Anthropology student in search of answers.

Hello everyone! I am a cultural anthropology student and I am researching subcultures and I have a few questions about being part of the hipster community. Answers to the following questions are much appreciated. Any answers that I use will be anonymous in my research.

Questions:

1. What does being (a) hipster mean to you? And do you consider yourself a "hippie" or is that a whole other type of subculture than a what is considered hipster.

2. It seems as though the definition of what a hipster is changes with the times, what are some ideals and values that are shared among most hipsters?

3. What stereotypes do you think are associated with hipsters, and are they accurate? Why or why not?

4. Do hipsters share political, religious, art, or customs or is everyone diversified?

Thank you!

 

Questions:

1. What does being (a) hipster mean to you? And do you consider yourself a "hippie" or is that a whole other type of subculture than a what is considered hipster. I think there's a big difference between the "hipster ethos" (not the starbucks water... lol) and being a "hippie". Anyone can be either, in my own opinion, but being a hippie is better. You have taken sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll to a whole other level with the latter, incorporating it into your every move, philosophy, spirituality, politics... they all take a backseat. Being a hipster possibly just means you wear sandals when you shop at Trader Joe's; which is fine. But it's not the same thing to someone who has put lots of time and energy into living a dream.

2. It seems as though the definition of what a hipster is changes with the times, what are some ideals and values that are shared among most hipsters? I think it's a newer concept of hip-ism. It's like a newer healthier you, with a beard and sunglasses.

3. What stereotypes do you think are associated with hipsters, and are they accurate? Why or why not? That they're shallow. And that they're young. These two are probably the biggest falsehood about them. There are older folks buying in, and they're probably not all shallow. I don't really know that many hipsters; though when I lived in LA I ran into them regularly. I thought they were shallow, but that's likely a misconception that fades as they grow and I learn to accept.

4. Do hipsters share political, religious, art, or customs or is everyone diversified? I think they like the same festivals; at least here. Everyone seems to like Coachella Music & Art, or whatever it's going by now. This year they didn't have one.

Thank you!

 

1) Hippie culture is salt-of-the-earth, with many hippies rejecting mainstream society as unsustainable. Some hippies I know avoid hipsters, as sadly confused hippies with crazy friends. Many hippies are anarchists and have adopted tribal traditions, such as Rainbow Warrior poetry, and believe in instant karma.

2) For over a decade I surveyed people informally online, only to discover that over half of them made up their own definitions for words, never knowing or caring in the slightest, even when informed, that the dictionary merely contains popular definitions. Hipsters will argue over the definition of stupid, while hippies tend to use a stupid dictionary, and demand more salt-of-the-earth humor and values.

3) A quarter of Americans insist the sun revolves around the earth, most don't even know the dictionary merely contains popular definitions, honesty is such a lonely word, you can find it onsale at the dollar store, next to Shambala press. My own work includes selling idiots all the gibberish they demand to hear, dirt cheap. Forget about AI, mindless bots are the future, because there never was any intelligent life around here!

 

hippie and hipster, from my perspective, are almost binary opposites. hippie is do it yourself, hipster is mass produced chrome.

again i neither know nor care about "hipster". my interest is the intersection between infrastructure and environment.

again, i'm not sure what, if anything, a "hipster" is. a hippie was some someone who valued the kind of world we all have to live in more then what anyone thought of them as a person.
hippie was all about creativity and imagination.

for the fourth time, hipster i wouldn't know, and wouldn't be interested in, but hippies can and do belong to every ideology and belief. well almost every.
i've met fascist who think they're hippies, but i don't. maybe that's who those 'hipsters' are? people who want to think they're "in",
and in order to be "in" they "conform" to some mythical standard of pretending not to. i believe the blue denim pants used to be their uniform.

(someone who wants to live in a castle on the beach might be a hipster, someone who wants to live in a cabin in the woods might be a hippie. then again, someone who wants to live in a TENT on the beach might be a hippie too, but no one who wants the kind of house to impress people they have money and through fancy expensive partays, would be, but then a hippie might want to live in a closet in castle they share with lots of people living in different rooms)

a musician might be "hip" without being a hippie, but hipster sounds like something out of a faided black and white gangster movie out of the 1930s, you know, like sinatra's possie, when my parents were kids.

 

You've probably graduated long ago, but I just spotted this.

"Hipster" is an older term, left over from the jazz culture of the 1930s. Hip, used interchangeably with "hep" meant "in the know". In 1957, Norman Mailer (The White Negro) used the term "hipster" to designate whites who adopted black culture. What's The Origin Of The Term Hipster? - Dictionary.com It came to mean avant garde--folks adopting new, unconventional bohemian styles, which of course constantly changed with the times.

I think the term has gone out of style. The term "hippie", which obviously borrowed from the older meaning, came into vogue in the early sixties, as the beat generation became more flamboyant under the influence of psychedelic drugs, and morphed into a youth counterculture characterized by radical experimentation with new lifestyles. . I consider myself to be a "hippie", of sorts. I think the hipsters were before my time. So, really, were the hippies, who have become an endangered species. I got into the movement through gatherings of the Rainbow Family, which began in the 70s & has kept the 60's Woodstock spirit alive! They gather on public lands nationally every July and regionally much more frequently. You should go to one! I suspect people on these forums are more likely to be hippies than hipsters.

As mentioned, I'm not familiar with hipsters. As for hippies, it varies. Exactly what it means is hard to say: long hair, few baths, "sex, drugs, & rock'n roll", "peace, love, and understanding--all of the above, some of the above." Caring for Mother Earth is important. So is rejection of materialism. Unconventional, in terms of rejection of the values of the dominant culture, is probably the most generic description.

I think the stereotypes of being mindless hedonists and druggies is prevalent, along with a focus on superficial characteristics like hair length and bathing habits. As is the case with most stereotypes, there is some truth to them, but many who wouldn't fit the pattern. I don't do drugs, I bathe regularly and my idea of a good time is going to Bible study.
4. Do hipsters share political, religious, art, or customs or is everyone diversified? There's considerable diversity, but a range of common cultural traits. Many are apolitical; those who aren't tend to be varying degrees of progressive politically. The radical right, MAGA Republicans, traditional Republicans, neo-Nazis, etc., would self-exclude. Quite a lot of religious diversity, including New Age, Hindus, Buddhists, Taoists, neo-pagans, atheists, and Christians. My own primary identity is Christian, which is far more important to me than hippie. I find the hippies consistent with Jesus' values of unconditional love for God and neighbor. I think that on the Great Day, the born again Republican Evangelicals will be raptured to the Great Gathering in the Sky, where they'll partake in the bounties of the Heavenly Dumpster in the company of prostitutes, bathless derelicts, dilapidated hebephrenics, and other societal rejects. And it will be Heaven, but they may think they've taken a wrong turn.

Out of curiosity, if you're still reading this and interested, I'd appreciate a response confirming that.