ABSTRACT

This is a topic that excites. ‘Yuppie’ is not a value-neutral term. Yuppies provoke envy, hatred, derision, amusement, emulation, lust and, for the lucky few, indifference. Yuppie values encompass greed, ambition, conspicuous consumption, the pursuit of power and status, selfishness, an altruism raised to the level of personal taste, and a belief in private striving over the claims of public provision. The spectacle of the yuppie—the shirtsleeved Stakhanovite of the office at his or her desk (for this is a unisex phenomenon) by 7 in the morning until 7 at night, the yuppie who relaxes by working out in the gym, perhaps taking in a wine bar for a little underindulgence of a glass or two of blush wine—is an image that exercises a strong fascination on the public consciousness at all levels of society.