More often than not, I think the search for “authenticity” is nothing more than a name for our search for a specific culture or way of life that we might enjoy. We label it authentic because it validates our desire to live a certain way. And, in our heads, it continues to be an authentic way of life even as we compromise our own beliefs and declarations of what is authentic as our preferences and state in life changes.
Everyone defines authenticity differently. And everyone’s definition changes over time.
The stream of hipsters (which, per the SoHo model, gradually turns to young professionals, then the occasional lawyer, then hedge-funders) “pioneering” new neighborhood with a more classic, chain-store-less urban feel harms the areas both by dramatically driving-up the cost of living and generating a new and oppressive ideal of taste.
… the hunt for authenticity is inevitably followed up with lobbies for new zoning laws, and Starbucks, condos, IKEAs, and strangely hip sushi bars begin to pop up awkwardly alongside the newly formed monuments of counter-culture.
Unknown, The Ultimate Hipster Irony
02/24/10
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