If you’re reading this from your cluttered-with-crafts desk in front of a window overlooking a busy street, you are. If this article finds you in your photography studio where you’re shooting women dressed as Pokemon (it’s a metaphor, duh), you are. Even if you’re trapped in some cold corporate cubicle but secretly Pinning our tutorials, dreaming of getting home and working on your screenplay, you are.
Yuccie is the latest buzzword to be thrown in our collective faces and it stands for Young Urban Creative. Think: yuppie but with a talent for making things (the Yuccie version of American Psycho would involve pristine Instagram feeds instead of crisp business cards). The word describes a generation of people who seek creative fulfillment in every aspect of their lives. Wait. That sounds familiar and also kind of awesome.As tired as we all are of getting slammed with labels, here are some reasons the emergence of the yuccie is actually pretty great.
Yuccies have really cool jobs: Since yuccies thrive on creativity and refuse to settle for anything less, they often create the jobs they want, and mostly they’re pretty sick jobs! Could our parents have gotten jobs as “vibe coordinators,” or bloggers, or get paid to spend the day fooling around (aka: being a social media expert)? Heck no! We live in a time and a culture that place high value on things once considered frivolous, that are now crucial. And, hey, sometimes if you’re good enough you can get paid to do fun things you love.
Yuccies are making the world more creative: In the ’80s, the word “yuppie” meant someone cold and calculating striving to win in the business world. The fact that, in 2015 yuccies are the new thing, speaks volumes about the increased importance placed on art in our society. We’re not only living in a more creative world, we’re helping to make it!
Yuccies make cool things you use: Even if you yourself don’t identify as a yuccie you can still get something from this trend. Yuccies are innovators, responsible for making lives more interesting as well as easier. Next time you’re using Tinder or Angry Birds, Instagram or Snapchat to stave off boredom on the bus think of the yuccie who gave the world that idea and smile. You’re Jon Lovitz in The Wedding Singerwhen thinking about yuccies — they’re “losing their minds, and I’m reaping alllll the benefits.”
Everyone can be a yuccie: No I can’t, you’re thinking. I’m working a job I hate because it pays the bills. I SOLD MY SOUL TO THE COMPANY STORE, MAN! There’s no need to fret if you’re, what a Mashable article calls, an “unrequited yuccie.” According to Mashable, this just means you take a job to sustain you while you find a way to do your creative work full time and there’s no shame in that. “Win-lose-pivot,” says the article referring to how many people in stable jobs quit to pursue their dream. This is becoming more and more mainstream — check our How to Quit Your Day Job series to see it in action.
So you’re a Yuccie. Now what? Use your powers for good: As a yuccie, you’re usually privileged to have access to more education than most. We’ve seen people in the tech biz use this privilege to gentrify entire neighborhoods and communities. So if you’re a yuccie today, maybe think about creating something (psst, with our help!) that can help people tomorrow. Make technology that can spread info to places without access, make movies with diverse casts, make toys to teach girls about STEM jobs. Whatever you do, remember — with great yuccie power comes great yuccie responsibility.
Would you identify as a yuccie? Tell us why in the comments!
