Hipsters and Asperger's Syndrome: On a Spectrum

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Within the Asperger's syndrome and autism communities, it has become almost cliché to refer to everything, especially autism, as being "on a spectrum." I speculate that Asperger's syndrome belongs to a spectrum larger than even autism: hipsterdom. Hipsters are typically thought of as vapid and pretentious trend seekers. Hipsters seek out things that are unpopular or currently relatively unknown within mainstream culture. Hipsters will reject bands once they have become well known or popular, feeling that they have "sold out" and joined the "mainstream." For hipsters, the primary area of concern is music; but they also concern themselves with clothing style/appearance, movies, television shows, food, art, video games, attitudes, and an array of other matters of culture and lifestyle. Hipsters are not typically much interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), but the interests of aspies also usually fall outside the mainstream. This makes aspies, in a sense, hipsters. Socializing with hipsters may give aspies a social outlet they would never get with mainstream, conformist sheeple.

I propose that we would be better off by rejecting mainstream, whitebread, suburban, corporate, jock, frattie-sorority culture for hipster subculture.

First, the basics:

• Flannel shirts and plaid are deck (i.e., cool).
• Black-rim glasses are deck.
• Drink PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon).
• Get your clothes from vintage and resale/thrift stores (like Goodwill or the Salvation Army). Failing that, at least buy your clothes at Urban Outfitters or American Apparel.
• Never shop at corporate, big-box retailers, especially Wal-Mart and Sam's Club.
• Frequent used record stores and postmodern or contemporary/conceptual art galleries.
• If you must get your news from a mainstream outlet, choose NPR.
• Say deep things like, "Everything that was once deck is now fin" (where fin means "uncool").

I think hipsters are the opposite of Aspergers. They go out of their way to appear cool/interesting to others and whether or not they openly express it are fiercely concerned with their perception by others. Also a major thing that opposes aspergers to me is the sense of apathy hipsters have. I have heard many definitions of hipster, but usually people who are grouped in are too cool for school to act overly concerned or interested in anything. They may dress nerdy and like certain things, but its all public in an attempt to appear "cool". I've been to Asperger meetups and haven't seen a single "hipster" there.

As I've became more social, I've become more tolerant of "hipsters".

In many cases (not all), if something is widely used or done, it wouldn't be sin to think maybe, just maybe, there is a good reason for it. Otherwise many people wouldn't be doing it.

Besides, its not the interests themselves, but the fact that many people do them. How much of individuals Aspies like to be, by being completely the opposite culturally.

But nerds or Aspies probably have fun doing stupid/wierd things as much as "hipsters" because they enjoy it.

Hipsters may speak in slang, whereas Aspies may speak in rarely used (sometimes superficially relevent) pretentious words.

If you think Jersey Shore is corny, a lot of video games are corny too.

Maybe you're not spending your money on expensive sunglasses, but RAM your computer doesn't even need.

Whether you're anti- common cultural practices or for them, you still are letting it decide who you are.

I'm totally hip man , I'd be more hip with a additive free imported ciggerette from Europe.

If they're the type of people you fit in with, great.

As for me, I'm good. It's too tedious to be someone I'm not.

[img][800:1545]http://i.imgur.com/IyZXI.jpg[/img]

My problem with hipster people is that, I'm generally too weird for them. So while we'll have similar interests in part, generally I'll be like, off the total deep end into crazy obscurity. Like I had a neighbor who I guess was a hipster and/or associated with them. He liked drum and bass music, which while being like, not mainstream, is sorta "normal" meanwhile he'd make fun of me for listening to eurodance and eurobeat. So we initially hit it off, since we both had an interest in electronic music, but then because I was off in crazy town, he'd make fun of me for it. He liked me individually, but around his friends, he'd diss me for my uncoolness.

That, and it simply takes too much effort to dress like a hipster, I just wear old preppy clothes that cost no money, look reasonably good, and call it a day at that. I don't like dressing to stand out. So it's a weird paradigm, some of the stuff I like is so obscure I'd be an awesome hipster, but then I just ruin it with liking other completely non hip things.

I really wonder how hipsters would take to my Yellow Magic Orchestra obsession, too. I love Yellow Magic Orchestra, and they seem like completely the most hip band ever, I don't understand why hipsters haven't caught on yet. Great stuff. Silly hipsters.

I know that my avatar displays a hipster Ariel, but I only used it because I thought it was funny. I don't consider myself a hipster, although I do like some of their fashion and aspects of their lifestyles. Ultimately, I don't really mind them, Still, I don't see them as anything but a major subculture of our generation, similar to the beatniks and the hippies.

Also, I don't see hipsterdom and autism as being related. Sure, they have some coinciding traits, but that doesn't indicate kinship between the two. Hipsters like to stand out, whereas Aspies generally prefer to blend in. That doesn't mean that Aspies couldn't be hipsters, though.

i'm hopelessly unhip.
i live out in the woodsy-but-unhip sticks out amongst unhip yahoos, in an unhip old tin can. i always wear unhip [but comfortable] loose-fitting slacks with net tank top and windbreaker outside but stick to scrub bottoms, fuzzy slippers and bathrobe when i'm indoors. i studiously eschew fashion. i would be a nudist if it were legal here. i always wear raybans outdoors, to protect my sensitive eyes. my hair is still a quasi-neil young-esque pageboy, as it was in the 70s. i have a very unhip military mustache and a close-cropped unhip soul patch. i shop at unhip wallyworld and grocery outlet warehouse as that is what is available in my unhip neck of the woods. i eat what unhip foodstuffs i can afford that are sugar-free and as fat-free as well as being as affordably unhip as i can find. i avoid big cities like the plague, especially as they are all at least 3 hours driving time away from me. i listen to unhip old classical and acoustic jazz and show tunes and old pops from at least an unhip generation back. i ride unhip multi-geared [internal hub only and no infernal PITA derailleurs!] suspended comfort bikes with unhip but comfortably wide seats for my wide unhip hips, as well as unhip but wide and rearward handlebars for my unhip long arms. i have an unhip AARP-type cellphone that i almost never use because there is no cellphone reception out here in unhip land. most of my unhip stuff comes from unhip goodwill stores or unhip swap meets/garage sales from unhip years past. i listen to unhip northwest public radio [90.9 FM and 91.7 FM] because the hip NPR station [KUOW 94.9FM-seattle university of washington] is too far north for any reception in my unhip neck of the woods. i have an extensive collection of unhip entertainments [audio CDs, DVDs and books] that i peruse now and then. my favorite radio programs are the unhip "swing years and beyond" [streams from KUOW online] and "coast to coast" which thankfully comes in crystal-clear on the FM band, on totally unhip KIRO-FM 97.3 here.

I'm so hip I joined the Hip Forums....lol, seriously though since myyearbook decided to get rid of its forums section I had to find something new.

What do they usually think of Christians and Republicans?