The Hippies: A Countercultural Movement In The US

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In the 1960s there was a lot going on in the United States. For Example, the Vietnam war, civil rights protests, and the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. Even the people of the United States changed. The hippie movement was created due to the conflicts in the 60s and this includes the vietnam war. Hippies were different from society, they dressed differently and valued different customs. Many people from the older generation disliked hippies because of their rebellious acts. Hippies were people who wanted to spread peace, listened to rock music, and created a countercultural movement. Hippies were people who wanted to spread peace. Peace was the main goal for the hippies, it was all they wanted to do. In the 1960s …show more content…
Hippies were created, not only because they felt that the world would be a better place without violence, but they also felt that they were not as normal as other people. Hippies felt alienated from middle-class society, which they saw as dominated by materialism and repression and they developed their own distinctive lifestyle. (“Hippie Britannica”) As seen here the hippie lifestyle was created due to the differences with society. When more and more people began to feel this way the countercultural movement began. Not only did hippies value different customs from society, but they also dressed differently. They favored long hair and casual, often unconventional, dress, sometimes in “psychedelic” colors. Both men and women wore sandals and beads. (“Hippie Britannica”) Since hippies dressed differently, it caused fashion to change. Hippies used fashion to express how they feel and who they are. The whole hippie culture had a different thought of how relationships should be, they believed that it should be open. Radical youths of the 1960s expressed their rebellion against mainstream American society through drug experimentation and open sexuality. (“Abbie Hoffman”) Hippies felt that it was fair and reasonable for people to go out with other people while in a relationship. Open relationships made them feel like they could express themselves more with other people. Altogether, the hippie lifestyle was created due to their differences from

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