Don't call us uncultured, 'bogans' tell the OED

The Australian term bogan has been included in the Oxford English Dictionary, but its definition of "unsophisticated" people of low social status has prompted complaints.

The colloquial term, used widely in Australia and New Zealand, has been likened to the British term "chavs" and the American term white trash.

It was included in this month's list of new entries to the dictionary as a depreciative term for unfashionable, uncouth, or unsophisticated person, especially of low social status.

Dave Snell, a New Zealander who completed a doctoral thesis on bogan identity, said the OED's definition was problematic and that bogans had their own distinctive culture and were often working class but not necessarily of lower status.

"I wasn't terribly fond of that definition," he said. "I don't really like the idea of calling being a bogan uncultured or unsophisticated.

"It's just a different culture. I like to say it's like taking aspects of Australian culture and concentrating it."

The term's origins are unknown but it is believed to have emerged in Melbourne in the 1980s and referred to suburban heavy metal fans who favoured mullet hairstyles, black jeans and flannel shirts.

Tory Shepherd, an online columnist, said bogans were now celebrated in Australia and had gone from trash to flash. "While the OED is to be congratulated for trying to keep up with the times, it's clearly far behind them," she wrote on The Punch website.

"Bogans can be found not just on red carpets and setting trends in glossy magazines, but in parliament and on television. They are gods on the sporting fields, royalty on Twitter. Today, we celebrate bogans."