The Great Hair Debate

Paper Summary:

The paper refers to the article "Flaunting the Freak Flag: "Karr v. Schmidt" and the Great Hair Debate in American High Schools, 1965-1975" and approaches the Karr vs. Schmidt case from three different perspectives: the students' perspective, the teachers' and administrative staff perspective, and the judicial perspective. The paper attempts to show how the hair debate was but a small element of a larger framework of conflicts between generations. The paper reveals that at a national level this translated into a political fight against the war in Vietnam, at a cultural level it was a revolt against the older generation and at a micro level, it was a fight against school authority.

From the Paper:

"The cultural revolution of the 1960s and early 1970s brought about, not only in the US, but throughout the entire world, a revolt of the younger generation against what they perceived as restrictions to their expression for their parents, teachers or other figures of authority. In order to be a successful revolt, this generation needed anchors it could believe in and attach itself to it, controversial issues on which their position would certainly be different than that of the authority figures.
"In the early 1960s, the cultural arena was a potential anchor that the generation could use. This was controversial not necessarily because of the music itself, but because of its implications into other related areas, such as fashion and dancing. The music that The Beatles made was innocent enough in its early messages, but their impact was felt in the way they dressed and grew their hair, which made the younger generation adopt them as rebel anchors."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Graham, Gael. Flaunting the Freak Flag: Karr v. Schmidt and the Great Hair Debate in American High Schools, 1965-1975. The Journal of American History Vol. 91, Issue 2. April 2006.

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