Hippies are people who were part of the hippie or jipi countercultural movement, which began and developed during the 1960s in the United States.
The term hippie comes from the English word hipster, related to the Beat Generation in the 1950s, made up of a group of influential writers such as Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, among others, who opposed traditional American values and promoted sexual freedom, homosexuality, drug use, etc.
Hence the hippie movement was influenced and maintained some ideals of the Beat Generation, although they appeared a decade later, in the early 1960s.
The first hippie movements took place in San Francisco, California. Later they expanded throughout the United States and the rest of the world.
The hippies formed a subculture based mainly on free love and pacifism, which initially opposed the Vietnam War, but later turned away from political affairs.
Hippies favored the practice of meditation, caring for the environment, sexual freedom, drug use, listening to psychedelic rock, groove and folk, and used to practice Hinduism and Buddhism as spiritual experiences different from conventional ones.
On the contrary, the hippies were opposed to monogamy, military confrontations, consumerism, social structures and the capitalist system, among others.
Hippies were easily identified by their particular appearance. They used to wear baggy clothes in bright colors and sandals. In addition, they also had long hair that looked loose, with braids or ribbons, and many men had long beards.
Ideology of the hippies
Hippies practiced an ideology based on simple life and non-violent anarchy. They protested or publicly opposed against wars, capitalism, traditional values, monogamy, consumerism, the distinction of social classes and the imposed religious practices.
They also discredited some family and social values such as ethics, morals, gender roles imposed by society, among others.
However, they were contestants and defended everything that opposed the established social order such as sexual freedom, free love and freedom to express themselves spiritually.
They also encouraged the use of narcotic drugs and hallucinogens to encourage creativity and innovation embodied in various artistic expressions.
The hippies were defenders of the environment, so they supported environmental movements. On the other hand, they had certain tendencies towards socialism or communism as a more communal life practice.
One of the most important events of this era was the Woodstock Festival, which took place between August 15 and 18, 1960. It is considered one of the largest congregations of hippies in which important artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, Santana, among others.
Characteristics of the hippies
The main characteristics of hippies are the following:
- They rejected the social order imposed.
- They opposed wars.
- He had a broad concept of love.
- They wore tight clothes and many colors.
- They wore long hair.
- They widely used the symbols of peace and love.
- They traveled constantly, so they had a type of life similar to the nomad.
