Hipsters

Chong Alarde, Jake Espiritu, Laurie Galicia,     

Trixie Malibiran, Denise Marquez, Alex Siao     SA21 A

Deviance Day Report

1. Identity you want to imitate? Why this identity?

We chose to imitate hipsters because this is a contemporary subculture that emerged relatively recently that focuses on deviating from modern society and standard social norms. We also chose to imitate hipsters because this is a subculture that emerged relatively recently and speaks volumes about our generation. Hipsters of today are inherently rooted from the culture of self-identification. Imitating this identity would help us delve into the self as seen from a hipster’s perspective.

2. What is your identity’s main function in the society?

Hipsters go against what is mainstream. For the sake of clarity, mainstream is defined as culture that is commonly accepted by the people, the hegemonic culture in a sense. Also, by not being mainstream, they diverge away from the norms of society not through abstract and nonsensical methods but through use of normal items in unconventional ways. They choose to do what they want to do, without caring what people might think about them. Hipsters may vary in age, but they still have a common mindset. For example, a thirty-year old hipster may still be living as though he or she is still in his or her teenage years. This is because of the “extended adolescence” phenomenon, which is the searching for actual self-worth and looking for the meaning of technically everything. Hipsters can usually sense what’s going to be a hit in society before it actually becomes popular. Many bands, fashion trends, and gadgets are first discovered by hipsters and will later become mainstream after being scrutinized, reviewed, and broken in into the society.

3. How does s/he look like? (clothes, gears, phones, skin, hairstyle, nails, physical appearance)

Clothing: thrift shop or vintage clothing, skinny jeans unknown brands (usually from thrift shops), kimonos, loose white shirts, jackets, sweaters, beanies, flower crowns,

Eyewear: authentic Ray Ban Wayfarers or lensless frames; John Lennon style sunglasses

Footwear: cowboy boots, combat boots, vintage shoes, typically worn for comfort

Accessories: black nail polish, bird necklaces,

Hair: messy, colored – full or streaked, beanies, hats

4. How does s/he speak and behave? How do they talk to people? How do they laugh? Any jokes that they know?

They listen to obscure bands whose genres are indie or alternative and new wave. They use different words or phrases when conversing with others. They say boogie-woogie, got your glasses on, in the groove, main queen, melted out, nickel note, set of seven brights, togged to the bricks, and many more that we usually don’t use when talking to people.

5. What are their beliefs in life? What are their values?

Hipsters strive to set themselves apart from the mainstream. Though that in itself is paradoxical because the minute that one acknowledges himself/herself as a hipster, they combine with the rest of those that do as well and become the homogeneous blob that is mainstream. Hipsters tend to be more into organic and green products. As long as it falls into those categories, then it is considered hipster. They see themselves as artists and better than people who conform. They give much importance to individualism most of all, and are very much against conforming.

6. How does his or her day look like?

Hipsters are more or less likely intellectually aware when it comes to liberal arts and graphic art. They spend their time by either reading books and going to the library. They prefer small local libraries because they can stay in one corner, read books, and not mind other people. Unlike most of us, hipsters use their right brain which means that their career choices are around fashion, art, and music. Their choices are not that ideal as compared to mechanical engineering, architecture, psychology, and the like, but the chances are that these choices are the natural outlet for their creativity. What assists hipsters to be contemptuous about the hue and cry of others is education; for them, it is either history repeating itself, or it’s all much fuss about nothing.

7. Any sociological and personal reflections? How did it feel like to be another person for a day?

Dressing up as hipsters was fun, but a bit challenging. We wore beanies, cardigans, etc, and it was terribly hot. Also, when we walked around Ateneo, we received several judging looks from bystanders as we were immersed into the typical university environment. When we went out as a group and being stereotypically hipster (and loud) we received stares. Some members carried the hipster identity well to the point of getting neutral double takes from passerby. When we passed by SecB, one of our friends asked us, “Why are you guys so hipster today?”

Bibliography
Julia, Plevin. "Who's A Hipster?" Huffingtonpost.com. N.p., 25 May 2011. Web. 9 Oct. 2014. .
"How to Be A Hipster." Wikihow.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2014. .
Linton, Weeks. "The Hipsterfication of America." Npr.org. N.p., 17 Nov. 2011. Web. 10 Oct. 2014. .