The sociology of the Hipster

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I thought this was a pretty interesting article, because of how closely it mirrored conversations we've had here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/14/books/review/Greif-t.html?pagewanted=all

A  year ago, my colleagues and I started to investigate the contemporary hipster. What was the "hipster," and what did it mean to be one? It was a puzzle. No one, it seemed, thought of himself as a hipster, and when someone called you a hipster, the term was an insult. Paradoxically, those who used the insult were themselves often said to resemble hipsters — they wore the skinny jeans and big eyeglasses, gathered in tiny enclaves in big cities, and looked down on mainstream fashions and "tourists." Most puzzling was how rattled sensible, down-to-earth people became when we posed hipster-themed questions. When we announced a public debate on hipsterism, I received e-mail messages both furious and plaintive. Normally inquisitive people protested that there could be no answer and no definition. Maybe hipsters didn't exist! The responses were more impassioned than those we'd had in our discussions on health care, young conservatives and feminism. And perfectly blameless individuals began flagellating themselves: "Am I a hipster?"

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

I just use the term for snotty, pretentious people who hang around music rather than snotty, pretentious people who hang around other stuff. Maybe that's not correct, but...*shrugs* 

[Juana]

I use it for folk like the article. And good god there are a lot of them here. And, unfortunately, they also show up at the electronica shows I go to and clog up the goddamn bar and only get on the dance floor when the main act is on (instead of supporting our local djs).
They're also invading my bars.