Dres
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The term dresiarz or dres (plural dresiarze or dresy) is used in Poland to describe a certain stereotype of a (typically) young man, usually originating from smaller towns, poor city districts, or commieblock areas in larger cities. Generally unemployed.
The term itself relates to the wearing of the tracksuit -- pants and/or jackets -- which in Polish is known as the dres. Dresiarz subculture was first observed in the 1990s. It would later partially merge with the hip hop and hooligan subcultures. Kark (meaning "neck") and blokers are related, but not synonymous, terms. [see below]
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[edit] Why the tracksuit?
- if wearing the full tracksuit, you can easily hide stolen items under your clothing
- one can also hide quite large weapons, such as knives or baseball bats, or a plumber's pipe
- ease of movement. escaping in a loose tracksuit is much easier if chased by police, especially during fights and riots in stadiums during and after (or instead of) a football match
- you can impress the female of the species, the niunie or laski. In English babe and sexy looking bitch
- fake knock-off tracksuits are cheap, especially those modelled on well-known brands. Popular knock offs include Adidas, Reebok, Nike and Puma.
[edit] Appearance and habits
The dresiarz is manly and automobile-oriented. Documented habits include:
- wearing tracksuits and trainers, often with stripes. The poor dresiarz can easily be recognized by the four or five stripes imitating the Adidas three stripes. True brand-name shoes and clothing are found primarily among the rich dresiarze, or at least those with exceptionaly refined shoplifting abilities.
- very short hair, oftentimes shaved off completely
- weight lifting and/or strength training in gyms, often with support of anabolic steroids
- affection for automobiles, especially older versions of the BMW 3 or BMW 5, or VW Golf (most likely Mk2) and the Opel Calibra but also other older German cars (such as eg. Mercedes W124), or in the case of the poorer dresiarze before accession to EU -- the Polish Fiat 126p, after a tune up
- driving their car with the left elbow resting outside the rolled-down window. This is known as the zimny łokieć (the cold elbow).
- love of mobile phones
- keeping aggressive dog breeds, such as the Pit Bull, American Staffordshire Terrier as pets (dresiarze sometimes engage in dog fights)
- habitually eating roasted chicken, Döner kebab and McDonald's
- clubbing, often with the use of ecstasy
- violent contempt towards: students, intelligence, skateboarders, long haired males, vegetarians, punk rock and heavy metal
- excessive littering
- particularly swaggering gait
- carousing with the native dresiarki
There is no single genre of music with which the dresiarz is identified. Field dispatches from his natural habitat relay evidence towards disco polo (now out of fashion), techno, dance-pop and Polish hip hop. Heavy metal and punk rock, as well as any attempts to actual play a musical instrument, are feared and avoided. This behaviour is also observed in other countries with their own counterparts to the "dres".
But when you come to Poland (even for a short perid of time) you will realize that "dres" is a kind of philosophy and lifestyle and "that the dress doesn't make a "dres"".
[edit] Attitudes towards dresy
Many social groups, university students in particular, believe dresiarze are a genuine social group worthy of further study. Dresiarze are most often associated with crime, car thefts, drug dealing, football hooliganism, street violence, harassing women, standing around, looking tough, and various other forms of anti-social behaviour.
[edit] Self-identity
It is unclear whether people considered by others to be dresiarze can identify themselves as such. Further research needed.
[edit] Famous dresiarze
An interesting fact is that one of the best Polish biology scientist, Grzegorz Klauza, is recognized as dres. This is not compliant with existing stereotype.
[edit] Research
Not much quantitative (or even qualitative) sociological research has been published regarding dresiarze and the dresy they wear.
Dorota Masłowska's (Nike audience award) novel White and Red[1] is one of the first books pubished featuring the dresiarz phenomenon.
[edit] 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 karks may be wearing neither trainers nor a tracksuit, but shares most other elements of stereotypical dres behaviour.
- blokers -- a term for a young person of anti-social behaviour, living in commieblock area (blok in Polish). This term was used first time circa 1995 by Robert Leszczyński, a music reporter of Gazeta Wyborcza
- ABS shortened form from Absolutny Brak Szyi, means "absolute lack of neck", see "kark"
- Edward Gierek the prime minister of the Communist Poland in the 1970s, was the Godfather of the Blokers. In the early 1970s, as head of government and head of the Polish Communist party (PZPR), Gierek embarked on a massive project of tenement block construction. The miles of Bloki mieszkalne foreshadowed the 'dresiarz revolution. The children of these housing blocks are the Blokersi, the foundation of a new social group in Poland. They listen mostly to Hip Hop but enjoy Techno as well.
[edit] References
- ^ Wojna polsko-ruska pod flagą biało-czerwoną. Warsaw 2002: Lampa i Iskra Boża, ISBN 83-86735-87-2 (UK edition: White and Red, Atlantic Books, ISBN 1843544237; US edition: Snow White and Russian Red, Grove Press, ISBN 0802170013)
