International Greaser Equivalents: Bodgies and Widgies

And now we have reached our final destination (dun dun dun) of the week. Rockabeau has found himself in Australia (figuratively)! Down under, we have the Bodgies and Widgies. Bodgies and widgies are the quintessential rebels for Australian and some New Zealand natives.

The subculture materialized after World War II during the 1950’s. They were seamen who impersonated Americans and worked on the black market. The term “bodgie” came from those of which who bought cheap fabric and tried to pass it off and American-made. “Widgie” was just an alternative title for bodgies.

Bodgies were working class individuals who emulated high class Americans. Within their groups, they enjoyed fighting, causing trouble, alcohol, cars, and music. They enjoyed hard rock and metal music. A few of the cars they drove were Chevrolets, Fords, and Pontiacs.

When it came to clothes, gender came into question. Widgies followed suit to how their male counterparts would dress. This included cutting their hair and wearing more masculine clothing, which shocked the public. Bodgies and widgies were influenced by the look of James Dean, and had the usual t-shirt, jeans and black leather jacket combo. Elvis inspired their type of hairstyle, which are quiffs.

And away we go, Rockabeau ;)

Sources

Bodgies and Widgies. Wikipedia. 11 April 2017. Accessed 20 April 20, 201. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodgies_and_Widgies

Vehicles Driven by Greasers

A notable feature of greaser subculture is their transportation.

The models Greasers choose to ride were not too different from what the public would drive, they would just have to settle for older models. Since greasers are of a lower class, they did not have much access to newer car models. Thus, greasers turned to older models, which they customized themselves. They were customized with decals and the engines were altered to accelerate faster.

Per our neighborhood friendly Tom Cat, greasers usually drove Ford Mercury’s, and Chevy’s. Tom Cat suggests a Dodge D-500, an Impala or a Chevrolet Bel Air to fit the classic mold.

A greaser’s choice of transportation was influenced by hot rods, and muscle cars. Hot rods are American cars that have larger engines than usual cars. These are used to enhance acceleration. Muscle cars are two door sports cars; they are made for high performance activity.

I turned to the media to see what other renditions of vehicles that greasers had. The movie/musical, Grease, had a solid answer. The classic Greased Lighting, the T-Birds car of choice was a 1948 Ford De Luxe.

Is there a dream car you would like to drive? Tell me in the comments

And away we go, Rocakbeau ;)

Sources

"Greaser (subculture)". Wikipedia. 4 April, 2017. Date Acessed 4 April, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLt6nFRTULw