Who were the Hippies and how did they influence the culture of the 1960s - Essay Example

1. Hippies were a social group that was formed in the United s in the 1960s. Hippies were considered as one of the most rebellious groups of the1960s counterculture movement. They mostly included white teenagers and young adults. They protested against established organizations; condemned middle class standards; resisted the Vietnam War; adopted features of non-Judeo-Christian religions; raised voices in support of sexual freedom; opposed the orthodox political and social system; and, became a form of new religious movement.

They considered the then prevailed cultural system as corrupt which practiced unjustified power over their liberty (Miller, 1991, p.4). They influenced the counterculture of 1960s in that they tried to push the social and political order toward non-conventional ways. They challenged the traditional ways of living by taking over a practice of cultural dissent from the bohemians and the beatniks. Hence, their lifestyle was just opposite to the lifestyle of the contemporary Americans. 2. The gay movement is the current counterculture movement (Gallaghar & Bull, 1996).

The earliest known gay rights organization is the Society for Human Rights in Chicago that was established in 1924. After that, the Mattachine Society was established in 1951, and there have been a number of other organizations and movements till then which support gay rights. The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) passed by Congress in 1996 protects the marriage rights of gays since there were many states which had banned gay marriages before 1996. Congress approved the law in 2010 and legalized gay marriages.

Gay rights include ceremonial marriages, child adoption, domestic partnership registration on public record, domestic partnership affidavit given by employers to gay employees that defines the couple’s economic relationship, health care, insurance, lawsuits, property, and the like. Hence, gay movements form the current counterculture because they present a different lifestyle that is not traditional. ReferencesGallaghar, J., & Bull, C. (1996). Perfect Enemies: The Religious Right, the Gay Movement, and the Politics of the 1990s.

USA: Crown Publishers. Miller, T. (1991). The Hippies and American Values. USA: Univ. of Tennessee Press.