Also known as yupster (yuppie + hipster), yindie (yuppie + indie), and alterna-yuppie. Our preferred term, grup, is taken from an episode of Star Trek (keep reading) in which Captain Kirk et al. land on a planet of children who rule the world, with no adults in sight. The kids call Kirk and the crew “grups,” which they eventually figure out is a contraction of “grown-ups.” It turns out that all the grown-ups had died from a virus that greatly slows the aging process and kills anybody who grows up.
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“You have to have a little bit of Dora the Explorer in your life,” he says. “But you can do what you can to mute its influence.” Okay. “And there’s no shame, when your kid’s watching a show, and you don’t like it, in telling him it sucks.” Yeah! There’s no—wait. What? “If you start telling him it sucks, maybe he might develop an aesthetic.” Sorry, son. No more Thomas the Tank Engine for you. Thomas sucks. Stop crying. Daddy’s helping you develop an aesthetic. Now Daddy’s going to go put on some thunder music. —Up With Grups — The Ascendant Breed of Grown-Ups Who are Redefining Adulthood (New York Mag.com)
Despite the retro-cool Star Trek reference, this essay is so absolutely not me. From the plastic lawn furniture in my study basement, the dining room table that’s been home to a race car playset since I put it together three Christmases ago, to the inflatable ball pit in my living room (occupying the space vacated by the Christmas tree) to the Hello Kitty dollhouse on the coffee table, I am so not a Grup.
When I play Neverwinter Nights or The Elder Scrolls, my character — usually a battle mage or a paladin — is always “DaddyMan.”
The article describes a pop-cult manufacturers fantasy world in which the arrival of children doesn’t change people’s lifestyle, or, more importantly, their spending habits.
My favorite music at home is my son’s Suzuki practice CD. I really dig those “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” variations. But then again, I never was much into popular music.
And fashion? Fashion, my aunt fanny pack.
I should add, of course, that I’m not pointing the finger…I plan on getting the new Elder Scrolls game, Oblivion, as soon as I can afford it!
Great article! See Neil Postman, The Disappearance of Childhood. Postman presaged all of this, especially in his chapter on the “Adult-Child.” He blamed the rise of TV and the demise of traditional print-based literacy. (And knowing your aversion for dumb TV, I can see why you don’t identify with Gruphood…but I think all gamers over thirty might qualify!)