Who coined the term "yuppie"?

Question

Please include sources -- thanks!

Answer 1

Joseph Epstein ... read on...

YUPPIES =Young Urban Professionals & Young Upwardly Mobile Professionals...

[1]) is a market segment whose consumers are characterized as self-reliant, financially secure individualists who do not exhibit or aspire to traditional American values.

[2] Since the late 1980s, the phrase affluent professionals has been used as a synonym, stripped of negative associations with the once-homogenous market.[3]

Although the term yuppies had not appeared until the early 1980s, there was discussion about young upwardly mobile professionals as early as 1968.

Joseph Epstein ...
is sometimes credited for coining the term in 1982;[5] however, the first printed appearance of the word so far found is in a May 13, 1981, "Chicago Tribune" article by R.C. Longworth.[6] The word gained currency in United States when syndicated newspaper columnist Bob Greene published a story in 1983 about the former radical leader of Youth International Party, Jerry Rubin, whose members were called yippies.[7] The proliferation of the word was effected by the publication of The Yuppie Handbook in January 1983, followed by Senator Gary Hart's 1984 candidacy as a "yuppie candidate" for President of the United States.[2] The term was then used to describe a political demographic group of socially liberal but fiscally conservative voters favoring his candidacy.[8] Newsweek magazine declared 1984 The Year of the Yuppie, and described the salary range, occupations, and politics of yuppies as "demographically hazy."[2]

"You're talking about a class of people who put off having families so they can make payments on the BMWs ... To be a Yuppie is to be a loathsome undesirable creature". Leo Shapiro, a market researcher in Chicago, responded, "Stereotyping always winds up being derogatory. It doesn't matter whether you are trying to advertise to farmers, Hispanics or Yuppies, no one likes to be neatly lumped into some group".[2]

Later, the word lost its political connotations and, particularly after the 1987 stock market crash, gained the negative socio-economic connotations it enjoys today. By 1991, TIME proclaimed the death of the Yuppie in a mock obituary.[9]

Answer 2

Urban Dictionary Yuppie

Answer 3

Joseph Epstein is sometimes credited for coining the term in 1982. however, the first printed appearance of the word so far found is in a May 13, 1981, "Chicago Tribune" article by R.C. Longworth. The word gained currency in United States when syndicated newspaper columnist Bob Greene published a story in 1983 about the former radical leader of Youth International Party, Jerry Rubin, whose members were called yippies. The proliferation of the word was effected by the publication of The Yuppie Handbook in January 1983, followed by Senator Gary Hart's 1984 candidacy as a "yuppie candidate" for President of the United States. The term was then used to describe a political demographic group of socially liberal but fiscally conservative voters favoring his candidacy. Newsweek magazine declared 1984 The Year of the Yuppie, and described the salary range, occupations, and politics of yuppies as "demographically hazy."

In a 1985 issue of The Wall Street Journal, Theressa Kersten at SRI International described a "yuppie backlash" from people who fit the demographic profile yet expressed resentment of the label, "You're talking about a class of people who put off having families so they can make payments on the BMWs ... To be a Yuppie is to be a loathsome undesirable creature". Leo Shapiro, a market researcher in Chicago, responded, "Stereotyping always winds up being derogatory. It doesn't matter whether you are trying to advertise to farmers, Hispanics or Yuppies, no one likes to be neatly lumped into some group".

Later, the word lost its political connotations and, particularly after the 1987 stock market crash, gained the negative socio-economic connotations it enjoys today. By 1991, TIME proclaimed the death of the Yuppie in a mock obituary.

Answer 4

According to the Urban Dictionary, yuppie means Young Upcoming Professional. There are 35 definitions there submitted by 35 different contributors. Who coined the term has already been answered, so please see above answers.

Answer 5

If I wanted to turn to Wikipedia, I might even find a specific person's name. I'll leave that to others.

My answer is The Press. They already had the term "Yippie" for the political hippies who went to the 1968 Democratic Convention and made it a confrontation with the Chicago police force. They now wanted to imply that there was a link between that phenomenon and the Young Urban Professionals.

Answer 6

US Census. Young Urban Professional. This was after the Yippies and before the Yumpys (young upwardly mobile professionals) and the PosslQ's (People of the Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters.)

Answer 7

I did, way back in 1965. I was in Berkeley, and I saw a whole bunch of seals hanging out saying "yup, yup, yup" to each other and I said, "Sonny, look at all them yuppies".

Answer 8

The media . Had to shorten young urban proffesional for time constraint.

Answer 9

John Epstein, according to some