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The word "hipster" has always rubbed me the wrong way, mainly because people have very strong opinions about hipsters, and I'm still not entirely sure that word

The word "hipster" has always rubbed me the wrong way, mainly because people have very strong opinions about hipsters, and I'm still not entirely sure that word means anything. Google's definition is "a person who follows the latest trends and fashions, especially those regarded as being outside the cultural mainstream." We used to call people who followed the latest trends and fashions "trendy". The only difference between "trendy" and "hipster" seems to be the qualifier at the end of the hipster definition: "...especially those regarded as being outside the cultural mainstream." But that feels weasle-wordy to me. It's like saying, "a hipster is someone who follows the latest trends and fashions, except when they don't". People have been wearing flannel and hats for a long time (check your parents' photo albums). Whether or not the person wearing those clothes considers themselves to be making a new fashion statement seems to be an assumption made on behalf of the person calling the other a hipster. Because of that, hearing someone call another person a hipster has always come across as that person projecting their emotions onto another person, not as a description of anything that's actually real.

chrisseaton 8y ago
Wikipedia has what I think is an extremely accurate and non-judgemental indicative definition of a hipster > The hipster subculture is stereotypically composed of young adults who reside primarily in gentrified neighborhoods. It is broadly associated with indie and alternative music and genres such as chill-out, folk, modern rock, pop rock, and post-Britpop. Hipsters also frequently flaunt a varied non-mainstream fashion sensibility, vintage and thrift store-bought clothing, pacifist and green views, generally vegan, consume organic and artisanal foods, craft alcoholic beverages, and alternative lifestyles. The subculture typically consists of mostly white young adults living in urban areas. It has been described as a "mutating, trans-Atlantic melting pot of styles, tastes and behavior" To me eyes there is definitely a large and distinct subculture with these characteristics. To be a bit more judgemental, another good definition of hipster is "what happens when pastiche and irony exhaust themselves as aesthetics" (Rob Horning, also in that article.)
- QuantumYeti 8y ago
  There are so many different characteristics listed under that definition that virtually all young white people could be called a hipster to some degree. I still disagree with the judgemental definition of hipster. You could call anyone wearing clothes that aren't totally unique "pastiche". Assuming they're wearing the clothes out of a sense of "irony" is projecting.
  - chrisseaton 8y ago
    > There are so many different characteristics listed under that definition that virtually all young white people could be called a hipster to some degree. I think that's pretty common in social subcultures though isn't it? It's an indicative description of something that's emerged naturally. It's not a mathematical formula. If you want perfect that you'll need to give up trying to define cultures entirely.
    - QuantumYeti 8y ago
      That's a good point, most subcultures aren't going to perfectly describe everyone in them. I think my problem with the Wikipedia definition is that it's so overly broad that it's virtually unfalsifiable if you're young and white. That wouldn't be bad by itself (it would just be a large category of people). I guess the reason it bugs me is because it is so broad and so commonly -- exclusively, in my personal experience -- used as a pejorative.
      - existencebox 8y ago
        "I think my problem with the Wikipedia definition is that it's so overly broad that it's virtually unfalsifiable if you're young and white" Not my experience whatsoever. Philadelphia public school growing up, we had young white kids who would have unambiguously fallen into categories of "Punk" "metalhead" "goth" "hood" to just name a few of the most cliched highschool-sitcom-but-actually groups. (there was even regular assertions that "hipster" and "scene" were different but that one never really grokked for me) Especially having lived east vs. west coast over the last decade, the assertion that there isn't a distinct subculture in a non-derogatory way that can be defined usefully as "hipster" doesn't ring true for me. And for the most part, even growing up, I never got the sense the grouping was malicious except in rare cases. Most kids would own their tastes (usually associated with music and dress) and would probably take insult if you confused their clique :P (And less in the "you just shit on me" way, but that could happen, more in the "how the hell could you confuse that" fashion, which implies to me that others saw the same clean voluntary-group-agglomeration that I saw.)
jdhzzz 8y ago
I have the opposite reaction to the word hipster. The first time I heard/read it I knew _exactly_ what what it implied even though I couldn't (and still can't) succinctly define it. It brings an image to my mind and a smile to my face.
ykevinator 8y ago
A hipster is a young man with a beard.

chrisseaton 8y ago

Wikipedia has what I think is an extremely accurate and non-judgemental indicative definition of a hipster > The hipster subculture is stereotypically composed of young adults who reside primarily in gentrified neighborhoods. It is broadly associated with indie and alternative music and genres such as chill-out, folk, modern rock, pop rock, and post-Britpop. Hipsters also frequently flaunt a varied non-mainstream fashion sensibility, vintage and thrift store-bought clothing, pacifist and green views, generally vegan, consume organic and artisanal foods, craft alcoholic beverages, and alternative lifestyles. The subculture typically consists of mostly white young adults living in urban areas. It has been described as a "mutating, trans-Atlantic melting pot of styles, tastes and behavior" To me eyes there is definitely a large and distinct subculture with these characteristics. To be a bit more judgemental, another good definition of hipster is "what happens when pastiche and irony exhaust themselves as aesthetics" (Rob Horning, also in that article.)

QuantumYeti 8y ago
There are so many different characteristics listed under that definition that virtually all young white people could be called a hipster to some degree. I still disagree with the judgemental definition of hipster. You could call anyone wearing clothes that aren't totally unique "pastiche". Assuming they're wearing the clothes out of a sense of "irony" is projecting.
- chrisseaton 8y ago
  > There are so many different characteristics listed under that definition that virtually all young white people could be called a hipster to some degree. I think that's pretty common in social subcultures though isn't it? It's an indicative description of something that's emerged naturally. It's not a mathematical formula. If you want perfect that you'll need to give up trying to define cultures entirely.
  - QuantumYeti 8y ago
    That's a good point, most subcultures aren't going to perfectly describe everyone in them. I think my problem with the Wikipedia definition is that it's so overly broad that it's virtually unfalsifiable if you're young and white. That wouldn't be bad by itself (it would just be a large category of people). I guess the reason it bugs me is because it is so broad and so commonly -- exclusively, in my personal experience -- used as a pejorative.
    - existencebox 8y ago
      "I think my problem with the Wikipedia definition is that it's so overly broad that it's virtually unfalsifiable if you're young and white" Not my experience whatsoever. Philadelphia public school growing up, we had young white kids who would have unambiguously fallen into categories of "Punk" "metalhead" "goth" "hood" to just name a few of the most cliched highschool-sitcom-but-actually groups. (there was even regular assertions that "hipster" and "scene" were different but that one never really grokked for me) Especially having lived east vs. west coast over the last decade, the assertion that there isn't a distinct subculture in a non-derogatory way that can be defined usefully as "hipster" doesn't ring true for me. And for the most part, even growing up, I never got the sense the grouping was malicious except in rare cases. Most kids would own their tastes (usually associated with music and dress) and would probably take insult if you confused their clique :P (And less in the "you just shit on me" way, but that could happen, more in the "how the hell could you confuse that" fashion, which implies to me that others saw the same clean voluntary-group-agglomeration that I saw.)

jdhzzz 8y ago

I have the opposite reaction to the word hipster. The first time I heard/read it I knew _exactly_ what what it implied even though I couldn't (and still can't) succinctly define it. It brings an image to my mind and a smile to my face.

ykevinator 8y ago

A hipster is a young man with a beard.