Westie (person)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Westie, or Westy, is a colloquial term used in Australian and New Zealand English to describe residents of the western suburbs of Sydney (Australia) or Auckland (New Zealand). It may also refer to people who might not live in the western part of a city.
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[edit] Dictionary definition
According to the Macquarie Dictionary, the term in Australian English now refers to people from outer suburbs and a lower socio-economic background or the stereotypes associated with such people.[1] It also states that the term has spread throughout Australia and is used to refer to people who may not live in the western part of their city.[1] With reference to its use in Sydney, the Macquarie Book of Slang says the term is applied negatively to anyone that may live west of one's own suburb.[2]
[edit] Origin of the term
The term originated, and is most often used, in relation to residents of the numerous western suburbs of Sydney, Australia, and of Auckland, New Zealand.
[edit] Sydney, Australia
In Sydney, westies have taken their name from Sydney's western suburbs, a region of suburbs in which the cost of living is generally considered to be less than that of Sydney's more easterly and inner-city suburbs. The west also has lower levels of professional employment and suffers from higher crime rates. As a result, the term "westie" was used in a derogatory sense to suggest that someone was uncouth or unsophisticated. The Macquarie Book of Slang reports that the area which westies inhabit does not have clear boundaries, and so while some in the eastern suburbs might consider residents of Ryde westies, others may restrict the term to areas such as Blacktown and Penrith.[2]
In Sydney the term originated within the surfing community in the early 1970's. Board riders or surfers who lived in the eastern suburbs, closer to the beach and waves, would often refer to what they saw as "part time" weekend surfers, who travelled to the beach from the western suburbs as "westies". In this regard they were seen as "blow ins" who crowded the beach and waves each weekend.[citation needed]
[edit] Auckland, New Zealand
In Auckland, Westies are almost entirely residents of Waitakere City, in particular the Auckland city-side suburbs of Te Atatu, Henderson, Sunnyvale, Glen Eden, and New Lynn. Some people from Avondale are called by others and themselves westies although Avondale is actually within the territory of Auckland City.
To be called a westie in Auckland is sometimes ambiguous as it can be both a pejorative or good natured, depending on intent. Many people from Waitakere City will call themselves westies with pride, yet not meet the stereotypical criteria.[3]
The shift from a pejorative to a societal identifier has been abrupt an in no small part due to local comedian Ewen Gilmour whose stand-up comedy act as Ewen "Westie" Gilmour gave the term national prominence between 1995 and 2000 in the premier television programme, "Pulp Comedy". He was "unofficially appointed cultural ambassador" for Waitakere City.[4] He was elected as councillor for the Waitakere City Council in 2004 and joins former mayor Tim Shadbolt as stereotypical westies who have entered local body politics.[citation needed]
[edit] The westie stereotype
The term westie is often used to associate someone or something with a stereotype. The stereotype depicts people from the outer suburbs as unintelligent, undereducated, unmotivated, unrefined, lacking in fashion sense, working-class or umemployed. Clothing such as flanellette shirts, Ugg boots, and leopard-print fabric are associated with the stereotype, as are the "uniform" of black t-shirt and ripped jeans.[5]
[edit] Similar Australian and New Zealand English terms
There are many colloquial terms originating in other cities which have similar connotations:[1][6]
- Bogan in Australia and Hutt Valley, Tawa in Wellington, New Zealand.
- Bevan in Brisbane.
- Chigger in Hobart.
- Booner in Canberra.
- Yobbo throughout Australia and Britain, but particularly synonymous with Westie in Perth.
- Yobbo or Feral in Adelaide.
- Dero in Australia
[edit] Similar terms used in other English dialects
Other derogatory terms associated with stereotypes of unsophistication include:[citation needed]
- Trailer trash (US)
- Cracker (US)
- Hillbilly (US)
- White trash (US)
- Chav (UK)
- Essex girl (UK)
- Ned (Scottish) (Scottish, particularly Glasgow dialect)
- Knacker (Ireland)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c "Westie", Macquarie Dictionary Online Edition 2005.
- ^ a b "Westie", Macquarie Book of Slang, Macquarie Library, 2000.
- ^ Review of Bob Harvey's book (see below). (NB: pdf file)
- ^ Ewen Gilmour's official website
- ^ Scott Poynting and Jock Collins (eds), The Other Sydney: Communities, Identities and Inequalities in Western Sydney, Common Ground, 2000. p20.
- ^ "Yobbo", Macquarie Dictionary Online Edition 2005.
- SMH Radar: You are where you live
- Diane Powell (1993). Out west : perceptions of Sydney's western suburbs. St. Leonards, NSW : Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86373-503-8.
- Jock Collins & Scott Poynting (Ed.) (2000). The other Sydney : communities, identities and inequalities in Western Sydney. Altona, Vic. : Common Ground Publishing. ISBN 1-86335-017-9.
- Bob Harvey (2004). Westies up front out there. Auckland : Exisle. ISBN 0-908988-38-9.
