Start of Hippies Word hippie comes from hipster which was used to describe Beatniks. Beatniks enjoyed poetry, bongo drumming and stood for anti materialism and class discrimination. Hippies were influenced by Beatniks and started in the 60’s
What They Stood For Hippies were against Nuclear war and the piece sign was made as a symbol for Nuclear disarmament and against the Vietnam war. They were peaceful and against wars, racism, materialism, class discrimination and the establishment.
Religion Hippies embraced Eastern religions – Hinduism and Buddhism and sexual liberation. Astrology was very popular – Age of Aquarius.
How They Lived They lived in communes and liked to live off the land. They were very aware of the environment / eco friendly. They drove around in kombis or Beatles which were painted in psychedelic colours with peace signs, flowers and slogans. They used marijuana and LSD to experience different highs.
Fashion Clothes were made from natural materials such as cotton which was often tie dyed. Wore flared jeans, loose flowing dresses and tops which were brightly coloured with floral or peace sign designs. They had long hair which was either straight or afro, they wore head bands and flowers in their hair. Men wore jeans, t-shirts, flowing tops. They often wore no shoes as a protest against the establishment or wore sandals. Women often did not wear bra as bras were seen as a sign of oppression. Wore lot’s of hand made jewellery which was very jangly such as bangles, necklaces and anklets.
Music Woodstock festival helped make music festivals popular. Music festivals would often last 3 days. A few well known groups that were listened to are Beatles, Janis Joplin, The Doors, Bob Dylon, Led Zeplin. Songs were usually anti-establishment or anti war such as Revolution by the Beatles and Imagine by John Lennon or about peace and love such as All You Need is Love by the Beatles.
Art Hippies enjoyed alternate art and street theatre. Popular musical – Hair and movie – Easy Rider. A well known designer was Martin Sharp who designed the magazine covers for Oz magazine as well as poster and record covers. Music and art gave hippies a voice to make their views heard.
Start of Yuppies By the late 1970’s the hippie movement slowed down and gave way to a new movement - yuppies. The hippie movement is still influencing culture today, examples of this are the relaxed attitude we have towards sex, concern for the environment, acceptance of other religions as well as music festivals.