trend. Stefano and I came to the conclusion that there are two types of hipster in the world; the true conventional trendsetter (Type 1 if you will) and the wannabe (Type 2). The difference, we decided, is that Type 1s do not define themselves as hipsters, or anything in particular, but genuinely feel passionate about the causes associated with the trend. Type 2s, however, are crowd followers and wish to subscribe to the trend because it seems trendy. Type 2s are responsible for causing the trend to snowball into a cultural group within a larger culture. ‘If you emulate other people and you’re the kind of person that copies others to follow a trend, then you’re a bit of a sociopath. Those people are considered hipsters,’ Stefano professes. Ronnie Alecio, a local Religious Studies graduate who expressed interest in my outcry for help in producing this article, suggests that the label has been imposed by non-hipsters. ‘I think the minute you Hipster Type 2: perfect vision but wears glasses Hipster Type 1: sports one of his own tshirst designs define yourself as a hipster, you stop being a real hipster,’ he adds. We bask its spiraling house-prices and the subscribe to the following of the trend.’ He in the midday pleasantness of friction caused by gentrification. If “The problem lists off everything he’s hoping to bring to the Garrison Library garden, gentrification could be imagined in is that we are his new establishment, from vegan friendly where he is currently an assoavatar form, it would look an awful stuck between ciate researcher for the Borderfood to acoustic live music, poetry nights, lot like a hipster,’ James Walsh, language exchanges, and a comedy club. ‘I two terrible ing on Britishness oral history social and community news editor think hipsterism is a reluctance to be affilgenerations...” project. ‘It’s not clearly defined, writes. The tie between hipsters iated with or form part of any one specific it’s anyone’s word, really. I get and gentrification, the act of imgroup. Modern society, especially in the mad at myself because the term proving an area to conform to middle-class West, has honed in on a narcissistic culture has infiltrated its way into my head, and standards, ties in with a comparison Stefaof individualism. We all want to be I do sometimes think, “oh that’s no makes between creative entrepreneur individual, and we affirm certain so hipster”.’ Ronnie is currently in A common types and hipsters, noting that both are identities. Personally, I think that the process of opening a café, ‘it’s hipster trait open to innovation and collaboration. the real hipsters try to reject going to be a real hipster dive, is the concept that need to present oneself in a but no hipsters are allowed’ he of avoiding specific way. It’s rejecting these jokes, playing up to the paraTwo types of hipster big corporate voices in the media that are telling dox. ‘The conscious awareness you to stand out; it’s about being merchants... Stefano has built himself a solid reputation of calling it hipster would be to so ordinary that you’re deemed for witty and unforgivingly honest social extraordinary.’ commentary through his blogs for Your Gibraltar TV, and is often deemed a hipster himself for being different. As an artsy type Defining a subculture he’s set up an online store for his photography and graphic print t-shirts in an effort How far has the hipster subculture spread to offer his work to the world. It can be to Gibraltar? Ronnie reveals that he does found in the dark corner of the internet know people who ‘have likes and dislikes that is stefanoblanca.com/moreshop. ‘The like the people we call hipsters have but hipster thing is a bit like the arts, some it’s still an underground culture here. people are taking the piss and seeing how Gibraltar is always three or four years far they can push things, and some people behind whatever trends are going on in are serious about their art.’ the UK, for example veganism is only now becoming a big thing here. We’re so small that there isn’t enough people of any one The term first stemmed from the 1940s, group to form a subculture.’ That’s not to the Guardian says, in a feature that say that Gibraltar is entirely void of trend predicts we are near to the end of the subfollowers and micro cliques belonging to culture. The word once defined individuals wider subcultures. Thinking back seven or who rejected social norms. The concept eight years my age group definitely fell into reappeared in pop culture in the 90s to dea number of fads, from goths and emos, to scribe middle class youths with an interest chavs. Either I’ve become out of touch, or in ‘the alternative’. Today, it has morphed such blatant trends just don’t appear to be into a vague term, representing a social around anymore. class that has apparently set a widespread © DM Parody - www.dotcom.gi/photos
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GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE MAY 2016
© DM Parody - www.dotcom.gi/photos
© DM Parody - www.dotcom.gi/photos
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