The term bogan (/ˈboʊɡən/) is an Australian and New Zealand slang word that can be used to describe a person with a lower working-class background, or whose speech, clothing, attitude and behaviour exemplify a gratified working class mentality and depending on the context, can be pejorative or self-deprecating. The bogan person will generally lack sophistication and refinement.

Over the course of the last several decades, the bogan has become a very widespread and well recognised subculture, often as an example of bad taste. Various localised names exist that describe the same or very similar groups of people.

Etymology

The origin of the term bogan is unclear; both the Macquarie Dictionary and the Australian Oxford Dictionary cite the origin as unknown. According to anecdote, the term emerged in Melbourne's outer-western and outer-eastern suburbs in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The term became widely known in the late 1980s when the teenage character Kylie Mole (played by Mary-Anne Fahey), in the sketch comedy television series The Comedy Company, frequently used the term to disparage anyone she disliked. The same program included a sketch about a magazine called Bogue (a parody of Vogue), which featured traditional bogans. Merrick and Rosso (from Melbourne) also used the term on their Triple J national radio show.

Bogan is a surname. It is from ÓBoughain—a Cinel mBinnigh sept in Donegal and Waterford.

Fictional characters:

References

Bogan can refer to:

Places