Hipster Distinction:
A Social Critique of Taste “You Probably Never Heard Of”
Chase Jennings
CMC 300-Critical Frameworks
October 11th, 2011
Fall Semester
Paper 1
Abstract
This paper employs the concepts of French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s
Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste (1979), which expressed
aesthetic judgment forms a kind of “cultural capital” that is vital for identity and social
power to discuss the contemporary phenomenon of the “hipster” subculture whose
‘banks’ of cultural capital are reliant on preferences of cultural consumption. As artistic
elitism being one of the primary concerns for the modern hipster, this study is loosely
based on Bourdieu’s to reveal the varying claims to “taste” for three different
socioeconomic classes within hipster subculture. The results suggest that while attempts
for securing cultural capital may be thought of as individualistic in motivation and more
important than other forms of capital, the true key factor of taste in this case is still
actually socioeconomic class.
Word Count: 134
Introduction
In Pierre Bourdieu’s Distinction (1979), aesthetic judgment is described as “a
sorting process through which modern societies both produce and legitimate economic
and status inequalities” (Leitch 1660). For Bourdieu, ‘cultural capital’ refers to cultural
knowledge that supports socioeconomic class in the same way capital does, enabling
certain groups to denounce lower groups as inferior. Bourdieu thus sought to expose the
upper class’ presumption of superiority, arguing that the logic of “taste” depends
primarily on social factors rather than intrinsic value. His perspective is extremely useful
when applied to the contemporary cultural phenomenon of the “hipster,” specifically
regarding the subculture’s struggle for artistic elitism and social superiority. Through a
content analysis of Bordieu’s Distinction (1979) and a case study of the “hipster,” I argue
that the means of obtaining cultural capital or street credibility within the hipster
subculture isn’t an individualistic measure of taste, as some believe, but is instead heavily
influenced by family income and degree of formal education.
The Hipster
Firstly, for the sake of a neutral voice it’s important to note that I’m using the
term “hipster” based on the Internet memes such as “Hipster Kitty,” (“KYM: Hipster”)
which are generally agreed upon portrayals of ironic hipster identity found throughout
blogs and various “alternative” websites like KnowYourMeme.com, Stereogum.com and
HipsterRunoff.com. This is not to be confused with the historical use of the term Hipster,
which dates back to the 40’s to reference the bebop and swing music connoisseurs or the
beatnik generation from the 80’s (“KYM: Hipster”). In this paper, “hipster” references
the sub-cultural trend beginning in the late 90s that links itself with contemporary music
styles (e.g., alternative and indie) and bohemian fashion scenes. According to an
Adbusters magazine article, the icons and symbols of the hipster are the American
Apparel V-neck shirt and Parliament cigarettes (Haddow). Looking at the series of blog
posts on LATFH.com, the majority of individuals are sporting non-prescription
eyeglasses, fitted flannel shirts, skinny jeans and DIY hairstyles. Hipsters use these “subcultural” fashion and technology/art clichés to free themselves from the image of wealth
(especially in terms of a suburban bourgeoisie) by camouflaging themselves to a working
class.
The contemporary phenomenon of the hipster stuck out to me because its
“distinction” from all the other subcultures. The punk culture boasts colorful mohawks,
shredded clothing and studded anarchy jackets, proudly expressing an adoration of
rebellion. Even the hip-hop scene uses baggy clothing with pride while blasting an
excessive level of decibels out of car windows to express a love for breaking the rules.
However, hipsters, unlike other sub-cultural identities, are strongly characterized by a
vehement refusal of actually being classified as hipsters. According to Adbusters.com,
hipsters are in “an odd dance of self-identity – adamantly denying your existence while
wearing clearly defined symbols that proclaims it” (Haddow).
Case Study
In the 60’s, Bourdieu surveyed about 1,200 people of different incomes and
educational degrees (Bourdieu 1980). Instead of 1,200, I surveyed 15 people; 5 from
three different local venues that are supposedly regarded as hipster hangouts. Each venue
was chosen as an intended representative of economic class based on Yelp.com’s “Price
Range” rating indicated by quantity of dollar signs1. To ensure each venue corresponded
with educational background, I first asked each individual, “What is your highest
educational degree?” If they responded in accordance with my classification for each
designated venue (e.g., High School/Some College with Austin’s), they were offered 3
cigarettes or a pack of gum as incentive to continue being surveyed. Bourdieu’s survey
established that all cultural practices, “preferences in literature, painting or music, are
closely linked to educational level and - to social origin” (1665). For this reason, my 3
central questions concerned literature, photography and music in an attempt to prove that
“taste” is indeed predisposed to function as a marker of ‘class.’
For determining the different “tastes” for literature, I listed 10 titles of classic
novels in one column and 10 authors in a scattered order in the next, and then I asked my
participants to connect them with a line. Of my low class sample, no one could connect 7
or more correctly, whereas 60% of my middle class and 80% of my upper class could.
This data gives a great deal of proof to the idea that one’s bank of cultural capital is
strongly correlated with education and social class. It also relates with Bourdieu’s logic
of cultural economy which describes the different ways of appropriating objects, regarded
as works of art (in this case, classic literary novels), and social conditions of the
constitution of the mode of appropriation that is considered legitimate (1664). The higher
your class, the easier it is to acquire higher education or spend money on books in order
to appropriate literary knowledge.
My next question displayed 2 photographs (the bark of a tree and a sunset) and
asked, “Given the following subjects, is a photographer more likely to make an ugly,
Austin’s Coffee & Film (rated at “$”), Redlight Redlight (rated at “$$), and Roxy Nightclub (rated at
“$$”). In order to differentiate Roxy Nightclub from Redlight Redlight, I chose to only survey people who
had purchased tables in the VIP section of the club to represent a higher dollar value.
1
meaningless, interesting, or beautiful photo?” The majority of the participants from
Austin’s found the tree bark photograph meaningless, while an almost even distribution
took place for Redlight Redlight and 60% replied with “beautiful” at Roxy. Next, all of
my lower class participants responded with “beautiful” to the sunset photograph while
there was an almost even split between “interesting” and “beautiful” for my middle class
and a tie between “meaningless” and “beautiful” for my upper class. These results show
that the higher level of education, the greater proportion of respondents who refuse
ordinary objects of popular admiration. This data agrees with Bourdieu’s idea that “a
work of art has meaning and interest only for someone who possesses the cultural
competence, that is, the code, into which it is encoded” (1665). Similar to Bourdieu’s
study, my photograph of the sunset represents the ‘popular aesthetic’, which is in
reference to an affirmation of the continuity between art and life, subordinating form.
This surface-level appreciation for art relies on ordinary experiences and lacks the ‘eye,
which is a product of history reproduced by education (1666), for appreciating art on the
basis of secondary meanings like the level of meaning of what is signified. These results
show how taste for unconventional art like the tree bark is closely linked with “systems
of disposition, (habitus) characteristic of the different classes” (1669). By responding
that they found more meaning in the tree bark, they are classifying themselves by their
classifications. These hipsters are distinguishing themselves by their distinctions
between the beautiful and the ugly.
Lastly, I wanted to conclude my research with musical taste by replicating the part
of Bourdieu’s study in which he asked the preferences for music for several classical
music compositions2. My results showed a direct correlation between socioeconomic
class and musical preference that supports the suggestion that taste for music is
distinguished by modes of acquisition and consumption. Songs like Float On and Kids
are devalued in terms of cultural capital because of their popularization by the
mainstream media. This is why popular taste is common in the middle class and most
frequent among the lowest class.
While my participants filled out their surveys, I was busy taking notes of their
fashion choices. Most interestingly were the people with tables in Roxy Night Club.
Sporting common hipster fashion symbols like deep-v shirts and DIY haircuts, they
looked just like those from Redlight Redlight and Austin’s Coffee except for one extreme
‘distinction.’ As one of my participants walked away to use the restroom, I noticed a
giant Armani Exchange emblem on their pant pocket. If a hipster is a millionaire, they
can afford anything they want. So while financial capital helps to display superiority
over lower classes, its rendered useless in competition with their own class. In an attempt
for hipster street credibility amongst all classes, they will do things like dressing down to
disguise their high social stature while leaving traces of upper class capital with things
like expensive skinny jeans. While they seem to treat the hipster subculture like a
product to be worn, they mainly rely on cultural capital like their ‘tastes’ for things like
photography, literature and most importantly, music. The people at Redlight Redlight
were intriguing because they were dressed the most like the people on LATFH.com,
2
Bordieu used Blue Danube Waltz, Sabre Dance, Well-Tempered Clavier and Piano Concerto for the Left
Hand (Bordieu 1980). Since the difference in time (and existing popular genres) of our studies was so
different, I figured the results would be hindered unless I chose modern music selections that also reflected
a hipster’s iTunes library (e.g., alternative rock and indie music). To represent more popularized music like
Blue Danube Waltz and Sabre Dance, I chose Float On by Modest Mouse and Kids by MGMT. Next, I
replaced the less mainstream selections, like the Well-Tempered Clavier and Piano Concerto for the Left
Hand, with Fireworks by Animal Collective and Your Hand In Mine by Explosions in the Sky.
wearing band shirts to express cultural appreciation for demonstrating street credibility.
Lastly, the people at Austin’s resemble a Bourdieudian idea of the lower class approach
because they relied on expressing a taste for arts through things like guitar covers of
alternative artists during ‘Open Mic-Night’ sessions with no cover charge.
Conclusion
As my study exemplified by the majority responses per group, the means of
obtaining cultural capital doesn’t seem to be strictly individualistic, but more so
dependent upon socioeconomic class. Even if a hipster wants to pretend that their taste is
unique, personal, and bizarre enough to remove themselves from the category, it still
seems factual that their economic and educational conditions are indeed “consequently,
bound up by their ‘habitus’ of the different classes. The hipster appears to be the
inventor because their superiority mostly comes from personally defining what is and
isn’t “rad” before anyone else. As shown, there is a constant cross-examination and
critique through the different classes; i.e., higher classes saying lower classes don’t
appreciate the same things and couldn’t survive our wealth and struggle. But as Bourdieu
showed in Distinction, this idea of justification isn’t true. He exposed this lie and showed
that even things like clothing structure the reality of society. Fortunately, I know I’m
definitely not a lame hipster in denial like all of my friends that I studied because I truly
appreciate works like the literature of Pierre Bourdieu. My friends probably wouldn’t
even know who he was.
Word Count: 1,606
Work Cited
Bourdieu, Pierre. "The Aristocracy of Culture." Media, Culture & Society. 3rd ed. Vol. 2.
Harvard UP, 1980. 225-54. Print.
- - -. The Norton Anthology of Theory & Criticism. Ed. Vincent B. Leitch. 2nd ed.
New York: WW Norton, 2010. Print.
Haddow, Douglas. "Hipster: The Dead End of Western Civilization | Adbusters
Culturejammer Headquarters." Adbusters Culturejammer Headquarters | Journal
of the Mental Environment. 29 July 2008. Web. Oct. 2011.
<http://www.adbusters.org/magazine/79/hipster.html>.
KYM: "Hipster." Internet Meme Database. Know Your Meme, Apr. 2011. Web. Oct.
2011. <http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/hipster>.
Leitch, Vincent B. "Pierre Bourdieu." The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism.
2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2010. 1660-1680. Print.
“On my honor, I have not given, nor received, nor witnessed any unauthorized assistance
on this work.” ~Chase Jennings