Hipster and Hipster-isms History of the Hipster A term believed to have been coined in the 1940s, described as the

Jazz Era. During this time hipsters were seen as trying to emulate the Jazz musicians. The subculture expanded rapidly and became even more of the counter culture after WWII. Inside the original subculture was another subculture known as the beatniks. Well known writer Jack Kerouac was seen as being a beatnik in his time. Having done far too many drugs, many beatniks gave up on the scene. This is when the hipsters first evolve into the hippies. Having formed during the mid-1960s, they were an influential counter culture during difficult times. They were similar to the earlier hipsters, except they valued personal appearance less and psychedelic drugs more. After the subculture disappeared and former hippies got jobs sitting in offices, the hipster evolves again. These hipsters were commonly defined as yuppies, which stands for young, urban, professional. There was discussion of this forming subculture in 1968, although the term was not coined until 1980, by Dan Rottenberg. These yuppies shared the love of sex, drugs, and partying much like their predecessors, except instead of dropping acid at Woodstock they were doing cocaine in a Studio 54 bathroom. Their main difference was their expensive taste and extravagant personal items. Also, similar to what happened to the previous subcultures they eventually died out as well. This happened arguably in the 1990s. Now, that brings us to todays hipster. This subculture has absorbed numerous characteristics from the original hipsters, beatniks, hippies, and yuppies. Todays Hipster As mentioned previously, the hipster in modern times is a mixture of the past hipster culture groups combined into one. Todays hipsters share the appreciation of underground or edgy music

of the original hipsters. Remember back in the day your parents may or may not have approved of black Jazz musicians. With the beatniks they share the common interest of literature and expression in all forms. They have similar tastes for social sciences and theorists such as Che Guevarra. The modern hipsters also draw from hippies their love of peace, being vegetarian, loving music festivals, and having a somewhat unkempt appearance. Finally, with the yuppies the hipsters of today value their personal appearance very highly, and always seek the approval of their peers. Indeed, hipsters today also share the interest in drug experimentation as the previous subcultures. This group is unique to previous hipsters, and has yet to be defined. Modern hipsters being typically defined as liberal, white, middle-upper class, indifferent or snobbish demeanor, and keeping up on the latest trends. It is interesting to note todays hipsters are not proud of the definition of their subculture. However, once again they share an interesting commonality with the previous incantations of the hipster. Everyone not invol ved in their scene or subculture can immediately spot a hipster, beatnik, hippie, yuppie, etc. This is because of a shared perception of their subcultures, a social construction that causes us to label them as such. Hipster-isms Because of their commonality with beatniks, their love of clothes and value on physical appearance, modern day hipsters often are caught doing many of the following hipster-isms in clothing and appearance. Modern day hipsters are identifiable by participating in or being described as of the following hipster-isms.

- Clothing/Accessories:
-rolled pants skinny jeans fake army apparel thick glasses frogskins (sunglasses) beanie hats

boots in the summer any jeans that arent blue vintage suits wearing a bike lock bow ties ironic tattoos cardigans suspenders

thick wool socks plaid -capris for men -loose tank tops converse (chuck taylors) deep v necks fedoras box caps jean jackets wearing buttons on your apparel big headphones vests scarves band t shirts messenger bags fanny packs leather jackets keys on carabineer headbands windbreakers satchels berets jean shorts tights bandanas guitar case colorful hoodies blank t-shirts

Peace loving Vegetarian Counter-culture Save the environment Indifference Apathy Higher education Being ironic

Hobbies:
hangs out at coffee shop poetry photography abstract art festivals biking everywhere urban gardening playing music in public getting mugged working on a novel Photoshop Blogging Cutting your own hair Occupy Movement Foreign films Indie music Being skinny

Stores: Appearance:
gauges lip/nose piercings musatches (ironic ones) thick beards pale dyed hair H&M American Apparel Trader Joes Whole Foods Kitty Kat Klub Ragstock Thrift stores Urban Outfitters Forever 21

Ideals:
-

Clothing Patterns:
Liberal

Animal print Plaid Stripes Floral Denim Buffalo check Neon Missoni Pabst Blue Ribbon American Spirit, Luckys, Kamels, etc. Converse Generic Surplus H&M American Apparel Vans Keds Pitchfork media Apple

Hipster Capitals:
San Fransisco Minneapolis (Uptown, Dinkytown) Boulder, CO California Canada New York City Chicago

Brands:

Food and Beverage:

Hummus Pita chips Chai lattes Coffee PBR of course Tofu Anything organic Mickeys Tea Pesto

Phrases:
thats too mainstream.. urban gardening youve never heard of them.. when I move to (insert Colorado, California, etc.) corporate greed this is my/my friends band

Music:
The Strokes The Libertines The Arcade Fire The Klaxons Indie rap Indie rock Garage rock Local record stores

Theoretical Analysis of the Hipster

Why is there a general consensus that a real hipster would never admit to actually being one? With such commonalities with previous subcultures, who often would define themselves as such, why do todays hipsters shun their cultural definition? "We are also defining a social experience still in process, often indeed not yet recognized as social but taken to be private, idiosyncratic, and even isolating, but which in analysis (though rarely otherwise) has its emergent, connecting, and dominant characteristics, indeed its specific hierarchies" (p.132). The idea in our heads that causes us to label subcultures, such as hipsters, is a social experience. Because not everyone recognizes a hipster, the social experience can be seen as idiosyncratic meaning more simply peculiar. This is partly why a hipster subculture and subsequent hipsterisms can be recognized through analysis. Because many hipster-isms are peculiar to the shared cultural interpretations of this very moment, we notice them. What is hipster now will not be hipster in 20 years, maybe there wont even be hipsters in 20 years. Relating this idea to Erich Fromms concept of the social character, which is the formation of the shared character structure of the people of a society or a social class according to their way of life (Fromm). This theory is seen as an integration of Marxs theory on how modes of production shape ideology and Freuds theory on the concept of character. Indeed every person that is in the hipster subculture shares at least a similar character structure, which is formed by how they live their lives. As we have seen in hipsters, meaning someone with a number of hipster-isms, there is a disconnect as to what we believe is perceived intrinsically as social projections and what is perceived in reality. Raymond Williams explains this separation as the difference of social consciousness and practical consciousness. Practical consciousness is what is actually being

lived where the former is what more perceived is by the individual. Hipsters generally have a discontent with mainstream culture, which has led to the adoption of characteristics from older counter cultural groups such as beatniks. This has all but become an original form of expression being that the movement away from mainstream has grown so large, making a social movement which parallels mainstream. But with a social structure so large that it almost creates its own stream why is the label of a hipster still shunned? The idea of infantile narcissism was discussed in class, and could be the very reason hipsters choose not to identify themselves as hipsters. The practical consciousness of a hipster is that they are being original and not following in line with other hipsters. This infantile narcissism is evident in all people, but in hipsters it is the very reason they shun their subculture label. Meaning we think of themselves as the center of the universe and do not acknowledge the existence of other like minded (and dressed) individuals with which they share the same social character.

Personal Interviews Interview #1- Tatters Thrift Shop http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA6uJUEiWsM We do this interview with the owner of Tatters, a thrift shop on Lyndale Avenue in Uptown. Besides being a thrift shop, it is also noted for being extremely hipster. The guy we interviewed is somewhere around 60. I couldnt videotape him, but he was wearing a beret, a vintage suit, and thick rimmed glasses. All of these are on the list of hipster-isms. He is liberal, against the war, and during the interview suggests bands weve never heard of. He is an old school hipster, if you watch the video youll hear him mention the scene which was eluded to in the History of the Hipster. When asked if he is in fact a hipster, he responds, a real hipster would never admit

to that. Which corresponds to a unique paradox in this subculture, if a real hipster would never admit to being one, then does admitting to being in the subculture make you not part of it? Interview #2- Sunrise Cyclery http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ykQhLWOwKs&feature=related This interview takes place in Sunrise Cyclery on Lake Street in Uptown. Having not met the physical and appearance characteristics of being a hipster, we ask the employees of the bike shop to define a hipster. Skinny jeans, matching bike parts, argyle socks, and thick glasses are all mentioned as being hipster. We also determined that Waldo from Wheres Waldo is in fact a hipster.

Interview #3 Street Interview http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtfNSawlFLY&feature=related Walking between Sunrise Cyclery and our next destination we spot someone with the physical traits of a hipster and cross the street after him. He had a beanie hat, skinny jeans, Vans shoes, a beard, and is observed smoking an American Spirit cigarette. Its outside in the wind so its difficult to hear. However, during the interview he says he is a liberal and concerned with the environment. He also suggests bands we have never heard of. To conclude our interview, when asked if he is a hipster he responds, everyone is a hipster so yes.

Interview #4 Cheapo Records http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtfNSawlFLY&feature=related

This interview takes place in Cheapo Records on Lake Street in Uptown. We asked the two guys working behind the counter to define a hipster. Both guys acknowledge the fact that hipsters come into their store a lot, and in fact Uptown is crawling with them. Modern rock and the latest indie band is what they would describe as hipster music.

Interview #5 Tattoo Shop http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-A1EhYz9rs&feature=related Our last stop in Uptown was a tattoo parlor, where we spoke with a tattoo artist that works there. He is Latin but did fit the appearance of a hipster. He had gauges, multiple lip piercings, a vest, and also Vans shoes. He claims that it is hard for him to generalize people just by how they look, and that hipster is just a concept. Showing how different cultures interpret the social construction of a hipster, he says that being a hipster and a homosexual are similar. Also, that hipsters are similar to the emo subculture.