Bogan Pride

If you wanted to identify one area in which bogan culture becomes genuinely subcultural, I’d choose cars. Particularly: Australia developed a particularly distinctive form of working-class car culture around the Holden–Ford rivalry. The ute is especially significant. It is simultaneously: work vehicle + family vehicle + status symbol + masculine identity + recreational toy. And then there is the Australian phenomenon of the hoon. The hoon and the bogan aren’t identical, but they overlap heavily.

This may actually be the deepest subject behind the whole phenomenon. Australia traditionally likes to imagine itself as an egalitarian society where the wealthy and working class can sit together in the pub and have a beer. Consequently, Australians have historically been uncomfortable talking explicitly about class. “Bogan” provides a sneaky alternative. Instead of saying: “That person is working class.” people can say: “They’re a bit bogan.” Instead of saying: “I dislike their cultural tastes.” they can say: “That’s bloody bogan.” Sociologists Steve Threadgold and Jessica Gerrard have argued that figures such as the bogan and the hipster function as proxies for class in Australian public culture. The bogan represents…