Shifting the Collective Paradigm

Australia's most exciting and highly anticipated eco-culturejamming magazine, SHIFT has finally launched! I'm incredibly grateful to Kari who blogs at The Overthinker and the rest of the Sustainability Showcase team for publishing my article alongside some of the brightest minds in the environmental activism movement. The first issue's theme is 'powerdown'; deconstructing the human and ecological impacts of the looming energy crises, and how we can intelligently downshift our way to sustainability. SHIFT is a 100% volunteer-run independent grassroots not-for-profit initiative, which provides a critical alternative to our current mainstream politically homogenising mediaopoly.

If you fancy yourself as having a genuine concern for the future of our planet, or even just a passing curiosity in exploring global issues from a holistic systems-thinking perspective, I'd highly encourage you to download a free copy, share, subscribe, and join in the conversation. No formal writing experience is required to contribute and submit an article of your own. I'm neither a journalism student or a high profile activist, but since a reaching turning point in young adulthood, I decided that I wanted to make "genuine, far-reaching, influential written communication" one of my more prominent and ambitious life goals. How I was ever going to manage that, as a chronic procrastinator bound by writer's block, I still have no idea. All I remember thinking is if I manage to get just one article published in a magazine I'm reverently enthusiastic about, my life will feel (creatively) a tiny bit more complete. 

One of the most empowering aspects of collaborating with a like-minded community of insanely talented, generous and insightful change-makers is feeling liberated from the pressure of having to "say or do it all." Scrolling through the first issue, I see so many of my own wistful revolutionary sentiments reflected in every piece that my contribution only becomes meaningful in context of the greater whole. For those interested in learning more about the New Domesticity movement which inspired my article, I'd definitely recommend getting your hands on a copy of Emily Matchar's book, Homeward Bound (best read by candlelight with a yummy slice of homemade pie.)

Renovating Culture: Rise of the New Domesticity (originally published in SHIFT Magazine Issue #1 "Powerdown")

When my mother and grandmother were my age, they knew how to cook, clean, sew and garden, while I grew up on Disney cartoons and microwaved pizza, beheading barbie dolls and pressing complex buttons on a machine. Despite the yuppie conditioning imposed upon gen-Xers and Millennials to equate self-actualisation with technocentric careerism and “having it all”, the pull of re-skilling in the domestic arts has never been more alluring. 

In Homeward Bound: Why Women Are Embracing The New Domesticity, Emily Matchar (Matchar, 2013) talks about an emerging generation of “radical homemakers” who are reclaiming family values, frugal living and DIY culture in the name of sustainability and self-sufficiency. According to Matchar, the New Domesticity is less about traditional gender roles, but rather a call to embracing historically undervalued women’s work in harsh economic times. Motivated by a growing distrust of corporate and government institutions, progressive, educated middle class professionals, with the financial means to opt out partially or permanently from the system, are taking matters into their own hands. 

They’re organising “knit-ins” at the G8 summit and “yarnbombing” Wall Street. They’re speaking out about spiralling greenhouse gas emissions, rising sea levels, radiation-contaminated crops and waterways, and the integrity of their children’s future. Concerns over food safety are inspiring backyard vegetable gardens and organic “locavore, slow food” diets. Lack of stable, meaningful careers is encouraging people to get creative with their crafting projects and start up home businesses. Distaste for advertising in schools and understaffed daycares is leading parents to home school and spend more quality time with their kids. Growing fears that we are being profitably over-medicated by the medical establishment is giving way to a more holistic approach to health –– turning to natural therapies, conscious eating, bodywork and meditation. 

Equipped with the knowledge that our current way of life is unsustainably reliant on cheap fuel, scarce resources, and a non-transparent production chain alienated from the fruits of our labour — people are waking up to environmental impacts, as well as human and animal rights abuses, of outsourcing their livelihoods to sweatshops, factory farms, pharmaceutical companies, and Big Oil. The rise of neo-homesteading takes DIY homemaking to its passionate extreme, as advocates strive for complete off-the-grid energy independence. They’re unplugging their microwaves, swapping central heating for homemade sweaters, and turning to alternative currencies or bartering to decrease their reliance on monetary trappings.

According to a recent university survey involving over 2000 Australian students (“Gen Y reinvents itself as Gen S: ‘Generation Sensible’”, 2013), a high percentage of 17 to 29 year olds are in fact a generation of planners; more concerned with saving up and settling down than fitting the youthful stereotype of carefree irresponsibility. Their sentimental nostalgia for home and hearth has emerged full circle in reaction to the passion-stifling careerism of their baby-boomer parents, the artifice of online social realities like Facebook and the fragmented anomie of an overstimulated world. 

In the United States, where the bulk of Matchar’s research was conducted, New Domesticity seems to be uniting across all kinds of political, religious and economic divides. Conservative Mormon stay-at-home mum bloggers are sharing recipes online with liberal atheist hipster foodies while trading homeschooling tips with queer unschooling parents. Economists began speculating about a panic in decreased retail confidence as affluent eco-conscious families began emulating the frugal, green and minimalist lifestyles of low income earners. 

After the 2008 recession, people witnessed their neighbors’ homes being foreclosed, friends losing their health insurance and co-workers getting laid off while hedge fund managers enjoyed billion dollar bonuses. Younger generations began questioning whether it was worth taking out a loan for college when there would be hardly any jobs left for them once they graduated. As shantytowns popped up around the country, progressives and conservatives banded together to brainstorm smarter strategies for self-sufficiency, turning to New Domesticity as a means of taking back control from a very out of control situation.

Research indicates that nearly a quarter of Australians have downshifted through voluntarily simplifying their lives; working less hours, and cutting down on consumption. One psychology study has revealed that while downshifters may earn $15,000 on average less than the conventional worker, (about $26,000 compared to $41,000), they were significantly happier than their affluent peers. 

It’s the case of a twentysomething uni student finding more fulfillment from spending Saturday nights blogging about her latest baking project than hitting the clubs for overpriced drinks. Or the accomplished lawyer turned stay-at-home dad who leaves his high powered corporate job to renovate an earthship, and make YouTube videos about how to grow your own vegetables. This movement may not have taken off it weren’t for the internet and the rise of lifestyle blogging. Unlike isolated women bound by housewife syndrome in the 1950s, today’s Homemaker 2.0 is able to connect and skillshare with thousands of supportive, like-minded “craftivists” and “eco-warriors” defending the home front from corporate and government corruption. Controversially coined “the next wave of feminism,” New Domesticity recognises that working for The Man isn’t necessarily more empowering than homemaking as a vocation in the service of family, community and the planet.

Skeptics raise some interesting questions, however, about the implications of working professionals potentially opting out of the system en-masse. Does retreating to a “highly privatised and deregulated” domestic sphere do anything to help the plight of working class families, or does it simply leave them behind in their struggle for fairer working conditions, affordable day care and better quality education? It’s a complex issue to resolve, given how those most in need of liberation from the system tend to be the most financially dependent on its trappings. Proponents of the lifestyle may still stage public campaigns in solidarity, but is it still necessary for them to “lean in” up the ranks and smash glass ceilings from within? 

Libertarian writer Harry Browne (Browne, n.d.) extrapolates that in every situation in which we have a dilemma, we can either choose a direct or indirect alternative. Direct alternatives require us to make an independent decision to act on a desired outcome, while potentially sacrificing collective action. Indirect alternatives seek change primarily through convincing others to agree with our objectives, while potentially overlooking individual motives and free will. While the two aren’t mutually exclusive, those who believe the infamous “opt-out revolution” is sabotaging opportunities for policy reform are often reasoning in favour of indirect alternatives. Advocates of the New Domesticity meanwhile believe the change we often hope to achieve through indirect activism is ideally actualised through living in direct accordance with our values. Although the state of the world and attitudes of others are often outside our personal control, how we choose to structure our lives by “voting with our feet” is equally valid and important. 

Shannon Hayes, author of Radical Homemakers: Reclaiming Domesticity from a Consumer Culture (Hayes, 2010), proposes that in order for New Domesticity to be truly revolutionary it should follow a dedicated recipe of “renounce, reclaim, and rebuild.” In the renouncing phase, individuals make a conscious long-term decision to reject mainstream consumer culture. In order to reclaim alternative values, they must learn the skills to prepare them for a more self-sufficient life, whether it’s by learning how to cook, garden, sew, or install their own solar panels. The final phase – rebuild – addresses the original question that while radical homemakers may be opting out of mainstream culture, they aren’t opting out from building new resilient communities. In order for radical homemakers to make a significant impact beyond one’s private domain they need to openly share and teach the skills they’ve learned to neighbours, friends, coworkers and fellow activists as a means of strengthening community capacity. 

The take-home message here is that, instead of fighting and rallying others to conform to our beliefs, we should aim to lead and inspire by example through creating a life which is meaningful, sustainable and ultimately worth emulating.

Pretentious Identities: Subculture Report

I was cleaning out some of my old notes/assignments tonight and funnily stumbled across this article I had to write for a youth subculture project about hipsters. It required barely any research since the places I frequent are so plagued with hipsters, they’re impossible to ignore. I edited in a few points to make it more blog-friendly, so if you know any at-risk teens who might be stealing dad’s work flannels and trying to organically grow a goatee, I was hoping this might be somewhat of an 'educational' read. 

Subculture Research Report

History and rationale behind the subculture

The term hipster originated in the 1940s to describe white middle class youth who were largely into jazz and wanted to emulate the lifestyles of their favourite black musicians. After World War II, the subculture evolved through an emerging literary scene of beat poets such as Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs and Allan Ginsberg. Hipsters were characterised as American existentialists who needed to find meaning in social rebellion, wanderlust and uncharted spirituality as a reaction to the nihilistic alienation of the post-war political climate. From the late 1990s through late 2000s, hipster culture was revived as a new fetishism for the underground scene in reaction to the rise of popular culture in an increasingly media-dominated world. Today young people are more inclined to feel anxious about failing to live up to consumerist ideals plastered all over cult indie blogs and trendy street zines. Because advertisers have created an alluring market for them, hipsters feel the need to always find novel ways of asserting their individuality for fear of fading into insignificance or mediocrity. Many struggling artists started uploading their work for free online and gained a dedicated following of hipsters who wanted to be part of a scene or community which reflected their interests.

Subculture overview — The Interests of a Hipster

Music: Hipsters mostly listen to indie music influenced by a range of different genres; dubstep, electro-pop, rock, folk, reverb-laden r&b and shoegaze to name a few. They typically shun mainstream radio and take pride in being the first to discover new obscure artists no one else has ever heard of from Pitchfork and underground blogs. Bars and live music venues such as Goodgod Small Club and Oxford Art Factory are filled with hipsters on a typical Friday night, though they usually only turn up to have their photos tagged on Scenestr or featured in street press columns like The Brag. Hipsters also frequent music festivals such as Groovin' the Moo, Falls festival and Laneway. Popular hipster artists right now include Y△CHT, Alt-J, Beach House, Foals, Collarbones and horrifically enough - Taylor Swift. 

Fashion: From ripped upcycled vests to overgrown goatees, hipster fashion is well known for catalyzing the "homeless aesthetic" to be in vogue. They are accused of facetiously expressing solidarity with capitalism's underclasses by mixing expensive vintage pieces with working class fabrics like plaid and paisley. Hipsters on the runway have caused controversy and offence by wearing the Muslim hijab and Native American headdress with a blasé attitude towards feeding ethnic stereotypes. Hipsters tend to be more image-conscious than principle-driven, so they'll shop at charity stores and community markets to diffuse consumerist guilt, while secretly buying from chain stores like Topshop and Cream, finding new vintage, indie rocker and bohemian inspired pieces to complete their look. Wardrobe must-haves include leather boots, v-neck t shirts, slouched beanies, tucked in grandma blouses with high waisted skirts, denim shorts or skinny jeans, and fake thick rimmed glasses. Hipsters typically dress like they are going to a music festival even if they are just on their way to TAFE or uni. 

Art: Hipsters tend to frequent art galleries and may be compelled to create their own art. Hipster art is often influenced by internet memes, recycled collage effects and the use of trending recurring symbols such as triangles, nebulas, bears and pizza. Hipsters take their typography seriously, mourning the lost art of letterpress, while worshipping Helvetica and using Comic Sans ironically. Amateur photography is also popular among hipsters, particularly achieving the effect of vintage lomography using digital filters and adobe lightleaks. Craft is preferably made from recycled materials and sold at second hand markets.

Lifestyle and philosophy: Hipsters claim to draw as much ideological influence from past countercultural movements as they do with art and fashion. They tend to be left-learning, environmentally-conscious and non-religious, though critics accuse them of only adopting these beliefs for superficial and status conscious reasons. Hipsters can typically be spotted drinking organic coffee and eating vegan, gluten free meals in cafes around Newtown, Surry Hills and Glebe. Fixed geared bicycles are the most common form of transport used. More intellectual hipsters like to frequent old bookshops and fetishise obscure ideas.  

Reasons for young people’s attraction to the subculture

Young people might be attracted to becoming a hipster because the subculture is underpinned by the motivation to both stand out and fit in. Hipsters tend to win over their friends by proving that they own all of Sonic Youth’s B-sides and were the first to have an appreciation for Wes Anderson films before the hype of Moonrise Kingdom. Hipsters often attempt to rival the ambitious drive of techno-bohos by developing an abnormal obsession with apple products, smoking Dunhill luxury cigarettes, and juggling amateur DJing projects to bludge through their arts degrees. Young people who feel misunderstood may want to hide behind their superior tastes and develop an ironic sense of humour as a defense mechanism to convince themselves that others’ opinions won’t affect them.

Positives of being a hipster:

Hipsters may be popular in their social group for knowing about the latest music, films, fashion, hangout hotspots and cultural trends before they become mainstream.

Hipsters also tend to belong to a large online community of bloggers, artists and photographers in websites such as Tumblr, Scenestr and Instagram. They are pros at social media networking and tend to be effortlessly creative.

Hipsters don’t tend to be very conservative in their views and don’t typically subscribe to religious dogmas. Their pronounced sense of individuality and non-conformity makes them more like to resist being labelled or told what to do. (hence the irony of ‘anti-hipsters’ being the ultimate hipsters)

Downsides of being a hipster:

They tend to be perceived as snobby, unoriginal and pretentious due to identifying strongly with the superiority of their aesthetic tastes.

It is uncommon to hear anyone identify as a hipster because the term is subject to much satire and ironic reference in the media. Meanwhile young people who are genuinely attracted to the counterculture of being a hipster usually struggle to find a sense of belonging in mainstream society.

The subculture also has a dark underbelly of glorified apathy, preoccupation with self-image and heavy partying where drugs and alcohol are often encouraged.

Summary of relevant articles

The Hipstermattic is a humorously self-deprecating autobiography about a man who has just been dumped by his girlfriend and is on a quest to try on a new identity as a hipster. Journalist Matt Granfield describes the subculture in detail and recounts his adventures taking up typical hipster hobbies such as starting an indie band, learning to ride a fixed-gear bicycle, getting a tattoo and taking instagram photos. In the end, Matt realises he is not cut out for being a hipster after feeling guilty about mocking deaf people at a bar for drinking apple rather than pear cider. (“Apple Cider is so 2010”)

Bondi Hipsters: The Life Organic is a satirical music video about the often nonchalant way in which hipsters adopt sustainable lifestyle trends like eating organic, gluten free foods, exercising fashionably and constantly feeling the need to document their social life online. Lyrics such as “we don’t shower cause it’s a waste of water, it makes you look cool like you don’t bother” are rapped to a catchy electro beat as comedians Don and Adrian dance and highlight the most absurd aspects of being a hipster.

Hipster: The Dead End of Western Civilisation is a critic’s view on the rise of hipsterdom, describing it as a shallow and artificial re-appropriation of older socially significant counter-cultures such as beatniks, punks and revolutionary hippies. The article highlights that hipster fashion and culture is an inauthentic and apathetic means of connecting with marginalised groups in society as opposed to engaging passionately with real issues. Hipsters may wear a Che Guevara shirt and spend more time partying or consuming than reflecting on the implications of social justice.

How hipsters in the media affect young people 

Hipsters are stereotyped quite pejoratively and satirically in the media. They are portrayed as being trendy but trivially inauthentic, pretentious, apathetic, conceited and lacking in substance. This may influence society to be cynical and pessimistic about young people, and as a result refuse to take them seriously. Journalists who write about hipsters often feel the need to be witty and astute with their observations, even if it means accentuating the most detrimental aspects of the subculture at the expense of acknowledging the positives, such as viewing it as a stage of healthy youth experimentation. It's also helpful to keep in mind that media portrayals of hipsterdom are primarily a caricature, and most young people who share similar interests to hipsters don't necessarily fit the negative stereotype. Understanding hipster culture can provide unique insight into the minds of young people for concerned friends or family members hoping to establish greater rapport with troubled youth.

And finally, Hipster Kitty poignantly sums up what I've been doing with my life since leaving TAFE.. I've thankfully never been accused of being a hipster, only "hip with my music taste", which basically means I win at life.