The term "feral" means "wild". In Australian slang, a "feral" generally refers to a person who dresses and acts in what is seen to be an uncontrolled manner: In many instances it is a derogative form instead of the more positive Hippie. There is a strong correlation between this manner and what the most noticeably different-from-mainstream poor do. Slang is the non-standard or non-dialectal use of words in a language of a particular social group, and sometimes the creation of new words or importation of words from another language. ...

It often used as an equivalent to the American epithets white trash (although it does not denote any particular race) or trailer trash. It is also applied to foreign backpackers and (usually young) middle-class people that dress and/or act in a "feral" way (like the "traditional" uni student). White trash is an American ethnic slur with a social class component. ... Trailer park trash (or trailer trash) is a derogatory U.S. English term for people who live in trailers or mobile homes, especially in trailer parks. ... Backpacking is traveling long distances with a backpack. ...

Note that without any popular texts defining the term, (unlike bogan), perceptions of what a "feral" is range widely. Stereotypically a feral fails to wash regularly, partakes in drugs, is unemployed, dressed in dirty hippie-style clothing and often has dreadlocks. Look up bogan in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Dreadlocks, sometimes called simply dreads or locks, are matted ropes of hair which will form by themselves if the hair is allowed to grow naturally without the use of brushes, combs, razors or scissors for a long period of time. ...

Poor Ferals

Ferals are usually from the lowest stratum of Australian society, lower than the roughly equivalent bogan/bevan/westy. They typically live in cheap houses, usually situated in the outer suburbs where employment is low, or ex-industrial suburbs that are yet to go through urban renewal. Look up bogan in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Westie, or Westy, is a term used broadly throughout Australasia to describe white members of a blue collar or underclass subculture (cf. ... Blight often stands side-by-side with new structures during urban renewal efforts. ...

People in urban areas do not usually associate them with the rural poor, perhaps due to the traditionally idealist views which surround "the bush" and its rural inhabitants. However, such people are found in many rural areas, and are known as "ferals" by their neighbours. Bush is the name of some things and places, and a family name. ...

Some subsist on welfare, and many have bad teeth. Their speech is characterised by an excess of the Australian tendencies to roll successive syllables into one continuous diphthong, as well as a broad, nasal drawl that would make Steve Irwin sound Elizabethan by comparison. Although usually lacking in education, their knowledge of the availability and eligibility for statutory benefits is often remarkably extensive. In phonetics, a diphthong (Greek and ending tongue positions. ... Steve Irwin Stephen Robert Steve Irwin (born 22 February 1962 in Essendon, Victoria, Australia) is the owner and manager of the Australia Zoo at Beerwah, Queensland, Australia. ... The Elizabethan Era is the period associated with the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558 - 1603) and is often considered to be a golden age in English history. ...

Their modes of dress likewise consist of the most laconic and characteristic aspects of Australian fashion taken to almost self-parodying excess. Both sexes wear thongs (the footwear, not the underwear) and cheap tracksuit pants (the colloquial "two-dollar trakky daks"). Females will wear cheap, revealing synthetic tank tops and boob tubes. A female who persists in wearing such clothes during pregnancy will almost certainly be presumed to be feral. A male feral will usually aspire to buying an older, barely running but often heavily modified Australian or American car, the Holden Commodore being the model of choice. Such cars are termed "bombodores" by non-feral observers, the "bomb" prefix meaning a car that is old and unreliable. In footwear and fashion, flip-flops are a kind of flat, backless sandal that consist of simple soles held on the foot by a V-shaped strap that passes between the toes and around either side of the foot, attached to the sole at three points. ... The Holden Commodore is a car built by the Holden division of General Motors in Australia. ...

In sharp contrast to other pejorative labels such as redneck or nigger, very few if any people identify themselves as "ferals" out of a sense or ironic or countercultural pride. Adjacent residents of caravan parks will freely lambast each other as "ferals" without any attempt at conscious irony. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Nigger, also spelled niger (obs. ...

The label frequently functions as an adjective, usually in the context of a pejorative insult commonly exchanged between females. "You feral mole" is something akin to calling someone a slut and does not necessarily require that the receipient be lower-class. ‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ...

Certain suburbs are notorious for their association with feral populations. Macquarie Fields and Mount Druitt near Sydney are identified as such as are Ipswich and Inala in Brisbane. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Mount Druitt is a suburb in the City of Blacktown, in Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. ... Ipswich is a Borough which is the county town of Suffolk in East Anglia, England, and a local government district on the estuary of the River Orwell. ... Inala is a working-class suburb of Brisbane, Australia. ...

Left Wing Ferals

Often people living alternative lifestyles or who are associated with radical left wing politics are also called "feral" even if they are educated people. Right wing tabloid columnists often deride "the feral Left" or the "feral Greens", perhaps to reserve an extra layer of vitriol for those to the left of even the lesser-hated-but-still-reviled centre-Left chattering classes and chardonnay socialist. The chattering classes is a term often used in the media and by political commentators, particularly in the United Kingdom and Australia, to refer to a politically active, socially concerned and highly educated elite section of the middle class. ... Chardonnay socialist is a derogatory Australasian term used to describe those on the political left with comfortable middle-class (or better) incomes, tertiary education, and a taste for the finer things in life. ...

Ferals in the Daintree

In the town of Cairns, a segment of the population simply lives in the Daintree rainforest, either on freehold blocks or squatting. Cairns is tropical and tropical fruit is available wild all year round, and such a lifestyle is quite feasible provided there is a town of working people nearby to support you if you become sick or are injured. These people come into town once a fortnight to fill in their dole forms, and are also known as ferals. Daintree is a name applying to a number of features in Far North Queensland. ... Cairns is a regional city located in far north Queensland, Australia. ... The Chien Rouge in Lausanne, a squat held in the old hospital. ... The Dole is a British English term for state-subsidized living wages, equivalent to American English welfare. ...

Australian Aboriginals, even if they live a native lifestyle (not owning property, etc), are not ferals. The term applies exclusively to non-aboriginal persons. Indigenous peoples are: Peoples living in an area prior to colonization by a state Peoples living in an area within a nation-state, prior to the formation of a nation-state, but who do not identify with the dominant nation. ...