Dres or dresiarz (plural ''dresy'' or ''dresiarze'' ) is a term used in Poland to describe a specific

subculture A subculture is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures develop their own norms and values regarding cultural, poli ...

or class of young males. Dresiarze

stereotypically In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...

live in urban tower blocks or tenement houses. They are usually portrayed as undereducated, unemployed, aggressive, and anti-social. Dialogi polityczne, ''O tym, dlaczego dresiarze noszą dresy. Rozważania nad antropologią odzieży sportowej w subkulturach chuligańskich''
The ''dresiarz'' phenomenon was first observed in the 1990s and is sometimes compared to the British chavs, Scottish neds, Australian bogans or Russian

gopnik A gopnik (russian: гопник, gopnik, ; uk, гопник, hopnyk; be, гопнік, hopnik) is a member of a delinquent subculture in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and in other former Soviet republics — a young man (or a woman, a ''gopnitsa'' ...

s. 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''. ''Kark'' (pl. pl, karki – napes) and ''blocker'' (pl. pl, blokersi – block-people) are related but not synonymous terms; see below. The term has a pejorative connotation in Polish mass media.

Dorota Masłowska Dorota Masłowska (Polish pronunciation:; born 3 July 1983) is a Polish writer, playwright, columnist and journalist. Life and work Masłowska was born in Wejherowo, and grew up there. She applied for the University of Gdańsk's faculty of p ...

's novel ''White and Red''''Wojna polsko-ruska pod flagą biało-czerwoną''. Warsaw 2002: Lampa i Iskra Boża, (UK edition: ''White and Red'', Atlantic Books, ; US edition: ''Snow White and Russian Red'', Grove Press, ) 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, house genres or hardbass. * 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 recently they switched to older versions of

BMW 3 The BMW 3 Series is a line of compact executive cars manufactured by the German automaker BMW since May 1975. It is the successor to the 02 Series and has been produced in seven generations. The first generation of the 3 Series was only avai ...

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, Japanese and East-Asian made cars such as the

Honda Civic The is a series of automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1972. Since 2000, the Civic has been categorized as a compact car, while previously it occupied the subcompact class. , the Civic is positioned between the Honda Fit/City and Honda Acc ...

gained popularity due to the influence of the '' Fast & Furious'' franchise. * Keeping aggressive dog breeds, such as the Pit Bull or

American Staffordshire Terrier The American Staffordshire Terrier, also known as the AmStaff or American Staffy is a medium-sized, short-coated American dog breed. The height of an American Staffordshire Bull Terrier is tall and weighs between . The American Kennel Club (AKC) ...

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.Wprost.pl: ''Blachary atakują''
/ref>

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'' behavior. 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 behavior, 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.

External links

* Wojciech Orliński
MUZEUM NARODOWE KULTURY MASOWEJ: Dresiarze

References

{{reflist Class-related slurs Crime in Poland Stereotypes of working-class men Working class in Europe Youth culture in Poland

Characteristics

Related terms

See also

External links

References