Hippies and Yuppies

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the hallmark of the Hippie movement was its rejection of the status quo and established societal views, which they expressed in their music and the dress that demonstrated this rejection of social norms and gender differences. The author points out that the Yuppie culture ("Young Urban Professional") is the antithesis of the Hippie culture because of their search for materialistic wealth and recognition in society, their over-concern with their personal well-being and social advancement and their conservative dress and style. The paper relates that the Hippie and Yuppie subcultures are similar, however, in their "air of informality" and their use of drugs.

From the Paper:

"In the Yuppie subculture, drug taking was perceived from a different point of view. Drugs were more associated with social status and wealth and were seen in a more "selfish" and less altruistic sense. Beside being associated with wealth and social standing, drugs were also taken to enable the individual to deal with the stresses and strains of the corporate world and the fight for upward social mobility. Cocaine was the drug of choice. "The 1980's also witnessed an increase in the use of cocaine that was connected to the yuppie phenomenon." Drugs such as cocaine were therefore used in very different way and with different intentions to the Hippie culture."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Childs, Peter, and Mike Storry, eds. Encyclopedia of Contemporary British Culture. London: Routledge, 1999.
• Drug use as part of culture. 28 Oct. 2006. <http://www.paihdelinkki.fi/english/infobank/400_drug_line/461e.htm>
• Farber, David, ed. The Sixties From Memory to History. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1994.
• Feuer, Jane. Seeing through the Eighties: Television and Reaganism. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1995. Questia. 28 Oct. 2006 <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=98148093>.
• Hippie. 28 Oct. 2006. <http://www.answers.com/topic/hippie>.

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