THE CONCEPT OF THE HIPSTER was born roughly around the same time on both sides of the Atlantic. They popped up in newly-trendy urban areas such as Brooklyn and Shoreditch — generally (but not exclusively) white, middle- and upper-class twentysomethings, typically artsy and progressive, often working in emerging industries (or not working at all). They were introduced to a wider audience in 2003 through the gentle Hipster Handbook in America and two years later in Britain, through the rather savage Channel 4 sitcom, Nathan Barley.
The charge sheet against them is deceptively long, with bizarre concepts like “hipster sexism” and “hipster racism” (of which more
