How weird is Portland?

http://ladymidnight81.deviantart.com/art/Keep-Portland-Weird-Sign-328808107

Let me start this by saying that I love Portland.  I love everything about it from the food to the strange local niche shops. Before moving to Portland, I watched the show Portlandia in an effort to get better accustomed to the lifestyle in the Pacific Northwest. The show filled me with hope for Feminist bookstores and vegan strip clubs, all of which for the most part came true. The slogan "Keep Portland Weird" also seemed to appear everywhere. This got me thinking about how weird is Portland actually? Is it more weird than other cities in America? what truly is the "weird" lifestyle? The answer to these questions lies in a sociological analysis of the city of Portland and its residents.

It is also worth mentioning that Portland was not the original "weird" city. The slogan originated from "Keep Austin Weird," which was used to promote local businesses in Austin, Texas. After that it was used by Santa Cruz in a similar manner. When the slogan finally reached Portland,  it was basically the same except the phrase seemed to take on different meaning. It is also used to bolster local businesses; however the emphasis seems to be on individual expression. The notion of a weird Portland allows for not just local businesses to thrive, but the ones that seemed to do something different or new. This is what allows places like a vegan strip club or an artisan donut shop to survive. The notion of being different allows people in Portland to be okay with spending extra money on something that is not necessarily better, but rather different or weird. Places that do not have the same importance on being different would not have the same market for niche shops. The more value that the people of Portland place on the strange, the more the city responds.

So what does it mean to live a "weird" lifestyle? It seems that this is vastly up to the individual. Weird is defined as "involving or suggesting the supernatural; unearthly or uncanny." I wouldn't call the weirdness of Portland having to do with the supernatural; however it can be considered uncanny.  The true definition of weirdness in Portland seems to be more synonymous with being different. To many people, being weird is simply an afterthought. These people, such as myself may eat at food trucks or experience or have some artisan drinking chocolate  from time to time, but they do not think of themselves as weird. They may participate in somethings that are slightly strange if a person does not live in Portland, so for these people the weirdness is derived from the individual's perception of themselves and what is weird.  On the other hand, there are those that ride a unicycle with a Darth Vader helmet playing the flaming bagpipes. For this person and others with the same level of weirdness, their difference is made up in the minds of others. They may or may not perceive themselves as weird, but the general population does, which commodifies them into the trope of Portland weirdness.

Nobody can deny the perception of weirdness in Portland, but that is exactly what it is, a perception. Portland was originally made weird for the economy; however since then it has permeated into everyday life. Whether one chooses to participate in the weirdness of Portland, it is an ever looming presence throughout the city.