I shall not define ska for anyone because, well, there are many ska FAQs out there that define ska, the music that developed out of American R&B, Jazz, and mento, in late 1950's/1960's Jamaica, and give many valuable extensive details about its history. On the other hand, not to many sites out there encompass what I shall hint on in this short "essay": the "rude" ideology, even more specifically rude girls. Here goes some ranting and raving sent out to anyone who cares or to any of those fuckin' "pseudo-rudies"...

Rude girls emerged out of 1960s Jamaica in midst a time of confusion and unemployment. The original rude gals were generally either the girlfriends of the notorious, gun-tottin' rude boys, or the singers in many of the traditional ska bands. Many of the great and well-known rude girls of the Jamaican ska and rocksteady eras included Rita Marley, Doreen Shaffer, Nora Dean, Hortense Ellis, Marica Griffiths, Patsy, Maguerita Mahfood, Phyllis Dillon, and Millie Small.

In conjunction with the remergence of ska in the late 1970s/early 1980s in England, rude girls also resurfaced (not implying that they ever left). The British rude girls of the 80s included many great women, such as Rhoda Dakar of the Bodysnatchers and Pauline Black of the Selector. They were no longer mainly the girlfriends of rude bois, but rather, women with ska in their hearts and souls. Along with the change in the girls, the attitude of the British generation of rude boys also changed with ska's remergence. They dressed in fine suits with their symbolic two-tone shoes and attire, and were no longer the street-hardened, gun tottin' scofflaws as their predecessors had been; much more "mellow," for lack of a better word.

Many attitudes exist towards the rudies today. An enormous amount of people believe that rudies cannot exist in the 90s and many others don't have a fuckin' clue what a rudie is. And yes i will admit, a rudie can be so many things and, as only a dedicated ska fan, it is not my place to define "rudeness." This is just my account of acknowledging and defining dem rude bois and rude girls.

Rude gals in 1990s American society are basically just girls who love ska. No longer can one be just the girlfriend of a rude boy in order to gain the name. They must also have the attitude that i address later in this brief "essay." The girls, generally, have a basic sort of attire (see some parts of my Clothing section for more details), but no specific rules on how to be a rude girl (haha =P) have been set up as to my knowledge. I personally choose to dress in a style like that of a skinhead girl.

Now to hit on the main section of my short discussion, can there be rudies in 1990s America? I say yes, there can be rudies in 1990s America because being rude is part of an ideology, just like being so many other things requires you to have a certain frame of mind. It is not only limited to being a kid from the slums of Jamaica running guns or whatever other illegal activites and dancing all night in the dance halls of Kingston or St. Ann's Bay. Being "rude" is about beliving you are someone when others are trying to convince that you're not. Being "rude" is about standing up for what you believe in no matter what you are given to fight with or what you are fighting for. Being "rude" is being slick, clever, well-dressed, and respectful of your roots. Therefore, being "rude" is more of a universal term and is not limited to 1960s Jamaica, as many people tend to believe. And yes, being a rude boi or rude girl must also encompass the following which is best wrapped up as...

*As stated in the main ska FAQ, "Today, a Rude Boy or Rude Girl is a dedicated ska fan, with a sense of history, style and the ska scene."*

Back to main page.