In recent months, the divisive British ‘chav’ stereotype – which was born under Tony Blair’s New Labour, and is used to demonise the working working class – has been revived on TikTok.

The trend sees users – who are primarily part of Gen Z – share ‘chav check’ videos, heavy make-up tutorials, and compilations of the UK’s ‘chavviest’ places. Born between 1995 and 2015, most people on TikTok missed out on the cultural proliferation of the ‘chav’, and the more outward class-hating that happened during Blair’s 00s government, meaning they are likely naive to its offensiveness.

This might explain why it’s now spread over to Instagram. Search for ‘chav’ on the app’s effects gallery and you’ll find a filter by Russia-based Ilya, which overlays your face with heavy eyebrows, dark eyeshadow, blush, and what looks like black bronzer, as well as red lipstick and a beauty spot. 

Called ‘chav check’, the filter draws on the TikTok make-up tutorials, which intend to imitate what ‘chavs’ look like. Ilya’s demo video is soundtracked by grime artist Millie B’s “M to the B”, which is the most popular soundtrack to the ‘chav’ videos on TikTok.

“I don’t think my (filter) can offend anyone, because this ‘chav check’ meme has long been popular on the web,” Ilya told VICE. “I didn’t make this (filter) in order to offend anyone. If suddenly this (filter) did offend someone, I would apologise to them and explain why it was created: it was created for fun.”

Ilya’s view of the stereotype is also shared by young creators on TikTok. Speaking to Dazed in July, 17-year-old Mariam said she “didn’t know the word ‘chav’ was traditionally associated with someone of lower social status until now”, adding that it was never her intention to be classist.

“For today’s teens, too young to have encountered the first ‘wave’ of such representations in the early/mid 2000s, this is something new and ‘humorous’,” Majid Yar, a professor of criminology at Lancaster University, and co-author of a 2006 paper titled, The ‘chav’ phenomenon: Consumption, media, and the construction of a new underclass, told Dazed. 

Still, it’s damaging for these stereotypes to continue proliferating on social media. “There’s little doubt in my mind that mockery of particular social groups – especially those who already experience marginality and a lack of opportunity – simply reinforces a culture of class-based discrimination.”

Philippines-based Kiara, who’s also created a ‘chav check’ Instagram filter, asserted to VICE that “it’s a harmless joke”. She said: “Since chav culture has become embedded in our meme and pop culture landscape, social media has helped fuel people’s interest in hopping onto the trend.” As the publication pointed out, while the ‘chav’ may be associated only with meme culture in other countries, in the UK, it’s a very real form of discrimination.