Is "chav" and offensive term?

[R1Geezer]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13626046
The Fabian society seem to think so!

[Ankou]

offensive to whom ?

[Old_Geezer]

Yes I would say mildly so.

After all who in their right mind would want to be compared to the chav image ?

But like most 'offensive' descriptions it is how the word is used really. Folk calling each other chavs is less of an insult because it is clearly just banter.

[WuTang]

"" Council- Housed And Violent"" ....not Pretty!!

[Brenden]

I find the Fabian Society's motto (a sheep in wolf's clothing) more offensive.

[Brenden]

Oops: A wolf in sheeps clothing - thats more like it

[Quizmonster]

Chav is not an acronym. The suggestion that it comes from Council-Housed And Violent is just a made-up 'explanation'. It is either from the Romany language word, chavo, meaning an unmarried man or a boy, or a local abbreviation of the name of the town, Chatham, where the word supposedly originated.
Either source seems harmless enough, but offence, of course, comes from the manner in which the USERS of a word intend it to be taken by those they are referring to. In that case, there is very little doubt but that it IS offensive.

[ummmm]

Yes, I think it is.

[boxtops]

It depends on the context in which it's used. It's like being called the hoi polloi or the chattering masses, both of which are dismissive IMO. We all know what we mean by Chav.

[Ric.ror]

I thought it was council house Argos vouchers

[Ric.ror]

Baroness Hussein-Ece and James Delingpole - now thats offensive