It's all a status game. Say you like something that other people might frown upon in the subculture? No problem, you like it ironically. You like Miley Cyrus? Not cool. You Ironically like it? You're cool again.
Which is why I say that they're insecure and that I find it dumb.
EDIT: Also, abundant use of quotes whenever you talk about these 'hipsters'.
Well, I think the real problem is that their enjoyment of things is disingenuous. That makes it hard to really form a bond of any sort, unless you're "in the know." Even then, the whole social structure is only based around "being in the know" and not actually about what anyone really likes.
It's sort of the opposite direction of, say, shonen fighting or cheesy metal. You like a shonen fighting show or Amon Amarthdespitethe fact that they're both stupid; you still actually like them, and you're honest about it. A hipster only likes things - or pretends to like things - that they thinkarestupid. The former is more honest and makes for better social interaction.
That's really how I think that being a hipster boils down simply to their own personal attitude. A hipster can't necessarily be defined by their clothes, facial hair or accessories, because if they truly love them with a passion, then you can't really hate them for that. Now, if that same person is into something you do not know or that you are personally not a fan of, and chooses to ostracize you or look at you as a lesser person because you are not like the person in question, then they are a hipster.
The person would have to take half-and-half to be the negative stereotype of a person.
The problem with this is that hipsters 'ironically' like things that others just like. Example: Darkwing Duck is awesome. You'll see insecure 'hipsters' who 'ironically' wear a Darkwing Duck shirt.
That kind of makes sense. I like Darkwing Duck. I liked it as a kid. I've seen some of it recently, and it holds up.
That being said, I wouldn't wear a Darkwing Duck shirt. I don't like it that much. Nor do I think a shirt with Darkwing Duck on it is very styling.
Holy crap I wrote a long, boring post here. Redacted.
tl;dr - Hipsters are just people in a clique, doin' a thing that is different from your thing. Like any trend or subculture that is entertainment- or socialization-based, it is only meaningful to people inside it. If they bother you, ignore them.
I think the reason to look down on hipsters is that they are not productive. In fact, they are the opposite of productive. Despite being against pop-culture, they are ultimately consumerist and materialistic. Granted, some geekeries are also this way, such as comic collectors. However, most geekeries are productive. Most of the awesome creations we see on the Internet every day are from geeks. What to hipsters make? They don't make shit. They buy clothes, they buy beer, they play online poker all day, watch movies. When is the last time you saw a hipster make something awesome? At least hippies made music and beatniks made poetry and literature.
Hipsters do make music and poetry and stuff. Where are you getting this online poker thing?
I know some hipster types who sit around doing nothing but playing WoW/online poker all day. It's more that it's something that trust fund kids do. They don't have to work, so they play video games and watch movies all day. There's just a large crossover between the trust funders and the hipsters.
While I share disdain for unproductive hipsters, I generally hate the term "hipster" being used as a derisive adjective for anything new, unusual, countercultural, "too" creative, or uncomfortable in the eyes of the mainstream. It attaches to works and things described as such that "if you like X thing, than you are an annoying faux-ironic loser fuck." This is not an uncommon phenomenon; things I have seen described as such include:
-Threadless, Teefury, Woot!, and DBH shirts (just now on Facebook) -Indie music, from the Decemberists to Andrew Jackson Jihad. -Underground comix or comics considered bizarre because they are not Underwear Pervert books. This includes Maus, the works of R. Crumb and Chris Ware, Love and Rockets, and American Splendor. -Films people don't understand or make them uncomfortable.
If you want to discuss pseudointellectual bullshit, the people who write off shit they don't get or don't like as "hipster fuckery" are at least as guilty as the subculture they despise so much.
Sadly? My stepsisters...Their mom is the County Executive, and her parents left behind money. My eldest stepsister used it all to go to college though, so the younger of my two stepsisters (both are older than me, though) didn't have as much for her college education, which she dropped out of anyway.
Seriously, trust funds are more trouble than they're worth. I mean, I wish I had one to pay for RIT, but my stepsisters are spoiled as all hell.
One who has a skull so frail that I might crush it with a single head-butt yet who's bodies are so filled with PBR pisswater that they are inedible, also they are thin and quite wiry. Best to avoid.
To all of you who "hate" the hipsters, be wary of following the trend that every American generation seems to follow. Counterculture will always be counter, and railing against it is pointless and old-man-ish.
It's sort of the opposite direction of, say, shonen fighting or cheesy metal. You like a shonen fighting show or Amon Amarth despite the fact that they're both stupid; you still actually like them, and you're honest about it. A hipster only likes things - or pretends to like things - that they think are stupid. The former is more honest and makes for better social interaction.
This was one of my favorite points you made at the metal panel at ConnectiCon.
The funny side effect of the hipster movement is most of my interests became "in" because people think I like them in an ironic sense... When in reality I've always liked them in the real scary sense :-p
I'm counter counter culture yo. I'm in the forces, I'm white, straight, I hate bad music and like German beer and violence. Can't be more conformist than me. I follow the rules of nature, where if you're the wrong color we throw you out of the hive at best, murder and eat you at worst.
Tonight I saw such a stereotypical hipster I almost took a photo.
You should have seen the two guys I passed on the way home today. They were walking their track bikes up the bridge.
Here's a notice for everybody. I don't care what culture or subculture you are from. Track bikes are for bike tracks, and not for anywhere else. If you are biking in public, you need some fucking brakes other than rubbing your shoe on your rear tire. Technically this is illegal in NYC, but none of the laws against cyclists are ever enforced.
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EDIT: Also, abundant use of quotes whenever you talk about these 'hipsters'.
EDIT: We should do an SLC Punk remake with Hipsters...
The person would have to take half-and-half to be the negative stereotype of a person.
That being said, I wouldn't wear a Darkwing Duck shirt. I don't like it that much. Nor do I think a shirt with Darkwing Duck on it is very styling.
I do have a Chip n' Dale: Rescue Rangers shirt, though, and it's pretty damn awesome.
tl;dr - Hipsters are just people in a clique, doin' a thing that is different from your thing. Like any trend or subculture that is entertainment- or socialization-based, it is only meaningful to people inside it. If they bother you, ignore them.
-Threadless, Teefury, Woot!, and DBH shirts (just now on Facebook)
-Indie music, from the Decemberists to Andrew Jackson Jihad.
-Underground comix or comics considered bizarre because they are not Underwear Pervert books. This includes Maus, the works of R. Crumb and Chris Ware, Love and Rockets, and American Splendor.
-Films people don't understand or make them uncomfortable.
If you want to discuss pseudointellectual bullshit, the people who write off shit they don't get or don't like as "hipster fuckery" are at least as guilty as the subculture they despise so much.
P.S. Note to hipsters: the reason no one's heard of your favorite band is because it sucks.
Seriously, trust funds are more trouble than they're worth. I mean, I wish I had one to pay for RIT, but my stepsisters are spoiled as all hell.
Here's a notice for everybody. I don't care what culture or subculture you are from. Track bikes are for bike tracks, and not for anywhere else. If you are biking in public, you need some fucking brakes other than rubbing your shoe on your rear tire. Technically this is illegal in NYC, but none of the laws against cyclists are ever enforced.