new thread
What exactly is a hippie? Are all hippies longhairs? Am I a hippie? Should I be offended by being called a hippie? Are hippies real? Do male hippies have beards? Do all hippies wear flowers in their hair? Does hippie refer to an overly effeminate individual? Are there answers to any of these?
Good question! Well, I suppose hippies can have long hair but so did the Ramones, Iggy Pop, Voidoids and most other early Punk Rockers who were usually very anti-hippie. I think being a hippie is more than just a fashion, it's an attitude as well. Many Bikers for example have beards, long hair, wear lots of denim with patches (like hippies do) but tend to be pretty conservative in their beliefs. I see many sterotypical hippie types all the time in the Haight Ashbury. Some are irresponsible, homless losers while others own and operate many of the shops. I saw plenty of hippie types at Burning Man 98 too but few of them struck me as effeminate, most of these dudes were pretty ripped and athletic. It's just hard to say.
From my understanding (and being the ex-wife of one), a hippy was more of an attitude and way of being (anti-establishment, non-violent and peace-loving) originating in the 60s. Hippies also stood for freedom of choice and truth. Perhaps this is wrong, but hippies could have progressed from the Beat Generation in the 50s. Unfortunately, many people don't know this and just name all unconventionals and long hairs as hippies. In accord with Racer's comment, there are a number of people who wear long hair and dress unconventionally and are called hippies. This is incorrect. Also, many people associate hippies with drug use when there were a number of hippies who didn't use drugs.
I wouldn't worry about being called one. Just ignore it.
Chaeya
(who has been called a hippy and doesn't mind)
You know, the word "Hippy" is really funny. If you say it like twenty times in a row, it starts to lose meaning and just sounds silly. Hippy. Hippy. Hippy-hippy-hippy. After a while of this, a "hippy" conjures up an image of a baby cartoon hippo. If you say it twenty times fast, it sounds like hickups.
Merrian-Webster (dictionary) defines hippie thus:
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural hippies
Etymology: 4hip + -ie
Date: 1965
living) and advocates a nonviolent ethic; broadly : a long-haired unconventionally dressed young person
- hip·pie·dom /-pE-d&m/ noun
- hip·pie·ness or hip·pi·ness /-pE-n&s/ noun
American Heritage Dictionary defines hippy thus:
hip-pie also hip-py n., pl. hip-pies. Slang.
A person who opposes and rejects many of the conventional standards and customs of society, especially one who advocates extreme liberalism in sociopolitical attitudes and lifestyles. —hip-pie-dom n. —hip-pie-hood n.
I **MUCH** rather be called a hippie than a skinhead..
"Hippie" is just a word that referred to one particular period's visible counter-culturalists. Chaeya was absolutely correct in that the "hippies" of the '60's evolved out of the "beatniks" of the '50's. In the '30's there were "zoot-suiters". Every generation has them. Today's body-pierced young people with the "creative" haircuts and cell-phones glued to their heads are the current generation's take on the old song.
If someone wants to call me a Hippie, I think it would reflect more on that person than it would on me.
Okay, so I also wear tie-dye a lot and have worn out several copies of the White Album. Anyone got a problem with that??
Tie-dye - Check
White Album - Check
Shoulder Length Hair - Check
Re: What is a hippie?
Re: What is a hippie?
Re: What is a hippie?
Watch the "60's" miniseries on NBC Sunday and Monday nights
If you want to find out what a hippie is the last place you should look is a nbc miniseries.
Try visiting http://www.hippy.com/ and seeing what people who refer to themselves as "hippie" have to say.
No; and he converse isn't true either.
Only you can answer that.
Should anyone be offended at anything? What productive purpose does that feeling cause in anybody? I think "none."
The above aside, it depends on who says it and how it's said. The same is true for any label.
The sad fact is that many people like to pidgeonhole others into neat little compartments that their small minds can easily understand so they don't have to bother trying to understand the complexities of individuals. The ironic part is that they have pidgeonholed themselves into a rather rigid form of existence since there are most likely many things they are NOT.
If you have long hair, chances are that somebody somewhere will call you a hippie. Increase the odds if you also have a beard. Increase the odds further if you go around barefoot. Increase the odds further still if you wear unconventional clothing. (I have or do all four.)
If you like long hair or a beard on yourself, grow it. Somebody out there will like you for it.
As opposed to...?
Some do, some don't.
No. (I would say most do not.)
No. (Now where did *that* come from?)
Yes (and the answers are all obvious). A more interesting question is: why are you asking?
Good point, I find it curious that one person might take being called a "hippy" as an insult where as another would take it as a compliment.
Flying cows.
Flying cows.
Why not? Thanks!
What a hippie isn't:
Someone who spells it "hippy". The correct spelling is "hippie". (If you don't believe me check the archives of the San Francisco Chronicle or Examiner from about 1968.)
Someone who incorporates and runs a highly-commercialized web site.
Someone whose in it for the HAIR!
Or somebody who isn't so anal-renentive as to make an issue out of spelling.
While I'm not defending www.hippy.com, you might consider that the banner ads that they have are there merely to pay the bills. It costs $50/year to keep a custom domain.
Stop making assumptions.
Stop being judgmental. Hippies definitely aren't that.
So I see. Snap.dot corrected its phrase from "Hippy Haters" to "Hippie Haters" on their poll about the '60's miniseries.
Actually, snap.com actually has two spellings for hippy:
Hippie haters
Hippy haters
Life is like a bunch of hippies; you don't know which web page you're going to get!
a true hippie as i see it is a counter-culture anti-establishment person. a (male) hippie grows his hair out as a rebellion against societies hair length 'norms'. a hippie tends to be very politically aware & unafraid to vocalize his or her views.
Am I a hippie?
only you can answer that one
Should I be offended by being called a hippie?
if you are offended, answer 'no' to your previous question. IMHO, taking offense at someone else's opinion of you is a waste of time. people will think of you what they wish- in spite of (and often reinforced by) your protests.
Are hippies real?
yes, but rare.
Do male hippies have beards?
only if they grow them
Do all hippies wear flowers in their hair?
no
Does hippie refer to an overly effeminate individual?
in a few instances perhaps, but not as a rule.
Are there answers to any of these?
no answers to any of them... especially the last one.