Hipster (contemporary subculture)

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A rewrite of this article is being discussed at Talk:Hipster#Needed rewrites of each subculture

Hipster, is considered a frequently recycled media created stereotype, which is often considered a derogatory term^[1], labeled upon a growing mass of younger individuals who take it upon themselves to appreciate and divulge their taste into hype and trends. The term hipster was created to market upon individuals who were seemingly unmarketable^[2], because of their varying eclectic tastes, which have been able to diverge too far off stream due to modern technologies or philosophies of the times; such as the internet^[3], racial diversity, or exploratory sex.

Contents 1 History 1.1 In Print 1.2 New Philosophies of Racial Diversity 1.3 Exploring New Forms of Sexuality 2 Term Revisited 2.1 Blipster 3 References

[edit] History

Etymologically speaking the word “hip” derived from the African Wolof tribe’s word “hipi” meaning; “to see”.^[4] The phrase was used in many African communities of the Diaspora since their time of transplantation from their original locale. Although the word was underappreciated and unknown to the mass culture, until a group of Anglo-Saxon youths, labeled as the Beat Generation during the 1940s began to frequent African communities for their music and dance. These first Anglo-Saxon youths diverged from mainstream due to their new philosophies of racial diversity and their exploratory sexual nature.

[edit] In Print

Probably the first printed dictionary to list the word is the short glossary "For Characters Who Don't Dig Jive Talk," published in 1944 with Gibson's first album, "Boogie Woogie In Blue." The entry for "hipsters" defines it as, "characters who like hot jazz." This short glossary of jive expressions was also printed on playbills handed out at Gibson's concerts for a few years. It was not a complete glossary of jive, as it only included jive expressions that were found in the lyrics to his songs.

[edit] New Philosophies of Racial Diversity

The new philosophy of racial diversity was probably best theorized by Norman Mailer’s 1957 essay, entitled “The White Negro”. ^[5], which has become the paradigmatic example of hipster ideology. Mailer describes hipster’s as individuals, “with a middle-class background (who) attempt to put down their whiteness and adopt what they believe is the carefree, spontaneous, cool life style of Negro hipsters: their manner of speaking and language, their use of milder narcotics, their appreciation of jazz and the blues, and their supposed concern with the good orgasm.” ^[6]

[edit] Exploring New Forms of Sexuality

Some scholars, such as Eric Lott, describe this new philosophy as based on "the twentieth century reinvention of [the] ... homosocial and homosexual fascinations".^[7]. In the Gay communities it is widely regarded as fact, that gay culture was popularized, especially among men during this period.

‘’“A complex pattern of sexual relations emerged among the men--which, in a rather self-consciously literary fashion, they sometimes regarded as resembling the affair of Rimbaud and Verlaine. Like Rimbaud, they endorsed "the systematic derangement of the senses"--through intoxicants, meditation, and other forms of intense experience ("kicks")--as a means to reach states of expanded awareness.”’’ ^[8]

[edit] Term Revisited

The word ‘’hipster’’ was revisited when marketers started to have trouble marketing to the infamous 18 to 24 demographic because of their eclectic tastes, which is most likely a direct correlation to the internet. The first appearance of the reemergence of the word hipster was in April 14, 1994 in the Camel Cigarettes Confidential Internal Report.^[9]

In this report, Camel created the stereotype that is applied to today’s modern “hipster”: "These “hipsters” entire social lives revolve around nightclubs, cafes, fashion, and music." This report was nearly ten years prior before Robert Lanham's The Hipster Handbook and the book is just a response to a marketing ploy which adapted into modern culture.

[edit] Blipster

Although etmologically speaking the word hipster is derived from an African source. Recently, the word blipster has been used to describe black individuals who are in the recently formulated market demographic of hipster. ^[10] The New York Times was the first to publicly use the word, although was quickly ridiculed by many other media outlets such as the Village Voice. ^[11]

[edit] References

1. ^ http://www.themorningnews.org/archives/how_to/the_nonexpert_hipster.php
2. ^ http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_28/b3942030.htm
3. ^ http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technology/maney/2004-12-21-maney_x.htm
4. ^ http://aprendizdetodo.com/language/?item=20040926
5. ^ http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2278/is_2_28/ai_108114700
6. ^ http://web.mit.edu/gtmarx/www/whitenegro.html
7. ^ http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2278/is_2_28/ai_108114700
8. ^ http://www.glbtq.com/literature/beat_gen.html
9. ^ http://www.tobaccofreedom.org/issues/documents/landman/trend/
10. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/fashion/28Blipsters.html?ex=1327640400&en=31d7e7e3b0fe7ad1&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
11. ^ http://www.hitchaser.com/village-voice-makes-fun-of-new-york-times-for-recent-blipster-story/