Once again, the British are alarmed by a new fashion trend that is to
be launched into our mainstream and most of the rest of the world must
be just a little bemused.
A new type of hoodie that completely covers the face is set to become
notorious in the UK and already politicians, such as the Conservative
leader, David Cameron, are bringing the possible implications to public
attention:
As can be seen by the links above, the story of these new “evil
hoodies” are being promoted by the right wing end of the media. It is
too easy to dismiss it as so much stuffy conservatism. The fact remains
that youth crime has risen and public perceptions of youth culture are
becoming increasingly more negative. Personally I heard the news item
on Radio 4 and then researched it on the net. The experience led me to
write this post in hope that it will pose questions for the
self-defence community to consider.
The history of the hoodie as a
fashion item goes back to the 1930s and its function is very much
dependent on each particular country’s prevailing culture. In recent
years it has became standard uniform, when worn over a baseball cap,
for the so-called “Townie”. Townie’s definition, of course, is
completely different from the derogatory term used by people who live
in country to describe their urbanized cousins. Townie, as street
slang, was a short-lived title (although it is occasionally still used)
that was replaced by “Chav”. The image of the Townie or Chav has
evolved from the gauche wannabe Caucasian “gangsta” (sometimes referred
to as a “wigger”) that was satirized by The Offspring anthem “Pretty
Fly for a White Guy” and the Sasha Baron Cohen mock interviewer “Ali G”
into a far more sinister figure.
The history of the hoodie as a fashion item goes back to the 1930s and
its function is very much dependent on each particular country’s
prevailing culture.
A teenage representative that hasn’t
been feared or detested as much by the older generations since the
Teddy Boys of the ’50s or perhaps the skinheads of the ’70s. I was only
debating with teenagers the other day regarding whether anyone actually
identifies with the subculture of “Chavs” in the same way as someone
thinks of himself as an “Emo”. I still believe it is largely seen as an
insult, although maybe it is being reclaimed in the same way that the
word “Nigga” has been in some communities.
As an interesting side point
the word “Chav” is now believed to not be an acronym for Council House
And Violent, but to have originated from the Romani slang term chavi.
Coming from a circus community, I often heard people use the term chavi
to refer to kids. The word “Kid”, of course, originated from criminal
gangs of child housebreakers who were used by adults to slip through
openings in a property their diminutive size allowed. The hoodie
appears to have more of an intimidation factor in the
How Martial Arts Will Save the World One Gang Member at a Time
In the shadow of the Catalina Mountains in the American Southwest, upscale gated communities slope downward toward town, meeting the mean streets of Tucson, Arizona. I write realistic children’s novels in this city of saguaro cactus and endless sun, but the statistics still shock me...
UK than it does in most other countries, where it has long been
established a staple piece of clothing. I have worn hoodies since I was
a teenager, as it has long been seen as a type of warm-up top for
outdoor sports. CCMA sells a hoodie, which we proudly wear.
Nevertheless the hoodie in the UK has garnered negative attention in
recent years due to its association with crime. In fact, this
particular item has such a strong association with “juvenile
delinquents” that the term “Hoodie” has come to describe a certain type
of teenage/young adult type of thug - in fact, it is now virtually
interchangeable with “Chav”. For a long time fashions have copied the
popular image of criminals. This is nothing new and, as I have
mentioned in previous posts, criminals and outlaws have a lengthy
history of being romanticized. However, what has been flagged up in the
USA is a concern that certain items of clothing have a very functional
criminal purpose, which has led a lot of schools to consider
implementing uniforms in schools and other restrictions. Baggy
clothing, for example, has long been adopted by gang members to conceal
weapons. In the
UK certain establishments, such as shopping centres, have banned the
wearing of hoodies because they hide the face when worn up. This new
hoodie, of course, makes no pretensions about its purpose - it is
designed to cover the face completley.The jury is still out and
probably will stay out on how much of an influence the hoodie has on
criminal activity, but one thing is for sure this negative attention is
sure to make the clothing popular.
Personally I am all for the approach
members of the elderly community took when they all started wearing
hoodies to reclaim the item and to erode its street-cred. an idea of
just how much the word hoodie is associated with criminal activity in
Britain put it into a UK search engine.
Jamie Clubb is the founder of Clubb Chimera Martial Arts, a proactive process for individual development through realistic self-defence, self-protection, combative systems
Philosophy and Opinion 
Once again, the British are alarmed by a new fashion trend that is to
be launched into our mainstream and most of the rest of the world must
be just a little bemused.
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