Dres[drɛs] or dresiarz[ˈdrɛɕaʂ] (plural dresy[ˈdrɛsɨ] or dresiarze[drɛˈɕaʐɛ]) 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
chavs, Scottish
neds, Australian
bogans or Russian
gopniks. 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:
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 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 gained popularity due to the influence of the Fast & Furious franchise.
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
commie blocks (blok in
Polish, also known as Soviet
Khrushchevka). 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.
^(in 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."
^Wojna polsko-ruska pod flagą biało-czerwoną. Warsaw 2002: Lampa i Iskra Boża,
ISBN83-86735-87-2 (UK edition: White and Red, Atlantic Books,
ISBN1-84354-423-7; US edition: Snow White and Russian Red, Grove Press,
ISBN0-8021-7001-3)