Hipsters and Hippies: A Primer for the Uninitiated

One element which I didn't anticipate would be part of my transition West was reentry into two worlds from which I felt relatively removed in my last setting: Hipsters and Hippies.

Many will agree that Portland, OR is a hipster mecca. I know this is true because when I was last there I saw both a man wearing a brown corduroy tuxedo with tails plus a fedora and also a boutique shop dedicated exclusively to exotic salts. Many will also agree that Eugene, OR, has long been a cultural center for hippies. I know this is true because many of the children here look as though they've just escaped the set of the latest production of Peter Pan and also because there are entire booths at the community market here dedicated to selling small glass jars in which to store your marijuana.

Anyhow, for those of you who live outside these two places, I thought a short primer based on my own experience might be helpful in case you are ever forced to engage with these subcultures in the future.

HIPSTERS

Thanks to talknerdytome.org for this great image of ironic suckage.

UrbanDictionary.com defines hipsters thus: "Hipsters are a subculture of men and women typically in their 20's and 30's that value independent thinking, counter-culture, progressive politics, an appreciation of art and indie-rock, creativity, intelligence, and witty banter. Although "hipsterism" is really a state of mind,it is also often intertwined with distinct fashion sensibilities. Hipsters reject the culturally-ignorant attitudes of mainstream consumers, and are often be seen wearing vintage and thrift store inspired fashions, tight-fitting jeans, old-school sneakers, and sometimes thick rimmed glasses. Both hipster men and women sport similar androgynous hair styles that include combinations of messy shag cuts and asymmetric side-swept bangs. The "effortless cool" urban bohemian look of a hipster is exemplified in Urban Outfitters and American Apparel ads which cater towards the hipster demographic....." And it goes on and on like that advocating the many wonderfully enlightened attitudes of hipsters around fashion, education, gender-norms, consumerism, etc. and critiquing with great joy those who have failed to join the hipster movement. Perhaps my favorite part of the article was this, "A lot of anti-hipster sentiment evidently comes from culturally-clueless suburban frat boy types who feel that the more sensitive, intelligent, and culturally aware hipster ideal threatens their insecure sense of masculinity. Anti-hipster sentiment often comes from people who simply can't keep up with social change and are envious of those who can." Wow.

But let me provide a simpler and more direct definition: Hipsters are people who are ironically into things that suck. The irony part of hipster-dom is perhaps the most genius social development of the last decade. Hipsters have basically proclaimed a socially radical paradox: "Anything that is not cool is cool." They have thus elevated geekdom to a new level of social control and fundamentally overturned the traditional coolness hierarchy. Because now you have to be uncool to be cool. It's a whole new world. In case all this sounds too abstract to you, here are some examples of things that hipsters are into ironically, that you will likely agree suck: skinny jeans, plaid shirts, those sunglasses from the 80s with the neon rims, ripped clothing, man purses, looking slightly bored and aloof all the time, shaggy Beiber-esque haircuts. Being into all these things ironcially makes you a hispter.


A warning, though: don't go looking for hipsters to test out this hypothesis. Because the first rule of hipsterdom is don't talk about hipsterdom. That is to say, no one will ever admit to being a hipster. That would be trying to be cool and you will remember that our goal in hipster world is to be uncool and thus emerge, ironcially, into coolness. In researching for this post, I found a number of blog posts that were basic self-defensive apologies for appearing hipster-like, but reassuring readers that the authors were not, in fact, hipsters. Some of them were wearing fidoras in their profile pictures.* But you can seek out hipsters in a more clandestine fashion by downloading this hipster bingo game.

HIPPIES

See centrefashion.com. It's making a comeback!

Hippies are a wholly different matter. Hippies are just into things that suck without irony. Dreadlocks, patchouli oil, just smelling bad generally, drum circles, not wearing bras. There is no trace of irony in the hippies' love for such things. In fact, most hippies are too stoned to be ironic and so therefore will likely never ascend into hipsterdom.

Interestingly, hippies have done a much better job implementing some of the social-equality-idealism that hipsters claim to support. But the hippies don't care about being cool and so have not launched a PR campaign about the coolness of their accomplishments.




So there you have it. Hip/ster/ie Primer. I know you've always wondered. To sign up for a real life Safari of Hip/ster/ie life, email me to reserve a room at the LIOLI Homestead. We have openings all summer.



*Wearing a fidora does not necessarily make you a hipster, although it's a good warning sign. If your child owns a fidora, though, you're definitely a hipster.