THE YOUTH COUNTERCULTURE MOVEMENT
OVERVIEW
As the baby boomer generation became teenagers in the 1960s, they overwhelmed American society by sheer numbers and new ideologies, firmly rejecting suburban conformity and everything their parents and society held dear. Here, I'll walk you through the many aspects of this "counterculture," including the influence of sex, drugs, rock & roll music, and hippie culture.
WHAT IS A COUNTERCULTURE?
"We are not like our parents"
The youth of the 60s, often synonymous with the term "hippies," strongly believed that society was too materialistic, stifling, and unsatisfying. They viewed their parents and American society as a whole as gluttons of capitalism and strived for a world that celebrated authenticity, individualism, and community. They detested the suburban lifestyle of college, marriage, a white picket fence, and 2.5 kids, and so lived in a way that rejected all of these societal conventions. Many formed communes that were self-governed and many of these communes were focused on different spiritual or philosophical beliefs. There was an effort to return to nature and live sustainably, resulting in a rise in veganism and vegetarianism among young people. They wore their hair long, normalized public nudity, and overall celebrated one's ability to do whatever one's heart desired.
YOUTH DEMOGRAPHICS
The philosophy of "live however and be whoever you want" is obviously one drenched in privilege, specifically white privilege. The vast majority of the counterculture movement was not an oppressed or marginalized population, but rather white, middle-class, suburban young adults. From a 1967 profile on the "Summer of Love":
"Once the visual scene was ignored, almost the first point of interest about the hippies was that they were middle-class American children to the bone. To citizens inclined to alarm this was the thing most maddening, that these were not Negroes disaffected by color or immigrants by strangeness but boys and girls with white skins from the right side of the economy in all-American cities and towns from Honolulu to Baltimore. After regular educations, if only they’d want them, they could commute to fine jobs from the suburbs, and own nice houses with bathrooms, where they could shave and wash up.
Many hippies lived with the help of remittances from home, whose parents, so straight, so square, so seeming compliant, rejected, in fact, a great portion of that official American program rejected by the hippies in psychedelic script..." - Mark Harris
The majority of hippies were not political protestors, and this is often misconstrued in the mainstream societal understanding of hippies. While specific groups like the Diggers and Yippies were more politically motivated, the majority of hippie culture did not take part in politics.
STUDENT ACTIVISM
"Peace now, freedom now!"
The hippies were only one subset of youth counterculture. Another important aspect of 1960s youth was activism, especially on college campuses. From an article on youth activism throughout history:
"In the spring of 1968, student protests exploded on multiple continents. Some accomplished their stated goals and others did not, but even the latter contributed to a climate in which change seemed possible and more people were inspired to act.
In March, more than 1,000 students at the historically black Howard University took over the administrative building, and many more barricaded themselves in their dormitories. They demanded that the university president resign; that the curriculum emphasize African-American history and culture; that a judiciary system involving students be created; and that disciplinary proceedings against students involved in an earlier protest be dropped. The university agreed to the third and fourth demands.
Students at Columbia University used similar tactics a month later, occupying several buildings for a week before 1,000 police officers stormed the campus to evict them. Strikes continued for the rest of the semester, essentially paralyzing the university even after the occupiers were cleared out. The students were protesting two things — the construction of a university gym in Morningside Park in Harlem that would provide only limited access to Harlem residents, and Columbia’s Vietnam-era contract with a weapons research think tank — and Columbia canceled both.
On the other side of the Atlantic, students revolted in France and Poland. In Warsaw, protests against government censorship built from 300 students in January to 20,000 in March, but were ultimately suppressed. And in Paris, some 20,000 swarmed the Sorbonne in May, turning cars into barricades and clashing with riot police. French labor unions and teachers joined a 24-hour general strike in support of the students, bringing the nation to a grinding halt but failing to topple President Charles de Gaulle." - The New York Times
"I BELIEVE IN LOVE"
Sex and the Counterculture
In a rejection of conventional values, one of the biggest ways on which the 1960s youth rebelled was a lifestyle of sexual freedom. They rejected the concept of marriage, engaged in "free love," or sex outside the bounds of committed relationships, and fought against gender norms in the way they dressed and acted. The birth control pill, made publicly available in the 60s, allowed women to take sexual ownership and was viewed by many conservatives as the downfall of society. While hippie culture celebrated sexual freedom, this wave of sexual liberty, in reality, served more to give men more access to women than providing equality. Women were still put in domestic roles in communes and protests and the culture was still very much male-dominated. The second wave of feminism that occurred in this era left out women of color and other marginalized groups, only benefitting affluent white women.
DRUGS
In the 1960s, Dr. Timothy Leary, a professor at Harvard, began to experiment with Lysergic Acid Diethylamide, more commonly known as LSD. Leary became a massive advocate for the drug, promoting its ability to expand consciousness and allow users to attain spiritual enlightenment. For this reason, LSD became wildly popular among youth and is the ultimate symbol of hippie culture. Although a non-addictive drug, it usually gave users hallucinations, sending them on "trips." The drug was especially dangerous because it resulted in very different reactions from users; some did not feel its effects at all, some experienced fascinating visuals, and some incredibly heightened emotions, which sometimes led to suicide and dangerous and erratic behaviors. The drug was cheap, manufactured quickly, and easily available amongst the massive crowds of youth at festivals and rallies. The original intention behind the use of psychedelic drugs was for spiritual enlightenment and raised levels of consciousness, but drug use soon devolved into being more about getting another trip and finding an escape than as a vehicle for the soul. The use of psychedelics was promoted by a lot of prominent musical artists, such as Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, and the Beatles. The mental liberty associated with drug use led to psychedelic art and "acid rock", a new wave of music and creativity.
Drugs were also a large part of youth culture in the 1960s as a result of the Vietnam War. The war, which sent men into unspeakable horrors at a very young age, led many to become frequent drug users during the course of the war and after their return home. Here, heroin was the drug of choice, and its effects and addictive properties were devastating to these military men.
ROCK N ROLL
"You say you want a revolution"
The culmination of the youth counterculture movement was the iconic Woodstock festival of 1969, "3 Days of Peace & Music." The ultimate symbol of freedom, brotherhood, and unity, it is iconic not just for the 500,000 people it attracted, but also for the music that was performed.
The mid 60s saw the birth of a new kind of music: "psychedelic" or "acid" rock. This music, popularized by artists such as The Doors, Janis Joplin, and The Grateful Dead, sought to replicate the experience of taking psychedelic drugs. By the late 60s/early 70s, most young adults could understand the experience of taking psychedelics from listening to acid rock, even if they've never taken the drug. Not only was the sound vividly different, but musicians openly criticized the government, swore, used inappropriate language, etc. In this way, acid rock was the ultimate symbol of the counterculture's values of rebellion and rejection of mainstream society.
CONNECTION TO 2021
How do the youth of today reflect the youth of the 1960s?
Youth activism and performativity. Just look at the protests within the last year and the way in which teens care (at least say they care) about global issues.
Holding educational institutions responsible
Spiritual awakenings- among teenagers today, there's a resurgence in interest in manifestation, crystals, Tarot, etc
Distrust in government
Concern for environment
Rejection of capitalism and "conventional" jobs/lifestyles
Even a resurgence in 60s fashion!
