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Lauren Perry
Smethurst
English 100
29 October 2012
What is a Hipster Exactly?
“Ten years ago, a man wearing a plain V-neck tee and drinking a Pabst would never be
accused of being a trend-follower,” states Douglas Haddow in his Adbusters article “Hipster: The
Dead End of Western Civilization.” The term “hipster” is becoming increasingly prevalent in
today’s society. The definition of “the hipster” has become more and more contrasting over the
past decade. Some people, like David Monaghan, consider the hipster a modern-day Bohemian,
while Douglas Haddow considers hipsters as a group that essentially borrows trends and fashion
from prior generations. This contrast has created a more complex definition of what it means to
be a hipster. Hipsters have the ability to combine various trends and fashions of past subcultures
into one style. Even though a hipster’s primary intent is to be an individual, hipsters essentially
are consumers who struggle with creating new innovative trends and fashion, as well as
appropriation with the term “hipster,” which is why they lack individuality and selfidentification.
Although hipsters are thought to create new trends by appropriating past and present
fashions, they actually just consume these fashions without making any changes. It has become
quite evident that the typical style of a hipster consists of the combination of past trends. You can
see hipsters “sporting a number of predictable stylistic trademarks: skinny jeans, cotton spandex,
fixed-gear bikes, vintage flannel, fake eyeglasses and a keffiyeh,” Haddow states in the article
“Hipster: The Dead End of Western Civilization.” In a time where corporations have direct
control over the money they spend on advertising, it can be extremely difficult to be an
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individual when you can only consume what is being advertised and sold in stores. By hipsters
being consumers, they use “their capital to purchase empty authenticity,” Haddow states in his
article. Some might say that combining prior trends into one style is originality because it has
not been done before, but consumption of these past and present fashion trends does not allow
hipsters to be authentic. Hipsters have the accessibility to buy into whatever is being sold in
clothing stores, just like most consumers do. Because of this, hipsters have the inability to create
anything that hasn’t already been done before. If something meant for consumption has already
been created, I don’t feel that it can be seen as something new.
Hipsters lack of individuality stems from their common tendency to incorporate past
trends into the present. Hipsters are primarily known for this tendency because it has become so
prevalent in today’s society. In the Society Pages online article “Hipster Rivivalism: Authentic
Technologies of Days Gone Past,” by Dave Paul Strohecker, the author explains how hipsters
look to the past as a source of authenticity because of their desire to differentiate themselves
from mainstream society. This assertion explains why hipsters continue to include past trends in
present-day society. Even though this article gives reference to hipsters’ intention to stand out or
be different, it fails to mention how this desire to be different has turned into something so
common. The rise of the subculture has created a commonality and has in fact become a part of
mainstream society, because so many people are following the hipster trend. Because the
subculture has become so common, the individual aspect of the culture has lessened. By only
consuming and failing to create anything new, hipsters continue to utilize the past to combine
bits and pieces into the present. This attempt to create something new with the past demonstrates
lack of individuality because it is still essentially incorporating trends that have already been
made.
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Due to the hipster’s intent to be an individual, hipsters have often denied affiliation with
the label placed upon them, which is why they struggle with self-identification. This struggle of
self-identity prevents them from defining who they are as individuals as well as a subculture.
Haddow describes a scenario he encountered at a hipster party in the city when he asked a girl if
she was a hipster and she blatantly responded by denying the fact that she was a hipster, even
though everything about her resembled a hipster. This example conveys the idea that hipsters do
in fact have issues with self-identification. In Dave Monaghan’s article, “In Defense of
Hipsters,” Monaghan states that “There are very few, if any, self-avowed hipsters.” An opposing
view might saw that hipsters do not want to be associated with this label because of the negative
connotation that comes with it. Non-hipsters may have a pre-existing notion of what it means to
be a hipster, whether good or bad. All of the aspects associated with the term might scare some
and prevent others from wanting to own up to this association. The struggle of self-identifying
can stem from several factors. Hipsters are often times teens and young adults who are still
trying to find themselves in this confusing and chaotic world. It can be difficult to identify
yourself as part of a particular group without knowing who you really are. Hipsters may also feel
as though they should not be labeled as a part of a particular group, because they feel they should
be recognized as an individual. If you cannot identify yourself, it can be difficult to understand
who you are as an individual.
I don’t feel that hipster’s are creating anything new by combining the past and present,
therefore they should not receive recognition for doing so. The whole idea of being a “hipster”
has been blown out of proportion, due to the various definitions and interpretations of the term.
Dave Monaghan tries to convey the idea that, just like past generations, hipsters “still have goals
and values” and should be given credit for believing in something. Yes, hipsters have goals and
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values just like any other generation, but how can we give them credit on believing in something
that has already surpassed before their time? That’s almost like giving someone credit for
someone else’s invention. All hipsters are essentially doing is recycling old ideas and combining
them to call it their own. I don’t feel that hipsters deserve justification or even acknowledgement
for unoriginality. No characteristics of the hipster resemble anything new or innovative.
With the contrasting definitions of what it means to be a hipster, it can be hard to
specifically identify the subculture. Hipsters essentially are consumers who incorporate and
combine the trends and styles of past generations without creating anything new. The
components of this lifestyle can lead to lack of individuality and self-identification due to
utilizing unoriginal aspects of the past. I don’t feel that hipsters should be given recognition for
combining elements of the past and present because it is not creating any new or innovative. I
don’t think that being a “hipster” is a bad thing, people should dress and act however they please
and do what makes them most happy. The struggle of self-identification within the subculture
can create slight confusion when identifying who exactly is a hipster and what kind of people
identify themselves as a part of the culture. Although you cannot give hipsters credit for
originality or identification, you also cannot suppress them for trying to be an individual in a
world of commonality and consumption.
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Works Cited
Haddow, Douglas. “Hipster: The Dead End of Western Civilization.” Adbusters.com. Adbusters
Media Foundation. 29 Jul. 2008. Web. 27 Sept. 2012
Monaghan, Dave. “In Defense of Hipsters.” Towardfreedom.com. Toward Freedom. 10 Sept.
2008. Web. 1 Oct. 2012
Strohecker, Dave Paul. “Hipster Rivivalism: Authentic Technologies of Days Gone Past.”
Thesocietypages.org. The Society Pages. 25 Nov. 2011. Web. 27 Oct. 2012