Yuppies
Yuppies, short for "young urban professionals," emerged in the early 1980s as a distinct social class characterized by ambition, competitiveness, and a desire for upward mobility. Defined primarily as individuals between the ages of 25 and 39 with annual salaries exceeding $40,000, yuppies thrived during an economic boom, particularly in white-collar professions like business, law, and medicine. Their lifestyle was marked by a penchant for luxury, often indulging in high-end consumer goods, dining at trendy ethnic restaurants, and embracing the latest technology to enhance their efficiency.
As they navigated demanding careers, yuppies prioritized proximity to their workplaces, leading to a rise in urban housing developments. Their personal lives frequently took a backseat to career ambitions, with trends like "dinks" (double income, no kids) becoming commonplace among couples. Politically, yuppies exhibited a blend of fiscal conservatism and liberal social values, supporting free-market policies while advocating for personal freedoms. Their cultural influence was significant, shaping media portrayals of young professionals in films and television.
However, the yuppie phenomenon faced challenges, culminating in the stock market crash of 1987, which marked a downturn for this group and contributed to the gradual decline of the yuppie identity by the early 1990s. Despite their initial prominence, the era of the yuppie came to be viewed with a mix of nostalgia and critique, as the pursuit of wealth and status left a lasting impression on American culture.
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Subject Terms
Yuppies
Young, well-educated, well-paid urban professionals who live an affluent lifestyle
This group emerged as a growing middle class in the United States during the 1980s. Yuppies became a dominant political and cultural force in society, focusing on successful careers, economic privilege, and materialism.
American journalist Bob Greene of the Chicago Tribune is recognized as first individual to use the term "yuppies" (coined from "young urban professionals" and later associated with "young upwardly mobile professionals" as well) in his syndicated column in March, 1983. Yuppies were an ambitious, competitive, self-reliant, and upwardly mobile class between the ages of twenty-five and thirty-nine that earned salaries of more than $40,000 per year. Newsweek declared 1984 as the "Year of the Yuppie," especially after Democratic senator Gary Hart ran his presidential campaign espousing yuppie values.
The Yuppie Lifestyle
Throughout the 1980s, an economic boom occurred in the United States. Careers in business administration, law, and medicine became the fastest ways to achieve a good salary and advancement. Universities and colleges that offered these programs experienced a dramatic increase in enrollment. Yuppies held high-paying white-collar jobs in metropolitan areas. As overachievers, they brought work home at night and on the weekends if necessary, living by schedules and appointment books. Because they spent so much time working, they needed to live in close proximity to their jobs. New housing markets sprang up in the inner cities, and developers began to renovate buildings, turning them into sleek condominiums or studio apartments designed with postmodern elements.
Yuppies were part of the "new rich" generation that lavished in extravagance by purchasing luxury items. Conspicuous consumption was typical for this segment of American society. Marketing campaigns and advertisements targeted this demographic group, raised on popular culture and rock music. Yuppies "dressed for success" by wearing the latest designer fashions; men wore suits from Brooks Brothers and shirts by Perry Ellis, purchased expensive Rolex watches, and drove BMW cars. Casual style was achieved by wearing clothes from brands such as Banana Republic and L. L. Bean, while women would often wear Nike running shoes while scurrying from one place to another, even if they were dressed in a tweed skirt and jacket.
Yuppies, because of their hectic schedules, ate out at trendy ethnic restaurants while sipping the best house wine. However, despite their expensive tastes, these professionals remained health-conscious with low-fat diets, all-natural fruit drinks, and bottled water. For exercise, they were often found jogging. Self-help books became best sellers, and a New Age guru, the Reverend Terry Cole-Whittaker, spread the yuppie-inspired message, "You can have it all—now!" Yuppies were obsessed with technological gadgets that would make their hectic lives more efficient. They were voracious consumers of Videocassette recorders (VCRs), personal computers, cordless phones, answering machines, microwave ovens, food processors, and fax machines.
Television shows such as Dynasty and Dallas, which depicted powerful families who continued to amass wealth by any means, appealed to the yuppie generation. On the other hand, Hill Street Blues was popular among yuppies because the show centered on their liberal political ideology concerning social justice. Movies portrayed yuppies and their relationships in The Big Chill (1983), Baby Boom (1987), and When Harry Met Sally . . . (1989). Personal relationships were often secondary to career goals, and this dichotomy was portrayed as "Yuppie angst" in the television program thirtysomething. Yuppies had decided to defer marriage and children until they were firmly established in their professional positions. Those who married but decided not to have children were referred to as "dinks" (double income, no kids), while couples who did have children often hired nannies to care for them.
Impact
Radical antiwar activists who epitomized the counterculture movement in previous decades started to work for corporate America as the 1970s drew to an end. The idealism of the late 1960s began to be replaced as the baby-boom generation became older. The yuppies agreed with President Ronald Reagan’s supply-side economics and its promotion of free market capitalism, rejecting the socioeconomic liberalism of the New Deal. They favored cuts in social spending and rejected high taxes and government regulation, but, despite their fiscal conservatism, yuppies remained liberal on positions that involved personal freedom and lifestyle choices. Many yuppies were in favor of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), were pro-choice regarding abortion, and opposed discrimination in the workplace.
The superficial and selfish nature of yuppiedom created fodder for parody by journalists and comedians. However, economic prosperity came to an abrupt halt when a stock market crash (Black Monday) occurred on October 19, 1987. The fast money that yuppies had accumulated in Wall Street investments suddenly disappeared, and by the early 1990s businesses began to suffer financially as globalization, massive layoffs, and downsizing in the marketplace occurred. In 1991, Time magazine officially proclaimed the death of the yuppie.
Bibliography
Adler, Jerry, et al. "The Year of the Yuppies." Newsweek 104, no. 31 (December, 1984): 14–24.
Bondi, Victor, ed. "Baby Boomers Become Yuppies." In American Decades: 1980–1989. Detroit: Gale Research, 1995.
Burnett, John, and Alan Bush. "Profiling the Yuppies." Journal of Advertising Research 26 (April/May, 1986): 27–35.
Ehrenreich, Barbara. Fear of Falling: The Inner Life of the Middle Class. New York: HarperPerennial, 1989.
Hammond, John L. "Yuppies." The Public Opinion Quarterly 50 (Winter, 1986): 487–501.
Hertzberg, Hendrik. "The Short Happy Life of the American Yuppie." In Culture in an Age of Money: The Legacy of the 1980’s in America, edited by Nicolaus Mills. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1990.