In the 1980s, the slang term yuppie came to be, and it was used to describe the young, rich white-collar workers of the decade. Yuppie is an acronym for young urban professional and throughout the '80s, this term developed a somewhat derogatory meaning.
This class of society was known for flaunting their designer products and embracing the materialism of the decade. Characterized by youth and affluence, Yuppies tended to buy the most expensive items they could. They were often associated with wearing designer clothing, driving BMW's, and bragging about their wealth, and this showiness put the Yuppies in a negative light for most of the 1980s.
Yuppies had high-paying jobs, lived in large cities, and they normally did not have kids. In fact, 75% of Yuppie households were childless, partly because they worked so much they had little time to raise children. This led to a new subset of Yuppies, known as DINKs (Double Income, No Kids). These couples often had lots of disposable income, which they could use to buy and consume fancy, new things.Also, the Yuppies embraced materialism because they had the money to do so. They focused on buying and consuming, which was a stark contrast to many of the Americans who rejected materialistic values. That said, the presence of the Yuppies was short-lived. Since many Yuppies worked in the finance sector in large cities, the 1987 stock market crash hit many of them especially hard. After that point, those who were considered Yuppies focused less on material goods and more on security and comfort.
In the late '80s and early '90s, the term "Yuppie" became associated with greed, selfishness, and ostentatious behavior. Despite this derogatory stereotype, the Yuppie class did have some positive impacts on American society. They played a key role in the economy and gentrified urban neighborhoods, which had both positive and negative side effects. Today, the term Yuppie is being revitalized in a more positive light. The Yuppies today are still young professionals, but instead of flaunting material goods, they tend to adopt a certain lifestyle. Although not very reminiscent of the Yuppies of the '80s, the young urban professional class of Americans today continues to expand.
Sources:
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/y/yuppie.asp
https://nostalgiacentral.com/pop-culture/fads/yuppies/
https://newrepublic.com/article/143609/new-yuppies-how-aspirational-class-expresses-status-age-inequality
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/10/fashion/tell-tale-signs-of-the-modern-day-yuppie.html
Though I have personally never heard someone use the term 'yuppie,' I can definitely their role in American society. As you mentioned, their emergence in society wasn't entirely negative; they embodied President Reagan's ideal vision of Reaganomics, where the wealthy would stimulate the economy through their consumerism and allow prosperity to trickle down to the rest of America. In addition, yuppie culture lead to a literary explosion that centered around the fast-paced lifestyle of yuppies, illuminating the works of young writers such as Jay McInerney, Bret Easton Ellis and Jill Eisenstadt. However, even they acknowledged the price of the yuppie lifestyle, such as a dependence on cocaine.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, the yuppie's prosperity did not, in fact, trickle down to the rest of society; poverty and homelessness became problematic in American inner cities.
sources:
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/y/yuppie.asp
https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/culture-magazines/1980s-way-we-lived
https://nostalgiacentral.com/pop-culture/fads/yuppies/
I found your blog post very interesting since the presence of "yuppies" still exists in the current world. Although "yuppies" started out as a thing of the 1980s, we have seen a resurgence in "yuppy" culture. With the advent of entertainment and shows that showcase less of family life but more of somewhat wealthy Americans without kids, our modern society has come to almost idolize this culture. However, even though "yuppies" are more widely accepted today, it is still very difficult for many to achieve this level of wealth and prosperity due to the fragile economy many are inheriting.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/10/fashion/tell-tale-signs-of-the-modern-day-yuppie.html