Some people say the hipster is dead. Long live the fauxhemian! (Someone who conforms “to a safe, middle class lifestyle but with the superficial pretense of an alternative or Bohemian lifestyle”, according to the Urban Dictionary).
And just when I was trying to work out whether I am one or not. I certainly exhibit many hipster elements. My wife and I prefer to shop at Trader Joe’s and, less often, Whole Foods. We can’t pass an Urban Outfitters or Anthropologie without spending an hour inside (usually with a steady flow of complaints from me). We have an espresso machine we use to make lattes. We like a wide variety of musical genres, have some gay friends, watch lots of independent films with a healthy splattering of documentaries, use Apple products, do some ‘artsy-media-type’ things for work, wear Converse shoes and drive a Toyota Prius.
But I have some traits that seem less hipster, too. I own a gun and a Jeep. We buy items like dog food and paper towels at Walmart. I eat McDonald’s breakfasts sometimes. I’m more likely to ride a quad than a bicycle. We watch reality TV on our couch many evenings after dinner. I don’t particularly love vintage, and I don’t hate corporations or capitalism.
So, how hipster am I? I have a suspicion my wife may be more hipster than me. But if the hipster is dead, who cares? And what’s next? I don’t know if I’ve ever consciously tried to be a part of any particular culture or counterculture. So, I guess I’ll let the culture define me.