You were either hip or you were a “square” or a “pig”
Hippie were looking for an alternative way of life
Most hippies valued freedom, nature, intimacy, peace, sharing, and spirituality
The Way of Life
Hippies wanted to distance themselves from mainstream ways of life
They discarded possessions and often lived in parks or campsites in the foods
Living like this made them feel free
Nudity was another form of freedom
Counterculture Fashion
Hippies distanced themselves from mainstream culture by their dress.
Colorful, flowing clothing, beads, headbands, bell-bottoms, and tie-dye were popular.
Men had their hair and beards long or in afros.
Hippies were often called “longhairs”
San Francisco and Haight Ashbury
San Francisco was the birthplace of the counterculture/hippy movement.
By 1965, hippies had taken over the Haight Ashbury district.
Haigh Ashbury district contains the Golden Gate Park, home of the Trips Festival and “be-ins”
Hippy Music
The most popular music of the time was psychedelic rock,
Bands like Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and the Grateful Dead played free concerts at Golden Gate Park
Concerts and be-ins were places for hippies to protest, socialize, dance, or take drugs.
At Woodstock over 250,000 hippies showed up to hear artists like Janis Joplin, The Who, Canned Heat, The Allman Brothers, and County Joe and the Fish.
Woodstock
Woodstock was not just a music concert.
“For thousands who couldn’t even hear the music” it was a “profound religious experience”
Meager resources were shared with everyone
Many people at Woodstock used illegal drugs
Drug Culture
Drugs like marijuana and LSD were a big part of the hippy/counterculture movement
Using drugs made hippies feel like they were rebelling from mainstream society
Timothy Leary, a Harvard professor, was an advocate of LSD
LSD was created by a Swiss scientist, used by the CIA, and tested for use by psychiatrists before it became illegal