Hipster (contemporary subculture)

Ironic (or post-ironic) usage of vintage elements is popular in hipster fashion. Ironic moustaches and moustache tattoos were also popular.

The 21st-century hipster is a subculture (sometimes called hipsterism).[1][2] Fashion is one of the major markers of hipster identity.[3] Members of the subculture typically do not self-identify as hipsters,[1] and the word hipster is often used as a pejorative for someone who is pretentious or overly concerned with appearing trendy.[4]

The subculture is often associated with indie and alternative music. In the United States, it is mostly associated with perceived upper-middle-class white young adults who gentrify urban areas.[2][3][5][6] The subculture has been critiqued as lacking authenticity, promoting conformity and embodying a particular ethic of consumption that seeks to commodify the idea of rebellion or counterculture.[7][8]

The term hipster in its present usage first appeared in the 1990s and became widely used in the late 2000s and early 2010s,[9] being derived from the earlier hipster movements of the 1940s.[10] Globally, hipster culture had become a "global phenomenon"[11] during the early-mid 2010s,[12] before declining from the mainstream by 2016–2017.[13][14]

  1. ^ a b Maly, Ico; Varis, Piia (2016). "The 21st-century hipster: On micro-populations in times of superdiversity". European Journal of Cultural Studies. 19 (6): 637–653. doi:10.1177/1367549415597920. S2CID 146130869.
  2. ^ a b Greif, Mark (October 24, 2010). "What Was the Hipster?". New York Mag. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
  3. ^ a b Lorentzen, Christian (May 30, 2007). "Kill the hipster: Why the hipster must die: A modest proposal to save New York cool". Time Out New York. Archived from the original on July 25, 2008. Retrieved July 28, 2007.
  4. ^ Thorne, Tony, 2014, Dictionary of Contemporary Slang, sv. "Hipster", p. 217.
  5. ^ Hughes, Evan (23 January 2013). "The Great Inversion in New Brooklyn". utne.com. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  6. ^ Weeks, Linton (17 November 2011). "The Hipsterfication Of America". NPR. NPR.org. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  7. ^ Maly; Varis 2016: "As a result, a picture of hipster culture emerges as a translocal and layered phenomenon with contextually specific claims to authenticity." ..."What is absolutely crucial – and global – in defining a hipster is the claim to authenticity, uniqueness and individuality" ... "distinction and claims to authenticity (and not being 'like everybody else') lie at the core of the hipster culture." ..."with an enormous emphasis on style, fashion and a particular ethic of consumption"
  8. ^ Horning, Rob (2010). "Death of the Hipster". In Greif, Mark; Ross, Kathleen; Tortorici, Dayna (eds.). What Was the Hipster? A Sociological Investigation. New York: n+1 Foundation/HarperCollins. pp. 82, 87, 93. ISBN 9780982597712. ...the hipster is defined by a lack of authenticity, by a sense of lateness to the scene, or by the fact that his arrival fashions the scene — transforms people who are doing their thing into a self-conscious scene, something others can scrutinize and exploit.
  9. ^ Delaney, Brigid (November 6, 2010). "Hipsters in firing line in 2010s culture war". Sydney Morning Herald.
  10. ^ Dan Fletcher (July 29, 2009). "Hipsters". time.com. Archived from the original on July 30, 2009. Retrieved November 1, 2009.
  11. ^ Pfeiffer, Alice (2015-10-03). "The hipster is dead. Long live the hipster". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  12. ^ Concordian, The (2011-10-31). "Hipster: counter-culture or mindless trend?". The Concordian. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  13. ^ "Capturing the death of the Brooklyn hipster". Huck Magazine. 2016-10-24. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  14. ^ Leszkiewicz, Anna (2019-12-12). "H is for Hipster: The decade the dickhead died". New Statesman. Retrieved 2023-04-13.