History Of The Hippie Subculture

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Hippie Subculture
Hippies are part of a specific type of subculture called a counterculture. A counterculture is a subculture opposed to the beliefs and norms of the main culture. Hippies, sometimes called flower children, were a young middle class subculture that originated in the 1960s-1970s mostly from college campuses. They rejected the mores of American life and from that they built their own lifestyle.
The Hippie lifestyle was very different than the mainstream American lifestyle in several ways. They believed in the idea of natural ways of life. For example, they wore casual clothes made of bright, happy colors, wore big glasses and beads, and grew their hair out because to them it was seen as natural and beautiful. The vegetarian diet …show more content…
For example, hippies were known for their recreational use of drugs such as marijuana and LSD. In the main American culture drugs are seen as bad and harmful while in the hippie subculture they “found drugs as a relaxing form of meditation that helped them focus on finding a level of higher awareness in the world. It was seen as recreational and a way to expand the mind as well as to show their emotions against the normal society and hopefully change their perspective” (Edstrom [nd]). Another differing norm is the idea of sex and sexual relationships. In the American culture sexual relationships is seen as something you have with a significant other or something you wait to do until you are married. In the hippie subculture sex was very open and they “were not afraid of their sexuality and they believed that their bodies ought to be used in a beautiful manner such as sex” (2.2 Impact on society - Hippie Subculture …show more content…
As said before their views on sex were very open which relaxed attitudes toward sex in the main culture. Also hippie men changed the mainstream view of the relationship between long hair and sexuality. The mainstream view of men with long hair is that they are considered homosexual and because of the hippie men who grew their hair out they main culture no longer sees men with long hair as homosexual. Lastly, hippies created a new concern for the environment. The hippie culture valued “taking care of the Earth through recycling, organic food, vegetarianism and forest preservation” (Atkins, 2007) They were involved in the creation of the environmental movement and established the first Earth Day in 1970.
As you can see, the hippie subculture was a very popular culture in the 1960s to 1970s that had a huge impact on the mainstream American culture. They differed in many values and beliefs such as astrology, Buddhism, nonviolence, and equality. They also differed in their cultural norms such as drugs, sex, and living arrangements. But even with all the differences in culture the hippie subculture has played a huge part in shaping the main American culture
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