The Boston Globe Explains Hipsters, Haters

Our buddies at The Boston Globe have championed another investigative reporting win, one that will surely put the newspaper back on top of the media market. Fashion writer Christopher Muther wrote a little piece on a curious subculture whose followers ride fixies, wear ironic t-shirts, and love Grizzly Bear. That's right, hipsters. Though Muther admits that hipsters have been around for a little while and are basically unavoidable today, his investigative skills need a little retuning. Muther is one of many who consider hipsters to be a relatively newfound subculture, in that it has only existed this decade. In reality, hipsters have been around since the dawn of the teenager, but in different names. Be it the beats, hippies, punks, grunge kids, each of these subcultures were overrun with youth chasing their impression of cool, and in essence trying to be "hip." The only notable thing about hipsters today is that there is no unique nomenclature to separate them from decades past, and have thus been relegated to the blanket terms of hipsters, scenesters, and even indie kid.

Muther goes on to explain the reason hipsters have become magnets for hatred today. The economy:

Back in the capricious days of Fantasia Barrino and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, people didn’t mind these ironic Peter Pans extending their youth by leeching off their parents and gentrifying entire neighborhoods. Now, their antics seem, well, annoying.

In all honesty, that description sounds just as annoying at any period of time as it does now. Economy be damned, but hating on people chasing cool without caring about the subculture has always existed. Perhaps this Bostonist is just upset because he has been hating on hipsters before it was cool.