NOTE: For this week, post discussion questions, but no artifact postings (to give you more time to work on papers)
Readings:
- Ingrid Monson (2003) “The Problem with White Hipness: Race, Gender, and Cultural Conceptions,” Journal of the American Musicological Society
- Barbara Ehrenreich (1983) "The Beat Rebellion: Beyond Work and Marriage," The Hearts of Men: American Dreams and the Flight from Commitment
- Mark Greif, "What Was the Hipster?," New York Magazine, 24 October 2010
Listening:
- Hipster music of your choice (using your personal definition of hipster)
13 comments:
After hearing about the New York Magazine article about hipsters, I decided to read it because I was curious about the modern hipster. The Monson article states that hipsters were attracted to the stereotype of black youth: “sexual freedom and resistance to the dominant order.” The New York Magazine article aligns hipster music with anti-homophobia. Is there a relationship between these things? Is the stereotype of homosexuals today the same as the stereotype of blacks in the sixties?
What aspects of the term ‘hipster’ allowed it to evolve from a black subcultural figure into a white subcultural figure, as opposed to certain types of music such as rap and rock that seem lock into a certain racial boundary?
*locked*
sorry for the typo!
Monson seems to say that white men are the ones who incorporate “black culture” into their own, saying that hipness must be viewed through an African American lens. However haven’t African Americans have incorporated white culture equally as much? Look for example at the centrality of the piano in Jazz culture. Also problematizing white hipness as “stealing” black culture, are we also condemning the Back middle class as problematic for “stealing” white culture?
Discussion Question:
We had discussed what it means to be transgressive and the relation between transgression and sexuality, especially deviant sexuality. What is your impression about this relation after reading the hipster articles for Tuesday’s class? How does it relate to gender and race relations? Note that Greif mentions in his article that “hipsterism was developed from a sense that minorities in America were subject to decisions made about their lives by conspiracies of power they could never possibly know” (Greif 3), implying that minority oppression has influenced hipster culture greatly.
Monson's assertion that the most extreme aspects of African American hip subculture were extracted and used to characterize the entire subculture is compelling. However, Monson also asserts that as a result of this, people started "viewing blackness as absence," and I'm not sure what this means (398). Monson also asserts that black men have always been assigned a deviant sexuality, which may have contributed to impulses to characterize African American subculture this way (402). But aren't non mainstream artists of all races assigned a deviant sexuality?
Monson mentions that the subculture of hipsters in the mid-twentieth century consisted of wearing "zoot suits, long haircuts, reefers and 'zombie' jive." However, nowadays we thing of hipsters as people who drink PBR, wear glasses they don't need, wear skinny jeans, and listen to the new band that we've never heard of. Thus, does being hipster just mean to be ahead of the game or living a transgressive life and not being content with the norm?
There is a clear distinction between what we used to define as hipster and what we define as hipster today, especially as contrasted by the Monson and Greif articles. It seems, though, that what tends to be trend in our definition of hipster is transgressive behavior. Transgression exists is many cultural contexts, for example beyond the hipsters there are the "emos" and other such groups. There are also clearly white subculture groups today that continue to emulate african american culture, especially increasing in the hip hop genre. However, these people are no longer considered hipster. So, what is it then that is changing our categorization of hipster? It seems to me that there is a downward trend of masculinity associated with hipsters. Do you agree? Are there other key factors influencing the evolution of the term "hipster"?
When I think of the word "hipster" I think of my 7th grade teacher Ms. Price, who drove a old nissan truck and wore a long dresses with every color imaginable on it. She wore here hair in a style that would make me think of the 70's. She was someone that definitely lived outside of the norm. Her style is associated with Monson's description of a hipster in the mid-twentieth century. Is this transgressive style what people think of when they hear the word "hipster" today?
Monson defines the term "hip" as a state of being "in the know." But this is hardly how I would categorize contemporary hipsters who, in my opinion, set themselves apart from much of society by creating a subculture based upon their shared music and fashion tastes. Do you believe that hipsters are, in fact, "hip" or "in the know?" Or are hipsters merely on the outside of contemporary pop culture, attempting to look in?
Question:
What social and historical forces enabled hipsters to embrace their commonalities (i.e. rebellious consumerism)? In what ways do these commonalities pervade and influence their musical choices, if there are indeed musical selections (included and excluded) specific to hipsters? Can/ does the “hipster” still exist in today’s world then? How does the modern hipster relate to the historical ideology/identity of the hipster and understand masculinity today?
Monson mentions that white hipness comes from incorporating aspects of black culture into their own. However, it seems that today's hipster is always seen as a skinny white kid with a plaid shirt who listens to indie bands, things not typically seen in modern black culture. In fact, if we see a black person with the large, thick glasses and skinny jeans, we call him/her a "black hipster." Why has the white community been able to claim this identity, even though it's founded upon characteristics of the black community? Is today's hipster comparable to the original hipsters, or have they been "white-ified?"
*Also, sorry my question is a few minutes late! I wasn't able to get to a computer for a while tonight.
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