The Hippie Subculture of the 1960s Essay

Each group defies mainstream culture through the way they look, their philosophy, and their art. The beatniks were present in a time where conformity was most prevalent. Although what they did doesn’t seem like a big deal today, back then it was very taboo. They rejected the idea of “normal clothing.” They dressed all in black and recited poetry in underground clubs. (Guzman) They looked for a deeper meaning to life through poetry and jazz music. The hippies also defied mainstream culture by how they looked. They grew out their hair and for the seldom times they actually wore clothes, they were often loose and colorful. They read poetry and listened to folk music. As I said, they both looked for a deeper meaning to life but the hippies did this through their spirituality. We see this same trend going on with today’s hipsters. There are a few hipster fashion staples such as tight jeans for men and women, plaid shirts, and big sweaters. The hipsters defy mainstream culture by their love for indie folk music. They search for a deeper meaning of life through spirituality much like the hippies. Although they all did it in a different way according to the time, the beatniks, hippies, and hipsters, all defied what was considered mainstream by the way they looked, their philosophy, and their art.

What was the hippie movement? The Hippie Movement began in the 1960s and was very influential on American politics, law and everyday life. The movement originated on colleges in the united states. Hippies were usually young people who wore sandals and had long hair. They often adopted vegetarian diets based on unprocessed foods. Hippies were often not directly engaged in politics.

In today’s society, the 1960s are most commonly remembered for the counterculture, a period of social revolution and self-liberation. However, in addition to the commonly discussed social effects of the counterculture, there were also several notable effects of the movement on the medical field. While some of these new medical developments, such as the growth of recreational drug use and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, proved to be a setback for society, others would end up paving the way for further developments in modern medicine. The 1960s advancements in transplants, vaccinations, cancer treatments, and emergency procedure have proven to be timeless to the medical community; they are as relevant today as they were half a century ago.

Likewise, the hippy’s movement started, some were from wealthy homes that in protest to the social standards of dress decide to wear ragged clothes. My Mom felt the “hippies were nuts” mainly because she did not understand why they wore scruffy looking outfits in public as a way of protesting society dress code. Per my mom “before the hippie’s people would dress up.” However, after the fashion statement made by the hippy’s people dressed more casually.

Rock and roll became the new hype and sex was a huge part of the movement as well because of it being a very natural and spiritual thing.” Hippies were all about free love and wanted to share it with the world. As many of them became addicted to drugs they were unable to stay clean, and ended up in many dead end, one-night stands. All of this helped the Sexual Revolution

The 1960s was a decade of many changes. These changes were social, political, and cultural in nature. The social norms were thrown out the window, and these issues began the counterculture movement. Most label the counterculture as self-indulgent, childish, and irrational. There were those who were anti-establishment, and were opposed to the principles of society that were currently in place.

When someone hears the word “hippie” they are most likely to think of the scene in Forrest Gump or even the groupies that followed The Beatles on hand and foot. Hippie culture is much more than that. Some aspects of this sub-rebellious culture are the concept of free love- you know, that bumper sticker that reads “make love not war”? That would be a relic of the 1960-1970’s. The hippie lifestyle was uncanny to older generations- this created the phenomenon of the “generation gap” (Feinstein). Younger people, early to mid 20’s, started to pursue the “counterculture” of using marijuana and LSD to free their minds and be closer to nature. Typically, the tradition hippie attire was ripped up blue, bell bottom jeans, with

While “hippies” listened to rock ‘n roll, experimented with drugs, and embraced the peace-love-sex lifestyle, their most shocking form of self-expression was in fashion. This meant exchanging neat crew and short “poodle” cuts for long hair, painting flowers on their faces and wearing them on their clothes, and showing skin. As stated previously, women took advantage of hippie culture to embrace more controversial styles: from miniskirts to jeans to rejecting makeup, “flower children” searched for freedom from previous social mandates. In style and lyrical content, the hippie culture was evident in popular

“They were deeply convinced that certain drugs were valuable in many ways: They made you feel good, they provided glorious mystical visions, and they increased your ability to live harmoniously with others and nature.” (Miller). Since hippies participated in these illegal activities they often got raided and arrested by the

In order to understand why these drugs were so popular and what the users believed they were accomplishing when they took them, one has to look at the popular drugs of the decades preceding the 60s. As the would-be-hippies were growing up in the 1940s and 1950s, their parents and other adults of the time were using drugs that are now categorized as depressants. Things like alcohol and tobacco were incredibly popular and common. On a more extreme side, opium was the go-to hard drug of these decades. As the mainstream drug use of the 1950s swayed towards these depressants, people of color living in ghettos and white beatniks started to embrace marijuana. With the use of marijuana increasing and the new generation striving to break away from their parents’ habit of shutting out the world, the children of the 1940s and 1950s became the hippies of the 1960s, using not only marijuana but LSD, peyote, and psilocybin

In the 1960s a new group of young, long haired and wild people began to form in San Francisco, California and soon spread throughout the rest of the country and then developed around the world. Its origins may be traced to European social movement in the 19th and early 20th century such as Bohemians, and the influence of Eastern religion and spirituality. From around 1967, its fundamental ethos including harmony with nature, communal living, artistic experimentation particularly in music, and the widespread use of recreational drugs spread around the world during the counterculture of the 1960s, which has become closely associated with the subculture. These people were given the name known as “hippies” they were defined as “a usually young

I noticed there was a lot of older women at the car show dressed what you would put in the same category of a hippie. I also associate drinking (not much like the alcohol we have today) with hippies. Almost every of age person was drinking or already drunk. Since marijuana is illegal in Tennessee so I didn’t see anyone out in public smoking marijuana. Hippies are known as the free-spirited group and they love to congregate together to create peace instead of violence. During my time in Tennessee I heard a lot of music, it overpowered everything. Guitars and banjos being played, to just a song

New Zealanders were influenced by the hippie era to take drugs such as marijuana. Newbold & Gilbert (in press) states that between the years of 1960 and 1963 an average of 73 drug offences each year were reported. However, in 1964 reported drug offences began to rise, reaching 400 offences in 1970. In the 1970s marijuana was easily accessible and being widely used by New Zealand middle-class youth in all the major urban centres.

Hippies- known for their love of drugs and sex, they often misguided the common folk of their intentions. In their minds, what they were doing was guilelessly standing up for themselves and what they considered was theirs; what they believed in. They believed in their rights, and they wanted to do what they pleased; not to conform to the requirements of living in the average society of the time. They wanted to create a culture where spiritual awareness was highly regarded (sometimes through psychedelic drugs), where everything was given freely, where everyone (even strangers) were thought of as one's brother, where everyone valued peace, and where rights were given freely to everyone. (Express Thyself. (n.d.)) These rights would include

The hippie movement is prevalent peace-group that has been in action since the 1960’s. Comprised mostly of middle-class youth, the cultural following promotes peace, anti-war, and free living styles(Britannica). The movement developed in the wake of the Vietnam war, thus giving purpose to the anti-war principles and peace preachings. Although the culture of the hippie movement has widely been viewed as teens who are just looking for an excuse against civic and daily responsibilities, they did have some success.