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WHAT DOES THE TERM "GREASER" REALLY MEAN?
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Well, I personally couldn't give the ass of a dyin' rat if ya call me a greaser, a ted, a rocker, or a magical blossoming fart blooming in the desert's dust! When I first started greasing my hair into a pompadour was back in 1977 when my family and I moved from Canada to Camden Town, London, England. My new neighbourhood has Teddy Boys, punks, skinheads, and a generally wide and varied array of outcasts. I made my choice for this look based on the music, who my mates were, and what I liked. That don't make me a Ted today, nor a greaser, nor...well - you get the idea, right?
Do people call me a greaser? Yep...oh - and I also hear "Elvis" at least 5 times a day from idiots, and Ted, and rockabilly guy...who really cares?
BURSTIN' ALL THE BUBBLES
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I've heard many-an-argument over this whole thing, which makes me chuckle at the blatant insecurity and non-inclusivity of many folks.
Hate to tell all y'all who argue that a "real" greaser has to know cars or just wears the 'do and the drapes from the 50's, but it's both the hair and the cars, separately and/or together. When looking at it from the dictionary's perspective, this is what we get:
greas•er
Pronunciation: 'grE-z&r, -s&r
Function: noun
Etymology: 1grease
1 : one that greases
2 : usually disparaging : a native or inhabitant of Latin America or a Mediterranean land; especially : MEXICAN
3 : an aggressive swaggering young white male usually of working-class background
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Nowhere within that definition are cars mentioned, though, as you'll see a bit further down, cars/'cycles do figure into the equation somewhat.
Now, some are aware of the derogatory way the term has been used for Latin Americans. Though an early use of the term "greaser", you may not realize that it's one of many uses for the word, and that its use originated at various times in history meaning different things (like so many words do!), not just at that point.
The terms have different meanings.
_____________________________________
To take it one step further, here's the Encyclopedia description from Wikipedia:
* Greasers is a subculture that started in the 1950s and continued through the mid-1960s. It is debatable whether the name derives from the heavy use of hair grease or from the dirty state of the clothes and motorcycles they used. In the 1950s the Greasers were rebellious, forming gangs and riding motorcycles. Music of the Greasers was Rock and Roll, Elvis and other "rebellious" music of the era. Their fashion style of leather jackets and denim jeans was inspired by Marlon Brando's The Wild One. Later movies and television programs glorifying Greasers would include The Lords of Flatbush (1974), the Happy Days series (1974-1984), the film Grease (1978) and its 1982 sequel, and The Outsiders (1967).
Worthy of mentioning is the fact that the Greaser sub-culture was largely an American youth phenomenon, where as the British equivalent would be the rockers or Teddy Boy (youth culture)s (Teds) of the 1950's and the Swedish raggare. Although leather and motorcycles were not part of the Teds culture, it was part of the Ton-Up Boys culture of the same era.
The 1960s British parallel to the Greaser would be the Rocker. Rockers evolved from the Ton-Up Boys and Teddy Boys ("Teds") of the previous decade. The term Greaser only came into use later when Hells Angels or hippy bikers started being the norm in the 1970s.
In Australia and New Zealand, the term Bodgie was used for the same phenomenon.
In Estonia - Lõngus (Greasers - Lõngused).
In Scandinavia - Raggare.
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and the, there's
Pachucos
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Excerpt from the St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture:
The pachucos were Latino street rebels of the 1940s who innovated a style and attitude that expressed their defiance of mainstream America. Dressed to kill in zoot suits and with pompadour haircuts they hung out on the streets of East Los Angeles, speaking their own language and asserting their difference from everyone around them. The hairdo to go with the look was the pompadour, a relatively long hair cut for men, worn greased into a quiff at the front and combed into a duck's tail at the back. In the hair the pachucos kept their fileros (flick knives), the thickness of the hair style providing a secure hiding place for weapons.
_______________________________________
Hope this helps everyone realize that no one here is right or wrong, and that it really ain't any big deal what people call you. Now, if you're labelling yourself something and people are tryin' to tell you different, look to these long-standing historical definitions and then give 'em what-for!
See ya 'round!
T.Paul
www.t-paul.com/
******************************************
Well, I personally couldn't give the ass of a dyin' rat if ya call me a greaser, a ted, a rocker, or a magical blossoming fart blooming in the desert's dust! When I first started greasing my hair into a pompadour was back in 1977 when my family and I moved from Canada to Camden Town, London, England. My new neighbourhood has Teddy Boys, punks, skinheads, and a generally wide and varied array of outcasts. I made my choice for this look based on the music, who my mates were, and what I liked. That don't make me a Ted today, nor a greaser, nor...well - you get the idea, right?
Do people call me a greaser? Yep...oh - and I also hear "Elvis" at least 5 times a day from idiots, and Ted, and rockabilly guy...who really cares?
BURSTIN' ALL THE BUBBLES
************************
I've heard many-an-argument over this whole thing, which makes me chuckle at the blatant insecurity and non-inclusivity of many folks.
Hate to tell all y'all who argue that a "real" greaser has to know cars or just wears the 'do and the drapes from the 50's, but it's both the hair and the cars, separately and/or together. When looking at it from the dictionary's perspective, this is what we get:
greas•er
Pronunciation: 'grE-z&r, -s&r
Function: noun
Etymology: 1grease
1 : one that greases
2 : usually disparaging : a native or inhabitant of Latin America or a Mediterranean land; especially : MEXICAN
3 : an aggressive swaggering young white male usually of working-class background
___________________________________________
Nowhere within that definition are cars mentioned, though, as you'll see a bit further down, cars/'cycles do figure into the equation somewhat.
Now, some are aware of the derogatory way the term has been used for Latin Americans. Though an early use of the term "greaser", you may not realize that it's one of many uses for the word, and that its use originated at various times in history meaning different things (like so many words do!), not just at that point.
The terms have different meanings.
_____________________________________
To take it one step further, here's the Encyclopedia description from Wikipedia:
* Greasers is a subculture that started in the 1950s and continued through the mid-1960s. It is debatable whether the name derives from the heavy use of hair grease or from the dirty state of the clothes and motorcycles they used. In the 1950s the Greasers were rebellious, forming gangs and riding motorcycles. Music of the Greasers was Rock and Roll, Elvis and other "rebellious" music of the era. Their fashion style of leather jackets and denim jeans was inspired by Marlon Brando's The Wild One. Later movies and television programs glorifying Greasers would include The Lords of Flatbush (1974), the Happy Days series (1974-1984), the film Grease (1978) and its 1982 sequel, and The Outsiders (1967).
Worthy of mentioning is the fact that the Greaser sub-culture was largely an American youth phenomenon, where as the British equivalent would be the rockers or Teddy Boy (youth culture)s (Teds) of the 1950's and the Swedish raggare. Although leather and motorcycles were not part of the Teds culture, it was part of the Ton-Up Boys culture of the same era.
The 1960s British parallel to the Greaser would be the Rocker. Rockers evolved from the Ton-Up Boys and Teddy Boys ("Teds") of the previous decade. The term Greaser only came into use later when Hells Angels or hippy bikers started being the norm in the 1970s.
In Australia and New Zealand, the term Bodgie was used for the same phenomenon.
In Estonia - Lõngus (Greasers - Lõngused).
In Scandinavia - Raggare.
_______________________________________
and the, there's
Pachucos
********
Excerpt from the St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture:
The pachucos were Latino street rebels of the 1940s who innovated a style and attitude that expressed their defiance of mainstream America. Dressed to kill in zoot suits and with pompadour haircuts they hung out on the streets of East Los Angeles, speaking their own language and asserting their difference from everyone around them. The hairdo to go with the look was the pompadour, a relatively long hair cut for men, worn greased into a quiff at the front and combed into a duck's tail at the back. In the hair the pachucos kept their fileros (flick knives), the thickness of the hair style providing a secure hiding place for weapons.
_______________________________________
Hope this helps everyone realize that no one here is right or wrong, and that it really ain't any big deal what people call you. Now, if you're labelling yourself something and people are tryin' to tell you different, look to these long-standing historical definitions and then give 'em what-for!
See ya 'round!
T.Paul
www.t-paul.com/
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