Talk:hesher

Etymology

What is the evidence this term derives from "Hessian"? 173.89.236.187 20:49, 13 March 2016 (UTC)

I was wondering the same thing (how "Hessian" led to "hesher.") Seems unlikely. Pmsfo (talk) 12:36, 27 March 2018 (UTC)

Regionalism?

I grew up in the 1970s in the San Francisco Bay Area, and I knew plenty of long-haired, pot-smoking, heavy metal fans (I may have even been one), but I never heard anyone ever called a "hesher." This type of person was called a "stoner," a "rocker," or a "burnout." I didn't hear the term "hesher" until 2010 or so. Did "hesher" originate in a particular part of the country? Pmsfo (talk) 13:11, 27 March 2018 (UTC)

Where and when? I'd especially like to know when "hesher" first appeared in print. Pmsfo (talk) 13:14, 27 March 2018 (UTC)

Hi! I am not from the Bay Area, but I just found this word in In China with Green Day?!!, a zine by Cometbus, and he is from the Bay Area, then living in New York. This issue, n°54, was published in 2011 and it's page 66: "With his lanky frame and bug-eyes, he looked like a hesher speed freak, though he'd never touched drugs." (bold is mine here). Hope it helps for this historical and sociolinguistic exploration Noé 14:40, 30 December 2020 (UTC)