Between the 1980s and 90s the term Yuppies was coined. A Yuppie, by definition, is a ‘Young Urban Professional’, recognisable by their desire and ability to be free, indulge in luxurious and unnecessary accessories and generally enjoy life. Without validation their fun times and possessions would be entirely redundant therefore the Yuppie must ensure people notice them at all times enjoying life. Hedonism serves as a much less glamorous analysis of this lifestyle, sounding more menacing than the comparatively light-hearted ‘Yuppie’.
In 2008, some twenty years after the development of the Yuppie, Canadian-born white guy, Christian Lander, launched a blog named Stuff White People Like. He intended it as an intimate project to be read by his friends in which they could publicly air their disenchantment with the stereotypical suburban white upper-middle-classes (also known as Yuppies).
Depending on the sensitivity of the reader and the level of seriousness with which Lander’s list is read, Stuff White People Like could be either entertaining or offensive. Regardless, it is an undeniably cutting observation of our society and at times an uncomfortable read. The list is so comprehensive and measured that, after brief consideration, I confidently concluded that there is not a single person I know who wouldn’t nestle comfortably into at least one category on the list.
Indeed, in between ‘yoga’, ‘coffee’, ‘travelling’ and ‘thinking they know what’s best for poor people’ I find myself entwined several times in an inescapable stereotype of a generation. Lander himself notes that people are naturally uncomfortable when they find themselves stereotyped, understandable when we are taught from birth to believe in our own individuality, value and uniqueness.
At seven years old I believed wholeheartedly that I was put on earth to somehow save the planet. Single-handedly. I interpreted (entirely inaccurately) the concept of unconditional love as licence to smuggle as many sweets from my sister as possible without repercussion. I also efficiently developed a swagger Kanye West would be proud of, in preparation for the world’s unanimous acknowledgement of my greatness. In due course I realised that the world is actually much bigger than I had first calculated and perhaps it was too much effort to save it by myself after all. I decided the swagger should stay.
Although comforting and effortless, the ideal of a free, indulgent lifestyle is ultimately flawed and, as history has proven, destructive when taken to its extreme. As a generation we stand at a unique place in history, in which we have been given more unchecked freedom and autonomy than any other. What’s more, we have been encouraged to embrace and enjoy this freedom.
G.K. Chesterton once wrote, “We have a suffocating sense of luxury and no sense at all of liberty. All the pleasure-hunters seem to be themselves hunted. All the children of fortune seem to be chained to the wheel. There is very little that really even pretends to be happiness in all this sort of harassed hedonism”. Profound words and a chilling reminder of the necessity of perspective and balance.
The satirical novel (later a film) by Bret Easton Ellis, American Psycho, depicts Patrick Bateman as the archetypal Yuppie, trapped in a stifling nine-to-five existence whose satisfied material needs prove to fall tragically short by way of satisfying him. Haunted by the hollowness of his existence he turns to hysterical fantasies of brutal crimes by which to vent his frustration at overwhelming emptiness of his reality. Of course, this is used as an extreme example, and it is impossible to criticise an entire generation.
We have evolved into a society laden with comfort, luxury and extravagance, surrounded by instant results, technology and gratification. When coupled with the relentless message of self-worth we are all subject to, therein lays a potential for gluttony at best and tyranny at worst. As such, it seems deeply necessary that we maintain a sense of awareness, the ability to evaluate, and re-evaluate our motivations and utilize for the right reasons the overwhelming liberty we have been granted. We should recognise this eternally as a gift, not an indivisible right. If not, there is always the risk that, unchecked by humility, one will assume superiority of their own being over someone else’s.
I live in eternal child-like hope that one day I will save the planet. I guess though, as quoted by J.D. Salinger, “The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one”. Or, in other words, there’s a world of difference in leaving the swagger behind.
