Auth is a state of mind where you cannot be influenced. U can only vibe and approach the world with an auth state of mind. No brands represent u. Music is not cultural currency.

aestheticizing authenticity would allow the popular, the generic, and the standardized to become authentic.

You already know what the language of authenticity sounds like:... See more

While researching this phenomenon I encountered papers on Harley-Davidson owners, punk music listeners, Dutch black metal fans, collectors of strategy games, and at least a dozen other subcultures. In each, an authenticity construct having to do with commerciality and consumption is shown to be important to identity. What is distinct about hipster... See more

Clearly the cultural pressure to achieve a unique self is old, strong, and not unique to hipsters, so why did the authenticity drive spin out of control after CE 2000? One possible reason is that the hundreds of studies on authenticity in tourism and subcultures have also been read and in many cases sponsored by business thinkers who directly... See more

Crucially, this doesn’t mean that people don’t continue to seek individuation. As I’ve argued elsewhere exclusivity is fundamental to any meaning-amplifying strategy.

One thing is certain: the authenticity aesthetic served as a cohesive for all of these developments. It tied the spectrum of consumable items, spaces, and identities into a single unified visual experience.

This is a good time to discuss the demand for authenticity and where it comes from. As I hinted at previously, there’s a personal dimension to... See more

This gives us a pretty good idea of what authenticity means, or at least what it meant: something special, something unique, something priceless, not a commodity, not touched by money.

to the horribly corporate Brandless. Even the names of boring basics companies like “Common Threads” and “Universal Standard” reflect the the popularity of genericness

now, as Dena Yago says, “you can like both Dimes and Doritos, sincerely and without irony.” If we no longer see brands and commodity capitalism as something to be resisted, we need more nuanced forms of critique that address how brands participate in society as creators and collaborators with real agency.

“the concept of authenticity is increasingly deemed inauthentic.”