The word ‘hipster’ has taken on many meanings over the years, from jazz potheads to ironic 20-somethings, but whatever Americans currently believe it to mean, they are now turning on the subculture in a big way. A new poll has found that 42% of American voters have an “unfavorable” opinion of hipsters.
The poll, conducted by Public Policy Polling (PPP), surveyed 571 U.S. voters who, overall, did not have a favorable picture of hipsters, though 43% “aren’t sure” what the think about them. While 23% of the voters polled thought hipsters had made “a positive cultural contribution to society,” a full 46% chose the polling option that said, “They just soullessly appropriate cultural tropes from the past for their own ironic amusement.”
The results were split slightly between Democrats and Republicans, with 34% of Democrats having an unfavorable opinion of the group and 18% having a favorable one. 48% of Republicans had an unfavorable opinion and only 9% had a favorable one. Only 2% of Republicans stated they would be more likely to vote for a hipster for political office, while 27% of independent voters stated they would be more likely to vote for a hipster.
The results were even more disparate when taken by age group. 43% of voters 18-29 actually have a favorable opinion of hipsters, to 29% who have an unfavorable opinion of them. Only 6% of voters over age 65 have a favorable opinion, while 37% of them have an unfavorable one.
By race, Hispanics were generally most favorable toward hipsters (46% favorable) while only 8% of white voters were favorable toward hipsters. A full 33% of the Hispanic voters polled considered themselves hipsters, while only 6% of white voters and 10% of black voters considered themselves hipsters.