be put under the "bro" label.
Bong is a neologism that originated in cosmopolitan India in the 1980s as a slightly pejorative exonym for the educated middle-class Bengalis from the Indian state of West Bengal. In the 21st century, the term became a self-appellation of pride through the use of satire and self-reflexive irony by the Bengali blogging community, which came to stand for West Bengalis as a whole. Bong has been noted as a word of Indian English, used in the Indian newspapers.