What the Hell is a "Hipster"?

["Hollywood" Cactus Matt]

Someone called me a "hipster" the other day, because I wear "crazy" t-shirts and ripped jeans and glasses. I like my shirts, my jeans still fit, and I need the glasses to see. I like "underground" music, but I can appreciate the mainstream stuff, too. Still, apparently all of this makes me a "hipster," even though I have no idea what the hell that's even supposed to mean.

I know what a hippie is, and what a punk is, and even what people are calling "emo" these days (although that's a debate for a different thread); but what is a "hipster," and am I one?

Bear in mind that labels like the examples above always make me laugh more than anything, but I'm still curious to know what's what.

[Young Game]

www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hipster

[Turd Ferguson]

The worst kind of person?

[Tarik Dee]

Someone who think everyone and everything sold out, and the only things that are true and original are the things he know.

[Ben Wyatt]

Aug 4, 2010 12:07:00 GMT -5 Tarik Dee said:

Someone who think everyone and everything sold out, and the only things that are true and original are the things he know.

Pretty much

[Allie Kitsune]

Aug 4, 2010 12:16:55 GMT -5 Ben Wyatt said:

Aug 4, 2010 12:07:00 GMT -5 Tarik Dee said:

Someone who think everyone and everything sold out, and the only things that are true and original are the things he know.

Pretty much

I have to add, they like to appropriate "low quality" things with the claim of only liking them ironically, until it gets to the point that they forget it was supposed to be "ironic" and actually becomes a legitimate part of their identity (wearing a keffiyeh, drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon, etc...)

They also probably listen to Y-Not internet radio

[The Line]

It's just a way for people to label people and stick them into inferior groups that they can insult because racism and sexism aren't socially cool anymore.

[Perd]

Just be glad that you are not a hipster doofus.

[Nerdkiller the threadkiller]

These guys?



They're the ones right of Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty.

[Ace Baretta]

Psht, if you don't know, then you're just not with it, you're stuck in the past man, get in the now and then realize you won't even be as knowledgable as the rest of us.

[Paul]

Anyone who says "Honest to blog".

[AriadosMan]

At this point, its transcended the minor demographic it originally described and is just a devil word for anyone the user doesn't like.

[Cranjis McBasketball]

Your vague description of yourself, sounds like you're a hipster.

Aug 4, 2010 12:25:28 GMT -5 The Line said:

It's just a way for people to label people and stick them into inferior groups that they can insult because racism and sexism aren't socially cool anymore.

As opposed to when racism and sexism was cool and we had hippies, mods, beats, squares.......

[The OP]

A hipster is really the best kind of person. The term is most often used as a reactionary non-insult from people who are too intellectually lazy to think outside the box and enjoy anything they're not told to like by mainstream TV and radio. If you listen to underground music or have a different style you get called a hipster, as if those things are bad. Those things are great, so don't be intimidated by boring, jealous dumb asses!

[Ali Du Jour]

Those all describe the behavior of a hipster. Liking things and turning on them when they become mainstream, and liking things ironically are what I generally associate with hipster culture. The PBR thing kills me, because it's now so cool to order it in bars and costs as much as the other beers on tap, while in college, it was the beer you bought when you couldn't afford beer.

I think the OP was called a hipster because of his clothing and look. So, I direct you to this blog LATFH www.latfh.com (WARNING: Language in site title) for a more visual idea of a hipster. The glasses are definitely a prevalent item.

[celticjobber]

Aug 4, 2010 14:12:09 GMT -5 AriadosMan said:

At this point, its transcended the minor demographic it originally described and is just a devil word for anyone the user doesn't like.

Is hipster really an insult?

It's such a big subculture now that I think of it as just another label, like punks, emos, goths, and scene kids.

[Deleted]

Aug 4, 2010 16:20:45 GMT -5 celticjobber said:

Aug 4, 2010 14:12:09 GMT -5 AriadosMan said:

At this point, its transcended the minor demographic it originally described and is just a devil word for anyone the user doesn't like.

Is hipster really an insult?

It's such a big subculture now that I think of it as just another label, like punks, emos, goths, and scene kids.

No, it's not an insult.

I consider myself one, to be honest. Ain't nothin' wrong with it.

[Sickfit, King Of The Fits]

I don't know what to think a hipster is anymore. I'd like to say that the worst iteration of a hipster is someone who likes to think they are important to the world thanks to their contributions and opinions and likes to show the pratfalls of humanity by exploiting irony, quirkiness and the independent culture.

However, in the best sense, I think the hipster could be the modern existentialist. I mean, I could imagine that the only reason someone could act so arrogant and stubborn is because they have some sort of belief they wish to uphold. I'm just gonna guess that when you mix the question of being unique and being faithful to human ideals and your father's trust fund...you get a hipster.

[Macho Dude Handy Damage]

Aren't hipsters also usually associated with being Apple fanboys?

[Maniac Mitch]

Aug 4, 2010 14:49:24 GMT -5 The OP said:

A hipster is really the best kind of person. The term is most often used as a reactionary non-insult from people who are too intellectually lazy to think outside the box and enjoy anything they're not told to like by mainstream TV and radio. If you listen to underground music or have a different style you get called a hipster, as if those things are bad. Those things are great, so don't be intimidated by boring, jealous dumb asses!

I think people tend to reserve "hipster" more for people who push into being snobbish about their "ecclectic" tastes and develope a superiority complex based on that. To me, a hipster is the type of person you see walking the aisles of a music store making snide comments every two feet just loud enough so that everyone around them will know how "above this crap" they are. Then they roll their eyes whenever somebody hasn't heard of whatever obscure, bootleg, experimental, limited edition LP of Swedish people farting they happen to be listening to this week.

To me the difference between someone with obscure tastes and a hipster is attitude. It's not enough for them to like the things they like, they need to feel they're better than you because they like those things. That's the definition of hipster for me.