Definition
“Yuppie” is a term coined in the early 1980s for a young professional person working in a city.
Yuppie
What is ‘Yuppie’
Yuppie is a slang term denoting the market segment of young urban professionals. A yuppie is often characterized by youth, affluence and business success.
Explaining ‘Yuppie’
Coined in the 1980s, the term yuppie was used as a derogatory title for young business people who were considered arrogant, undeservedly wealthy and obnoxious. Yuppies were often associated with wearing high fashion clothing, driving BMWs and gloating about their successes. The term has become less of a stereotype and now promotes the image of an affluent professional.
History of the Term Yuppie
There is some debate over who first coined the term yuppie, but many attribute this to Joseph Epstein, writer and former editor of The American Scholar. However, the first printed instance of yuppie was in a May 1980 issue of Chicago magazine entitled “From Yippie to Yuppie.” Yippies, in stark contrast to yuppies, were affiliates of the Youth International Party, a counterculture group that emerged in the late 1960s.
Further Reading
- Stressed out on four continents: Time crunch or yuppie kvetch? – www.mitpressjournals.org [PDF]
- 'Red mobs','yuppies','lamb heads' and others: contacts, informal networks and politics in the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Romania – www.tandfonline.com [PDF]
- Yuppies, yuffies and the new urban order – www.jstor.org [PDF]
- Of yuppies and housing: gentrification, social restructuring, and the urban dream – journals.sagepub.com [PDF]
- Fast food/organic food: Reflexive tastes and the making of'yuppie chow' – www.tandfonline.com [PDF]
- How has mobile phone penetration stimulated financial development in Africa? – www.tandfonline.com [PDF]
- Economics fit for the Queen: a pessimistic assessment of its prospects – www.tandfonline.com [PDF]
