Dres

Dres [drɛs] or dresiarz [drɛɕaʂ] (plural dresy [drɛsɨ] or dresiarze [drɛɕaʐɛ]) is a term used in Poland to describe a specific subculture or class of young males. Dresiarze stereotypically live in urban tower blocks or tenement houses. They are usually portrayed as undereducated, unemployed, aggressive and anti-social.^[1] The dresiarz phenomenon was first observed in the 1990s, and is sometimes compared to the British chav, although is perhaps more similar to the Russian Gopnik. It would later partially merge with the hooligan subcultures, and sometimes attributed to football hooligans.

The term refers to tracksuits, which in Polish is dres.^[2] Kark (pl. Polish: karki - napes) and blocker (pl. Polish: blokersi - block-people) are related but not synonymous terms; see below.^[3] The term has a pejorative connotation in Polish mass-media^[1]

Dorota Masłowska's novel White and Red^[4] is one of the first books published featuring the dresiarz phenomenon. Dresy have been a theme of (usually critical) songs by Dezerter and Big Cyc. They are also popular negative characters in the comic strip Jeż Jerzy.

Characteristics

The following traits are typically attributed to the dresiarz stereotype:

• Taste in music usually encompassing Polish disco polo and rap, rarely techno or house genres.
• Wearing tracksuits along with a hoodie and trainers; usually cheap counterfeit imitations of popular brands.
• Shaved head.
• Weight lifting and/or strength training in gyms.
• Affection for automobiles — at first they were stereotypically associated with heavily modified Fiat 126p cars (often with iconic Pioneer sticker covering the rear window), but with the improvement of the Polish economy condition connected with the accession to the EU and the influx of imported used cars from the West they switched to older versions of BMW 3 and BMW 5 as well as Volkswagen Golf Mk2 and Opel Calibra, and recently their taste switched to Volkswagen Group automobiles, especially Audi. Apart from German cars, rice burners like Honda Civic also spawned some popularity due to the influence of the Fast&Furious franchise.
• Keeping aggressive dog breeds, such as the Pit Bull or American Staffordshire Terrier 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, mini-skirts and crop tops.^[5]

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, i.e. "Thugs".
• Blokers - a term for a young person exhibiting anti-social behaviour, living in towerblocks (blok in Polish). This term was used first time circa 1995 by Robert Leszczyński, a Polish music critic and journalist.
• ABS - an acronym for Absolutny Brak Szyi ("Total Lack of Neck"). See [*Kark]. Often used pejoratively for heavily "pumped up" thugs and hooligans. The implied characteristic is anabolic steroid use.

See also

• Australia: Bogan
• Chile: Flaite
• France: Racaille
• Ireland: Knacker (Spide or Millie in Northern-Ireland)
• Israel: Ars
• Mexico: Naco
• Netherlands: Tokkie
• Norway: Harry
• Russia: Gopnik
• Scotland: Ned
• Singapore / Malaysia: Ah beng
• United Kingdom: Chav

External links

• (Polish) Wojciech Orliński, MUZEUM NARODOWE KULTURY MASOWEJ: Dresiarze

References

1. (Polish) Dialogi polityczne, O tym, dlaczego dresiarze noszą dresy. Rozważania nad antropologią odzieży sportowej w subkulturach chuligańskich
2. (Polish) Poradnik pedagogiczno - resocjalizacyjny: "(...) określenia odnoszą się do młodzieżowych subkultur dewiacyjnych, których powstanie jest efektem ubocznym procesów transformacji ustrojowej i zmian społeczno-politycznych zachodzących w naszym kraju w latach 90."
3. (Polish) Newsweek.pl, Dresiarz ściąga dres 2002-09-22
4. Wojna polsko-ruska pod flagą biało-czerwoną. Warsaw 2002: Lampa i Iskra Boża, ISBN 83-86735-87-2 (UK edition: White and Red, Atlantic Books, ISBN 1-84354-423-7; US edition: Snow White and Russian Red, Grove Press, ISBN 0-8021-7001-3)
5. (Polish) Wprost.pl: Blachary atakują