Just don't do that to box!

It's just a tiny bit weird to me that stretched earlobe piercings ('gauges,' these days, but I can't quite get used to it) are identified with hipsters. It seems like the long-term commitment aspect of large piercings conflicts with the flighty short-attention-span next-big-thing hipster stereotype.

Yeah, I'm probably overthinking this.

(I am reminded of something in P.J. O'Rourke's Modern Manners (from 1983, jeez) about how women like men with earrings because a)they can endure pain and b)they know how to buy jewelry.)

box is a cool dude, definitely not a hipster.

box: "It's just a tiny bit weird to me that stretched earlobe piercings ('gauges,' these days, but I can't quite get used to it) are identified with hipsters." totally. When I was young and cool, it was the speedmetal folks and rivetheads with them.

I think the term "hipster" is too dilute to mean anything any more. Where I work, it's shorthand for "25-45ish arty DIY culture hounds," - it helps us think about the sort of vaguely anti-commercial, pro-authenticity, in-the-know culturally-aware Generation Xish crowd in one big swatch - but I think the word generally gets used to apply to super specific subgroups within that, and yet wherever the word pops up there's always an argument about what it does or doesn't mean.

A smattering of definitions that are much more general than the kind of thing outlined in the Hipster Handbook:

Urban Dictionary:

"Hipsters are a subculture of men and women typically in their 20's and 30's that value independent thinking, counter-culture, progressive politics, an appreciation of art and indie-rock, creativity, intelligence, and witty banter..." [closer to how I use it]

"urban (or suburban import) dweller who goes to all the coolest clubs, listens to the coolest music, is into various aspects of the arts, including but not limited to street art, indie films, street displays, sticker art, etc.... A hipster also must know all the coolest other hipsters. If you have to ask what a hipster is, then you are definitely not a hipster."

Wikipedia:

"Hipster is a slang term that first appeared in the 1940s, and was revived in the 2000s and 2010s to describe types of young, recently settled urban middle class adults and older teenagers with interests in indie rock, independent film, magazines such as Vice and Clash, and websites like Pitchfork Media.[1] In earlier contexts (2000s), hipsters were also referred to as scenesters.[2]"

I love this super-squaresville Dictionary.com definition:

"a person, especially during the 1950s, characterized by a particularly strong sense of alienation from most established social activities and relationships. "

Anyway, it takes in a pretty giant swath of people. It seems like the main overlapping qualities are: age (younger half of all people who are alive), urban residency or at least adoption of an urban aesthetic, and non-commercial-mainstream interest in some topic or other but particularly visual arts and music.

A lot of people claim to "hate" hipsters but I don't think it's these qualities that they are actually hating.

Oh, good, by all definitions I'm too old to be a hipster. I'm just a middle aged person who likes progressive politics, indie rock, contemporary art museums, and locavore restaurants.

I love the old definitions of 'hipster.' The fogies at M-W have 'a person who is unusually aware of and interested in new and unconventional patterns (as in jazz or fashion).'

New and unconventional jazz? Now that's a hipster I'm hip to.

I think I'm still young enough to be a hipster, but I'm pretty sure I'm a square.

That kinda makes me sad, but on the bright side I put a KeSha song into Pandora, and over a dozen songs later I'm listening to Weezer. So I feel like my people will rise.

Oh shit. Now I'm listening to Thriller. Srly, WTF?

Oh, good, by all definitions I'm too old to be a hipster. I'm just a middle aged person who likes progressive politics, indie rock, contemporary art museums, and locavore restaurants.

This is my defense too. Yes, I wear skater-type sneakers! Yes, I'm old enough to be your dad! These things cancel each other out!

Welll, I don't know guys, I think if you're not a late-stage Boomer and you like all that stuff, you are probably still a hipster, even if you're in your 40s. They tend to say "typically" or "mostly" in their 20s and 30s, and actually, the younger 20somethings I'm interviewing now have their own thing, whatever that is, but it's not hipsterific.

I think a hipster is probably best generally described a Generation X person who is into indie stuff (food, neighborhoods, art, music, clothes, etc).

A hipster is anyone younger than I am who exhibits genuine enthusiasm for anything I dislike.

A hipster is anyone younger than I am who exhibits genuine enthusiasm for anything I dislike.
I'm with BitterOldPunk. Except I would also include anyone who feigns enthusiasm for anything I dislike.