# So what is a hipster exactly? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 20, 2011, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-a-hipster-exactly/600226 "2011-10-20T07:28:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![The\_Lovely\_Margo\_Lane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/34f0e0/32.png) [@The\_Lovely\_Margo\_Lane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Lovely_Margo_Lane)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-a-hipster-exactly/600226/41 "2011-10-20T18:17:46Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Yes, and it fascinates me. My question applies to all trendy behavior. All of a sudden, certain ‘fashion forward’ people are all wearing the same shoes or eyeglasses, and it just doesn’t seem spontaneous. I am very curious about the origin of trends and their propagation. You’re right, it’s not spontaneous, it just happens fast once it takes hold. I remember seeing [those ugly chunky glasses](http://pinkrockcandy.net/fashion/2007/11/20/american-apparel-goes-vintage/) on the American Apparel website a good year before I started seeing them in the wild, and when I did see them it was on the hipster fringe of my fellow art students. It wasn’t for like a year after that that they became as prevalent as they did/still are. So this was a trend that had the groundwork laid by fashion designers, fashion-forward bloggers and other style leaders well before it “spontaneously” erupted all over the scene kids everywhere. The reason it does happen fast once it takes hold, enough to seem instant, is that as I mentioned above these choices (new glasses etc) take up a lot more time and intellectual energy for people who want to be stylish. In this sense “hipsters” are similar to fashionistas - when you spend a lot of your time, energy and other resources looking for new ways to look good to your own standards, you can adopt new fashions a lot quicker than someone who goes to the mall once or twice a year when they need a new pair of pants. (I’m a lot closer to the latter these days) > [@](#): > > As to my stylish preferences, it mostly comes from department stores like Macy’s or Kohl’s, so I am the absolute antithesis of style. Occasionally, I will buy stuff from LL Bean or Eddie Bauer, but that is hardly groundbreaking either. But you do have some preferences, an a certain image you desire to signify through your clothing choices though, right? Like, there are probably certain colors and styles you woudn’t be caught dead in, and certain parameters you stay within? That is a style, and you express that style through fashion. It’s not groundbreaking or forward-thinking perhaps, but it’s there. For you, it’s not a big part of your self image, nor a key area of interest, which is why your choices remain the same for long periods of time. But I’d be very surprised if there aren’t at least some differences between what you wear now and what you wore perhaps 15 or 20 years ago. I’m assuming you’re old enough to have 20 years of adulthood under your belt of course, if that’s not the case sorry. Basic, middle of the road adult styles do change and evolve, it’s just way, way slower than young, hip, or high fashion styles. For example, when I watch reruns of the early years of Seinfeld, the way Jerry dresses (turtlenecks tucked into belted jeans??) looks somewhat odd, whereas my impression is that at the time it was middle-of-the-road. Maybe I’m wrong and he was being portrayed as somewhat fashion-forward, in which case the datedness makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-a-hipster-exactly/600226/42 "2011-10-20T18:22:11Z")
I was really into this thread before there were any replies. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-a-hipster-exactly/600226/43 "2011-10-20T18:27:37Z")
> [@Edward\_The\_Head](#): > > I think I’m more confused now then before. How do you ‘ironically’ wear something? And WTF is a weaboos? > > It’s official, I’m old. “Ironically” wearing something basically means you don’t like the way it looks, but you wear it because it’s hideous and wearing hideous things is mildly amusing to you. Or something like that. Weeaboo is the old 4chan censor for “wapanese,” which, like “wigger” defined a white person (or in reality, any non-Asian) who like to pretend or act like they were Japanese or liked Japanese culture to the absolute exclusion of American culture. Unfortunately, it kind of evolved over time to the point that mentioning you prefer cartoons to live action at all (even if it’s not only Japanese ones), or just happening to like any anime that’s not Cowboy Bebop, or indeed making any comment about Japanese culture not filled with hate and revulsion for anybody that finds it interesting or attractive will get you branded a dreaded weeaboo. Which is a shame, since it’s supposed to specifically label people who don’t feel they belong in their own culture, and project their own values and ideals onto Japanese culture and self-identify as if they “belong” in that culture, often being hilariously mistaken about it in the process. This usually involves a lot of the following: Liking crappy anime “just because it’s anime” and not grading the show on its merits, but simply because it’s a Japanese cartoon. Assuming if you go to Japan you’ll be accepted because of such a love for their culture (read: anime), when in reality most of the things they “love” would cause you to be treated, at best, with mild distaste by the general populace (and that’s the best case scenario). Relentlessly pursuing a Japanese girlfriend/boyfriend to the exclusion of all else. Note the pattern of “to exclusion of all else.” Just liking Japan, or wanting to move there, or happening to have a Japanese SO doesn’t (or rather originally didn’t/shouldn’t) make you a weeaboo, it’s when somebody becomes so focused and entranced by their distorted mental vision of Japanese culture that they basically completely reject their own culture from a “grass is always greener” standpoint, often devolving into assuming things are better simply because they’re Japanese. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-a-hipster-exactly/600226/44 "2011-10-20T18:57:40Z")
“Hipster” is a pretty old word that regularly changes meanings; the definitions are invariably nebulous, and ad hoc, as in this thread. It should probably be avoided. It undoubtedly won’t be. I now have a clear picture of what a weaboo is, thanks to **Jragon**. I’ve never encountered this form of deluded beastie. Seems pretty harmless though; I can’t imagine why anyone would get exercised over this obsession. **GovernmentMan** appears to have a fixation on hipsters, whatever they are. Perhaps we can invent a label for that. I like PBR. ---
**Author:** ![mckall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@mckall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mckall)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-a-hipster-exactly/600226/45 "2011-10-20T19:00:09Z")
[Admit It!!!](http://www.plyrics.com/lyrics/sayanything/admitit.html) This pretty much sums up the hatred of hipsters. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-a-hipster-exactly/600226/46 "2011-10-20T19:09:07Z")
My favorite hipster joke: How many hipsters does it take to screw in a lightbulb? It’s a very obscure number. You’ve probably never heard of it. ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-a-hipster-exactly/600226/47 "2011-10-20T19:27:16Z")
> [@GovernmentMan](#): > > So what is a hipster exactly? You are. And your children. And your children’s children. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-a-hipster-exactly/600226/48 "2011-10-20T19:45:13Z")
My neighborhood got overrun by hipsters a couple years back. It’s annoying that they recently “discovered” a neighborhood that was built in the 1920s. What’s also annoying about them is their hipper than thou attitude: they kind of treat the locals who were here before them as if we are extras in the movie playing in their heads; and the hats, my god the stupid little hats the men wear. I miss the drug dealers they pushed out of my neighborhood. Cracked has some funny articles on hipsters and hipsterdom: > **[Cracked.com - America's Only Humor Site | Cracked.com](https://www.cracked.com)** > > A funny website filled with funny videos, pics, articles, and a whole bunch of other funny stuff. Cracked.com, celebrating 50 years of humor. > **[Cracked.com - America's Only Humor Site | Cracked.com](https://www.cracked.com)** > > A funny website filled with funny videos, pics, articles, and a whole bunch of other funny stuff. Cracked.com, celebrating 50 years of humor. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-a-hipster-exactly/600226/49 "2011-10-20T19:56:44Z")
At this point, I think the definition of “hipster” is “Anyone who complains about hipsters.” ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-a-hipster-exactly/600226/50 "2011-10-20T20:17:23Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > Weeaboo is the old 4chan censor for “wapanese,” which, like “wigger” defined a white person (or in reality, any non-Asian) who like to pretend or act like they were Japanese or liked Japanese culture to the absolute exclusion of American culture. Unfortunately, it kind of evolved over time to the point that mentioning you prefer cartoons to live action at all (even if it’s not only Japanese ones), or just happening to like any anime that’s not Cowboy Bebop, or indeed making any comment about Japanese culture not filled with hate and revulsion for anybody that finds it interesting or attractive will get you branded a dreaded weeaboo. Which is a shame, since it’s supposed to specifically label people who don’t feel they belong in their own culture, and project their own values and ideals onto Japanese culture and self-identify as if they “belong” in that culture, often being hilariously mistaken about it in the process. > > This usually involves a lot of the following: > > Liking crappy anime “just because it’s anime” and not grading the show on its merits, but simply because it’s a Japanese cartoon. > > Assuming if you go to Japan you’ll be accepted because of such a love for their culture (read: anime), when in reality most of the things they “love” would cause you to be treated, at best, with mild distaste by the general populace (and that’s the best case scenario). > > Relentlessly pursuing a Japanese girlfriend/boyfriend to the exclusion of all else. [For example.](http://www.hulu.com/watch/289406/saturday-night-live-j-pop-talk-show) ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-a-hipster-exactly/600226/51 "2011-10-20T20:18:11Z")
> [@kelly5078](#): > > … **GovernmentMan** appears to have a fixation on hipsters, whatever they are. Perhaps we can invent a label for that… I think **“L7”** is a pretty good label for our OP… ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-a-hipster-exactly/600226/52 "2011-10-20T20:36:43Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > [For example.](http://www.hulu.com/watch/289406/saturday-night-live-j-pop-talk-show) Oh god that was painful. It was always awkward when in Japanese class there would be some practice question for a grammar in the book that would be like “what can you do to make lots of Japanese friends.” And a lot of people answered “watch lots of anime.” The teachers, bless their hearts, were trying to hard to not shatter their illusions in class, but you could see them getting a bit awkward and uncomfortable considering the um… opinions of the average Japanese person of someone over 17 or so that likes anime. ---
**Author:** ![GovernmentMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9c0ed/32.png) [@GovernmentMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GovernmentMan)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-a-hipster-exactly/600226/53 "2011-10-20T23:02:09Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > My neighborhood got overrun by hipsters a couple years back. It’s annoying that they recently “discovered” a neighborhood that was built in the 1920s. What’s also annoying about them is their hipper than thou attitude: they kind of treat the locals who were here before them as if we are extras in the movie playing in their heads; and the hats, my god the stupid little hats the men wear. I miss the drug dealers they pushed out of my neighborhood. > > Cracked has some funny articles on hipsters and hipsterdom: > [http://www.cracked.com/funny-4573-hipster/](http://www.cracked.com/funny-4573-hipster/) > [http://www.cracked.com/funny-259-hipsters/](http://www.cracked.com/funny-259-hipsters/) I don’t think that first cracked article is accurate. hipster didn’t come from emos or used to be ones ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-a-hipster-exactly/600226/54 "2011-10-20T23:16:10Z")
Honest to god, I hope this series of threads pays off with some explanation of his fixation. Turned down by a girl? Fighting latent hipster tendencies? Otherwise this would be, well, dumb. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Lovely\_Margo\_Lane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/34f0e0/32.png) [@The\_Lovely\_Margo\_Lane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Lovely_Margo_Lane)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-a-hipster-exactly/600226/55 "2011-10-20T23:28:24Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Honest to god, I hope this series of threads pays off with some explanation of his fixation. Turned down by a girl? **Fighting latent hipster tendencies?** > > Otherwise this would be, well, dumb. [emphasis mine] Behold, [our humble OP.](http://themusicslut.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/pitchfork-dan-deacon-web.jpg) 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2011, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-a-hipster-exactly/600226/56 "2011-10-21T01:14:29Z")
> [@maserschmidt](#): > > honest to god, i hope this series of threads pays off with some explanation of his fixation. hipsters killed my parents! ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2011, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-a-hipster-exactly/600226/57 "2011-10-21T01:19:55Z")
The traits hardest to condone, In other people, are one’s own! ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2011, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-a-hipster-exactly/600226/58 "2011-10-21T02:51:58Z")
> [@GovernmentMan](#): > > I don’t think that first cracked article is accurate. hipster didn’t come from emos or used to be ones If you don’t know what a hipster is, how do you know where they do or do not come from? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2011, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-a-hipster-exactly/600226/59 "2011-10-21T03:04:49Z")
I think he’s a wannabe hipster, since he’s asked if we like hipster movies (and suggested ones that aren’t hipster) or hipster girls. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2011, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-a-hipster-exactly/600226/60 "2011-10-21T03:07:06Z")
A wannabe hipster? That’s so meta. I would be a hipster but it’s too mainstream. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-a-hipster-exactly/600226.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-a-hipster-exactly/600226.md?page=4)