When I wrote All Hope Abandon Ye Who……., I either missed it or it was not mentioned in the article that led me to write that article that the survey covered only hipsters! Now let me quote from another interesting article in the Guardian – “The reason this was deemed newsworthy is because beards have become what we in the fashion column-writing business call A Thing, and the reason they have become A Thing is because they have become associated with a certain demographic called hipsters.”
This was in response to a reader writing in with this question – “As a near lifelong beard sporter, I was concerned to read an article in the Guardian last week saying that we have reached “peak beard”. What does this mean, exactly?
Jimmy, London”
I was intrigued enough to try and find our what hipster meant and must say that I am very relieved that I am not one. “Hipster is a term popularly used to denote a contemporary subculture in North America, South America, Australia, and Europe primarily consisting of Millennials living in urban areas.The subculture has been described as a “mutating, trans-Atlantic melting pot of styles, tastes and behavior[s]” and is broadly associated with indie and alternative music, a varied non-mainstream fashion sensibility (including vintage and thrift store-bought clothes), progressive, independent, or far-left political views, organic or artisanal foods, and alternative lifestyles. Hipsters are typically described as affluent or middle class young Bohemians who reside in gentrifying neighborhoods.” – Wikipedia.
None of those qualifications apply to me, and I mean NONE. Particularly, the affluent part living in gentrifying neighbourhood.
To the best of my knowledge, my friends, Shackman, David and Mike don’t qualify either.
It is therefore greatly satisfying to me that I have not reached peak beard and therefore can keep my beard. So can my three friends listed above.
That leads me to the next development which was for my to change my avatar to one with a peruke following a suggestion from Grannymar. Now that my trademark beard is safe, I can revert to my normal avatar.
An interesting thought however is the suggestion in the article that “the only really impressive thing a man can do with facial hair is growing a Salvador Dalí-like moustache”. Let me see how that will look!
