Death of the Cool Girl

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 influ... See more

This is why we have the saying that “the people that were cool in high school never end up all that cool later in life.” The cool kids at that age were just really good at imitating, which was the currency of coolness then. Since everyone was floating in a sea of imitation, no one appreciated individuality. The opposite in fact: they punished it. T... See more