Shaping American Culture
Shaping American Cultures
Throughout the 1960s, there was a cultural phenomenon that started in the United States and spread like wildfire to multiple other cultures in the world. This phenomenon was also known as countercultures. This decade raised the 76.4 million Americans born during the baby boom generation. These adolescents entered their teen years during the 1960s and they definitely embraced a multitude new standards, dramatically different from the way their parents were raised. While some encompassed new ideals in dress, music and movies others joined countercultures and rebelled against the social norms. Three of the most altering countercultures were the Hippies, the Sexual Revolution and the Gay Liberation. The Hippies were the beginning counterculture of this era. The sexual revolution and gay liberation connect back to the hippies. During the hippie time sex was key factor in their freedom and rebellion and with the freedom of sex came the freedom of sexuality. These small connection do not make these countercultures the same, but all them together helped transform society in drastic ways. 1
These three countercultures emerged around the same time, but had prominently different agendas and played huge roles in shaping the American culture. What effects did the Hippies, Sexual Revolution and the Gay Liberation countercultures have on American society, why did they emerge and what were their objectives?
One of the most distinctive countercultures of the very colorful decade of the 1960s were the hippies. The hippie’s counterculture developed during the 1960s in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco. The hippies adopted the language and counterculture values from the Beats Generation. Their distinct style (bell bottom pants, brightly colored shirts and long loose hair on both men and women), their addictive use of LSD, and their psychedelic music was a clear reminder of their rejection to their parent’s values, of working man with
Throughout the 1960s, there was a cultural phenomenon that started in the United States and spread like wildfire to multiple other cultures in the world. This phenomenon was also known as countercultures. This decade raised the 76.4 million Americans born during the baby boom generation. These adolescents entered their teen years during the 1960s and they definitely embraced a multitude new standards, dramatically different from the way their parents were raised. While some encompassed new ideals in dress, music and movies others joined countercultures and rebelled against the social norms. Three of the most altering countercultures were the Hippies, the Sexual Revolution and the Gay Liberation. The Hippies were the beginning counterculture of this era. The sexual revolution and gay liberation connect back to the hippies. During the hippie time sex was key factor in their freedom and rebellion and with the freedom of sex came the freedom of sexuality. These small connection do not make these countercultures the same, but all them together helped transform society in drastic ways. 1
These three countercultures emerged around the same time, but had prominently different agendas and played huge roles in shaping the American culture. What effects did the Hippies, Sexual Revolution and the Gay Liberation countercultures have on American society, why did they emerge and what were their objectives?
One of the most distinctive countercultures of the very colorful decade of the 1960s were the hippies. The hippie’s counterculture developed during the 1960s in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco. The hippies adopted the language and counterculture values from the Beats Generation. Their distinct style (bell bottom pants, brightly colored shirts and long loose hair on both men and women), their addictive use of LSD, and their psychedelic music was a clear reminder of their rejection to their parent’s values, of working man with