Aspies and Hipsters

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I have no theory on this, but it occured to me and I wanted you guys opinions. What, if any, similarities do you see between Aspies and Hipsters?

I see a few, but they are all stereotypical and not all Aspies do these things nor do all Hipsters. But, it's an interesting (to me) topic. So lets see where it goes.

Aspies have certain special interests we are highly focused on
Hipsters have certain special interests they are highly focused on
Aspie special interests vary greatly while Hipsters interests are usually music, art, literature, possibly computers

Aspies generally dress for comfort and say to heck with fashion
Hipsters generally dress for comfort and say to heck with fashion
However Hipsters have a sort of unspoken rule within their subculture of what is and isn't acceptable

Many Aspies aren't that concerned with hygeine
Many Hipsters aren't concerned with hygeine
But, the Hipsters who aren't concerned with hygeine tend to be that way to make a statement, or because they have spent all their money on alcohol and cigarettes so they cannot afford hygeine products, and Hipster males tend to consider semi-longish greasy hair to be a style in itself

Many Aspies have disdain for those who are not on the spectrum (ie NT's)
Many Hipsters have disdain for those who are not Hipsters
Although Hipsters do not admit they are Hipsters and will get angry with you if you call them one, while many Aspies do admit that they are Aspies

Many Aspies are arrogant, especially when it comes to their special interest or things that have been special interests in the past in which they know a great deal about.
Many Hipsters are arrogant
WIthout reason

Many Aspies just want to be left alone
Many Hipsters just want to be left alone
To display angst so that others will notice and be impressed with the level of angst

Many Aspies have trouble ending romantic relationships so they simply cut off contact
Many Hipsters have trouble ending romantic relationships so they simply cut off contact
With Hipsters this usually involves sneaking out the door while the other party is still asleep

Many Aspies will not get in a physical confrontation and will walk away when provoked
Many Hipsters will not get in a physical confrontation and will walk away when provoked
However, the Hipster will moved a good distance away and shout at the other party using big words and tell him that only neanderthals settle things that way, and he obviously doesn't have the intelligence to debate. Thus provoking their aggressor more and eventually having to run away to avoid an attack because Hipsters are usually small and weak.

Many Aspies have certain foods and drinks that they will only consume
Many Hipsters have certain foods and drinks that they will only consume
While Aspies have their favorites because of flavor, texture, etc, Hipsters are a political statement.


Thoughts?

Frances

the ability to be able to afford to be picky is what hipsters love apies are just picky.

I don't think so. Much on this list doesn't mesh with what I know of hipsters.

Not really. This is one of the dividers between hipsters and nerds. I'm a nerd and I parted ways with hipsters over this specifically. That was 20 years ago and now it's a moot point since I'm middle aged (and so are they) but the next generation of nerds and hipsters seem to have kept the subcultures similar. Hipsters did and apparently still do self define over not getting too deeply attached to certain interests. I found this maddening back inthe 90's and if I were still in my 20's, I probably would still find it maddening because the next generation apparently still does it.




Those unspoken rules are fashion rules. They are every bit as strict as what is in or out on the catwalks of fashion shows. These fashionable clothes are comfortable but make no mistake, they adhere to incredibly strict rules. It's just that none of the rules dictate discomfort. This has also not changed since I was a young nerd. Back in my day the specific rules were different for that generation of hipsters (and as a young nerd, I mocked them because that's what young nerds do) but all that has changed is the exact nature of the rules. They don't follow designers (in fact designers follow them, to hilarious effect) but this does not mean they aren't slaves to fashion. They are merciless to those who wear the "wrong" clothes.



You are right about hipsters on this one. I hope you are wrong about Aspies.




Displaying angst is not a genuine desire to be left alone. Hipsters do not want to be left alone. They can be aloof and not want to be sycophantic. This may look superficially similar to an Aspie desire to be away from the crowd but it isn't. Rather the hipster wants to make it clear that they won't suck up to the crowd because they are too cool for that. They want the crowd to suck up to them- quite a different thing from wanting to be left alone.



I'd heard about that. This is something new that the new hipster generation has added in the 20 years since I associated with the former generation. It's not a good thing.



More often than not it's a fashion statement rather than a political statement. For awhile there, hipsters drank Pabst Blue Ribbon entirely for fashion reasons. I don't know precisely what they're into these days (since I'm sure they dropped Pabst Blue Ribbon the minute it became unfashionable, unlike the people who actually like it) but rest assured they are consuming the wahtever-it-is because they are Cool (or whatever the word is these days) not as a political statement. I am not counting ethical vegetarians as being among hipsters, though they may sometimes go to the same restaurants. Like nerds, people who choose food for political reasons will sometimes eat the same things as people who choose it for fashion reasons, but the reasons are different even when the menu is the same.

This might be my most annoyed and ranting post on WP. Hipsters annoy me still, though less than they did 20 years ago. But that's mostly because my age group doesn't tend to have hipsters. Nerds, hippies, even punks can continue being that in middle age. (People who stay true to their punk ideals into middle age tend to move towards political activism. You can see them scattered amongst the Occupy youngsters.) But it is nearly impossible to remain a hipster into middle age because hipsterism is defined not by stable ideals or interests, but by staying on top of what's current and young. You can't really do that in middle age, although some former hispters of the 90's have probably tried. I'm actually a little curious what becomes of hipsters as they age, but I can't find anybody my age who will admit to being that in the 90's. Maybe they abandon it for something more stable.

There's a big diffrence. Aspies don't choose to be Aspies. They're simply born that way.

Still not quite sure what a hipster is..........but sometimes I suspect that is the catagory some people might put me in, not sure what to think though or if I would even agree I mean I've been dressing for comfort but with odd styles like I like wearing things that remind me of the 60's for quite some time even though I did not actually get to experiance that time period I am just obsessed with all that psychedelic rock. I also really like the newer psychedelic rock bands......so maybe there is some truth in these simularities.

I have no idea what a hipster is but my brother told me I'm a hipster. I've noticed that a lot of people are starting to dress like me, which actually just makes me mad. I didn't realize I was conforming to a cultural stereotype.

I don't know how anyone can even make a comparison since there doesn't seem to be any firm consensus on what a Hipster really is. Seems the term means different things to different people. It's too ambiguous. I won't use ambiguous terminology. To me, "Hipsters" is such an ambiguous term it doesn't deserve a place in my vocabulary.

Wow! you are a style master as well as a hipster.

I meet with lots of hipsters and artists. Because they are more in the game sexually, hygiene is better than with aspies...

Basically they are high functioning aspies often with ADHD too.... so they express the same way, with above mentioned similarities......only in a less obvious and milder manner

I consider these types aspergian, even though they would fail a diagnosis. Their lives are often fraught with difficulties just like an aspie.

Many hipsters are purely ADHD, and express the dark triad traits, almost exclusively over aspieness

PBR is still popular in the hipster segment, mostly because of its price. Doesn't hurt that for such a cheap beer (often ~$16 for a 30-pack) it isn't that bad - better than the alternatives, mostly.

On the other end is Parliament Lights. More expensive than Camels, Marlboros, Winstons, etc. Better perceived quality though.

I guess that I'm an Aspie Hipster.

Judging by you pic, I'd say so. You dress like me. I became a hipster on accident. I read to much Burroughs and Kerouac and decided I like thrift stores. Ha ha.

But hey, you like the kinks! You're cool in my book, whether or not you drink PBR.

Well maybe someone will define hipster by the time I get back on here......lol.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article is about the contemporary subculture. For the 1940s subculture see Hipster (1940s subculture)

Hipsters (also scenesters[1]) are a subculture of young, recently settled urban middle class adults and older teenagers with musical interests mainly in alternative rock that appeared in the 1990s. Other interests in media would include independent film, magazines such as Vice and Clash, and websites like Pitchfork Media.[2]

Hipster culture has been described as a "mutating, trans-Atlantic melting pot of styles, tastes and behavior[s]."[2] Christian Lorentzen of Time Out New York argues that "hipsterism fetishizes the authentic" elements of all of the "fringe movements of the postwar era—beat, hippie, punk, even grunge," and draws on the "cultural stores of every unmelted ethnicity," and "regurgitates it with a winking inauthenticity."[3] Others, like Arsel and Thompson, argue that hipster signifies a cultural mythology, a crystallization of a mass-mediated stereotype generated to understand, categorize, and marketize indie consumer culture, rather than an objectified group of people.[4]

There you go Sweetyleaf

Well, I guess I am a hipster... or maybe I'm just eclectic... Or culturally indecisive.

I've been called a hipster once on here and I never understood why. I know he meant it in a bad way because of the context he used it in. He mentioned cons and then he mentioned one of them was hipsters and said "he knows I am one."

I am probably not one based on that wikipedia description.

If I am called one next time, I probably wouldn't let it bother me like I did last time. I would have to ask myself "is it really a bad thing? Am I really hurting anyone or doing any harm?" If not, then there is nothing wrong with it. I don't understand the bad stigma against them. I'd rather like people for who they are, not dislike them for what they are and I only dislike people if I don't like their personality and how they behave, not for what they are. I could identify with some of the things that were listed in the OP but it's AS only, not the hipster reason.

Aspies genuinely like the things they're obsessively interested in, and hipsters only pretend to like things, whether they're pretending to like something because they think it's cool or whether they're pretending to like something because it's ironic. Do they actually like Star Trek? Nope, they're just wearing that pre-faded Star Trek t-shirt ironically. Do they actually enjoy listening to that indie band nobody else has ever heard of? Of course not, because they'll abandon that band the moment they become popular. Hipsters are phonier than three dollar bills. Try to engage one in a conversation sometime. It's like talking to a robot.