4.  Hipsters as seen by outsiders

In fact, much of what is written about this way of living describes hipsters in pejorative terms.  The reaction of commentators on the hipster lifestyle is overwhelmingly critical even to the point of loathing.  What evokes such strong negative emotions on the part of these commentators is that, in their judgment, hipsters contribute nothing new or praise worthy to contemporary culture. 

Hipsters are said to have produced nothing original.  Their style is entirely made up of elements foraged from other cultural groups, with whom they do not identify in solidarity but from whom they appropriate/cannibalize only bits and pieces indiscriminately.  They then combine these elements/symbols/icons of qualitatively different/distinct/disparate styles (working class, counterculture/revolutionary, gay, upper class intellectual cultures) and juxtapose them unchanged into a mashup of their own, thereby reducing these cultural elements to kitsch, i.e. render them irrelevant and meaningless for contemporary living.

Furthermore, they are accused of being snobbish and elitist.  They consider their own mashup style of living to be superior to non-hipster mainstream styles.  They sneer at Mainstream styles and poke fun at them. Ironically they even go so far as to deride their own life style and poke fun at their tendency to poke fun at other people.  So, while reducing non-hipster styles to kitsch, they present their own style of living without conviction, as a joke, as a fashion statement only, wearing it as a costume, parading it on stage as if they are just playing a role in a comedy, rather than expressing their personal individuality.  They are in short playing Mr. and Mrs. Dress up to an audience for the effect.  They consider themselves to be beyond taking themselves seriously.  Or so outsiders tell us.  

They pretend that all of this is only a game.  They routinely tend to treat serious subjects in a playful, humorous manner.  They are especially masters at irony.  When asked, they flatly deny that they are hipsters or are living a hipster life style.  You can have two hipsters angrily accusing each other of being a hipster!  They deny that they are making a statement with their fashion style when it is obvious that they are, and they consistently profess not to be committed to anything when it is clear from the outside that they are very much invested in their style of living.  Hipsters pointedly (!) refuse to take a stand on anything or to say anything with a straight face.  They refuse to take responsibility for anything.  Furthermore, they are working too diligently at showing that they do not care to be believed.