杀马特 [sha ma te]

"Shamate" is an emerging subculture in China. It represents a group of young urban migrants who are in their late teens or early 20s.

Featuring an exaggerated hairstyle, odd makeup and cheap clothing bought in street markets, they usually linger in small hair salons, smoky Internet cafes or street market stalls in China's big cities. Most of the shamate only have a middle school education and few skills, working low-paid jobs like hairdressers, security guards, delivery people, or servers.

Shamate -- named after a deliberately direct translation of pronunciation of the English word "smart"— is not a commendatory term. Instead, it refers to philistinism. These young migrants from small towns and villages hope to gain attention with their cheap and kitsch fashion tastes and try to integrate into urban life. But they are alienated from mainstream life.

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