We know what you were thinking, how you reacted, what you said when you heard the news: “What, pray tell, is a ‘hipster’?”
Admit it: That’s what you wondered last week when Vancouver — yes, our Vancouver — was deemed the “most hipster” city in the country. At least, that’s what Anne McEnerny-Ogle was thinking. “I had to figure out what a hipster was,” the 63-year-old mayor-elect said with a laugh.
McEnerny-Ogle was not alone. Because hipster is the, um, er, hip term for young adults who have an atypical view on the world. That’s hip, as in cool or chic.
As Webster’s tells us, a hipster is “a person who is unusually aware of and interested in new and unconventional patterns (as in jazz or fashion).” Or, as UrbanDictionary.com, tells us: “Hipsters are a subculture of men and women typically in their 20s and 30s that value independent thinking, counterculture, progressive politics, an appreciation of art and indie rock, creativity, intelligence, and witty banter.”