The hippie movement was started in the 1960's timeframe. Hippie derived from the terms hipster and hip. Hipster first referred to some beatniks who moved into the Haight-Ashbury region of San Francisco. They set up their own communities, indulged in the sexual revolution, listened to primarily psychedelic rock, and used drugs to expand their mind and conscious.
Hippie Appearances
Hippies wanted to free themselves from the restrictions of society; by doing so they would choose their own ways and try to find new meanings to life. Hippies dressed differently from societal norms as an expression of independence. The way hippies dressed made it easy for them to recognize one another and their clothing was a symbol of respect for individual rights.
Hippies, both male and female, were known to wear jeans and have long hair. Hippies generally went around barefoot or wore sandals. Most men had beards and the women didn't wear bras or much makeup, if any. Hippies liked to wear colorful clothing like tie-dyed shirts; they also liked Native American inspired clothing. Hippies preferred to buy their clothes from flea markets and second-hand shops, but some hippies made their own clothes.
Transportation
Hippies primarily traveled by hitchhiking and driving school busses or VW busses. They were known for painting their busses with psychedelic art. Hippies liked to travel in busses because they could take a lot of their friends with them when they traveled. A lot of hippies changed the Volkswagen symbol on VW busses to peace symbols. Some hippies preferred hitchhiking because they saw it as a way to meet new people, plus it was environmentally friendly, and economical.
Hippies were fond of doing drugs. They felt that it allowed a person to enhance their spiritual being. The most common drug used by hippies was cannabis, or marijuana. Eventually hippies started adding hallucinogens such as LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin to the drugs they did. Hippies even took part in doing amphetamines and opiates. Amphetamines and opiates were often scorned even by those that used them because they felt that they were harmful and addictive.
Hippies believed in peace and pacifistic ideals. Large groups of hippies participated in non-violent political demonstrations. Hippies went to civil rights marches, performed protests, held anti-Vietnam War demonstrations, and burned draft cards. There were peace demonstration hippies and there were also hippies that preferred anti-authority and street theater demonstrations. The back to land movement, alternative energy, cooperative business enterprises, free press movement, and organic farming were a few political movements that hippies participated in.
Even today there are still hippies. People, along with hippies, still hold protests, anti-war parades, and festivals. The Starwood Festival and the Burning Man festival are two major festivals that are still held to this day. Fashions that hippies innovated in the 1960's can still be seen today in the modern world. Genres of music generally listened to and played by hippies are still appearing in today's world also. The hippie lifestyle is still alive today, whether it lives in the life of an older hippie or a hippie from a new generation.
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