The Dark Side Of The Bogan
It would be a mistake to romanticise the phenomenon completely.
“Bogan” can be profoundly classist.
It can function as a respectable-sounding way of insulting:
- poor people;
- people from particular suburbs;
- people with low educational attainment;
- people with particular accents;
- people with particular tastes.
And stereotypes associated with bogan culture can also include:
- misogyny;
- racism;
- homophobia;
- excessive drinking;
- violence;
- anti-intellectualism;
- antisocial behaviour.
But these aren’t inherent characteristics of every person labelled bogan.
That’s precisely why the term is so slippery.
One academic analysis calls “bogan” a “sticky sign” because it can simultaneously attract contempt, affection, identification and disidentification.
