When I hear the term “hipster,” I think of thick-rimmed glasses with no lenses. And vinyl. And vintage clothes, skinny jeans, converse sneakers and the irritating phrase: “Oh, you’ve probably never heard of them before…”
According to an online chart, Minnesota has beaten out "hipster" states such as a New York to become the number one most "hipsterish" state in the U.S.
Urban Dictionary defines hipsters as: “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.” The entry even says that most hipsters live in Williamsburg, New York or in San Francisco.
But Minnesota? Hardly. And yet a recent online post says that state is actually the number one most “hipsterish” state in the United States.
The exact logic of the data behind the article is shady at best. Author Chris Menning suggests Minnesota places first because it leads the nation in the number of search terms for “hipster” entered into Google.
As several commentators point out, that might have more to do with people in Minnesota not knowing what a hipster is rather than being hipsters themselves.
I can’t exactly say I’m surprised, however. Minneapolis in particular, from what I understand of friends who live there, is a hub of cultural and artistic connoisseurs. It’s one of the most bike-friendly locations in the country.
And after all, there’s nothing more hipster than being able to tell your friends:
“Minnesota? Oh, it’s a really obscure state. I was a hipster there before it was popular.”
Other honorable mentions among Great Lakes states for inclusion within the hipster ranks are New York, Illinois and Pennsylvania, coming in at two, five and 10, respectively.
Do you think using search term frequency is a good measure of how many hipsters a state contains? Is Minnesota really the next hipster capitol of the United States? And exactly how “hipsterish” can Illinois be?
I can believe it. There has always been a solid music scene in Minn…not to mention, an advancing surf culture as well as some of the country’s most innovative hip hop.
Politically; Minnesota is an interesting place as well – sort of separates itself from the midwest norm in terms of its ideals.
Its a great state…if not too f’n cold though!
I don’t know that search terms are the best way to determine hipster-ness. In fact, searching for meaning on being a hipster is decidedly un-hipster-esque. Though, as a former Minneapolitan, I feel I can anecdotally confirm that Minnesota is indeed a magnet for those of the ironic Christmas sweaters and all-things vintage. My friends and I even had a drinking game devised around spotting different categories of hipsters – like meepers or gutter punx. Wait! Does that make us hipsters too? I admit to spending many an hour in Cheapo Records and I did try to ride a tall bike once before denouncing them as stupid.
Ahhh!! Suddenly, all I can picture is a snake-like pair of skinny jeans eating itself in an infinite cycle of hipsteralia. Believe it or not, most of the heppest of hipsters in Minneapolis/St. P. are from North Dakota. But then, you probably haven’t heard of that yet.