Youth & Media

The hippie era emerged in the late 1960s and rapidly grew into a dominant subculture. Those involved questioned traditional values and beliefs within society at the time. “This movement first became popularized in the West Coast during the summer of 1967 when San Francisco California held the Monterey Music Festival where artists such as Jimi Hendrix, The Who and Ravi Shankar, and Janis Joplin first made public debuts.” (Pruitt). Most of the members of this subculture were young middle class white men and women who were seeking a way out of the societal pressure to conform to a particular way of life. The “lifestyle found its place in rock music, greater sexual freedom, the ‘hippie’ movement and in some cases a drug culture among young people born after 1945 in North America and Western Europe.” (Risch 566).

The United States had recently entered the Vietnam War at this time, which the hippies did not agree with and were able to bond over. As a result, individuals bonded over their opposition to the war which fueled the creation of the hippie movement. They were “Vocal in opposing America’s role in the Vietnam War, the Hippies searched for ways to peace, fomenting a cultural revolution whose key principles was toleration and freedom to express every form of opinion and tendencies, barring judgement based on appearance” (Fürst 16). The movement's advocacy for love and peace in the world was the foundation of their culture and belief system. As Frith stated, “Youth culture can describe the particular pattern of beliefs, values, symbols and activities that a group of that young people are seen to share” (Frith 8). The hippies were the youth of their time, and they shared a desire for peace and social freedoms.

When it comes to fashion, this generation challenged gender lines and social conformity by choosing styles that were not traditionally accepted at the time. “They dressed flamboyantly, in bright colors, where the Beats and beatniks had favored shades of black and grey. Ripped jeans, bell bottoms, tie-dyed clothing and flowers worn in the hair were all big parts of the typical hippie style.” (Pruitt).

Both genders were seen channeling their freedom of expression by rebelling against restrictive clothing. Along with an increase in sexual freedoms, young women discarded the notion of needing to wear restrictive clothing including bras. They were free to make choices when it came to fashion, and many chose more dramatic flowy garments. “Girls looked for old-fashioned, second-hand dresses in thrift stores, favoring women, soft fabrics like lace and velvet and often opting for long granny dresses. “If they felt like dressing up, then anything went-handmade clothes, often tie dye in earth colors or psychedelic rainbows, hand-strung beads and, if the climate was as temperate as California, bare feet. Maybe even flowers in their hair” (Miles p. 18).

Men were seen growing their hair out down to the middle of their backs and wearing headbands- something women had only done before this. The clothing choices were chosen in a way to speak to society and “not simply convey messages – it was meant to visualize, convey and produce emotions. It, too, was supposed to conform and create a ‘feel’, which was in harmony with the hippie creed of love and peace.” (Fürst p. 579).

Retail companies began to see this as an opportunity to capitalize off of the peace sign. Many began using it as a key part for their advertisements. The first company to be seen doing this was the American Tobacco Company in 1972 when they designed their ‘Lucky Strike’ cigarettes with a peace sign on the front and the word peace written across the back. When asked about why the package was designed this way, “the company chairman said this was not a political statement, but a marketing ploy to create interest and increase sales” (Raudenbush p.3). It is very ironic how companies are using the symbol to increase their profits when it was originally never intended to support a capitalistic society. The sign represented the opposite. It stood for the movement that fought against a society that revolved around capitalism and promoted a more free, peaceful way of life.

This was only the beginning of the symbol being used for companies to profit off of. Lucky brand is another well-known company that gained popularity and success by using the peace sign in their marketing and product design. The company was originally founded by “two former hippies with a love for rock and roll”(Raudenbush p.5). They began putting the peace sign on all of their merchandise that designed for people of all ages and genders. Their jewelry merchandise incorporated the sign in their ‘Peace Sign Mosaic Mood Ring’ and ‘Peace Cuff Bracelet’, which both sold for $39. The iconic sign became a staple of their brand and still is today.

Years later in the summer of 2009, the symbol became repopularize by Macy’s Department store with their ‘Summer of Love’ “advertising campaign derived its name from the summer of 1967, when thousands of young hippies flocked to Haight-Ashbury to participate in a new type of society”(Raudenbush 3). Macy’s display was designed to embody the idea of peace and freedom. It contained large multi-colored yellow, blue, green, and orange wooden peace signs. The light blue backdrop behind the two dressed mannequins was embellished with clouds and peace signs. The slogan ‘Summer of Love’ is written in a groovy, (also a term associated with the Hippie culture) yellow and orange font. Macy’s sales skyrocketed this summer and brought the peace sign back as a symbol to profit from. This signifier has made an imprinted on society and continues to appear in mass culture throughout the decades that follow since it is creation.

The Hippies had no idea the impact the signifier would make on society when it was adopted to convey their own movements message of peace and freedom. The capitalistic society we live in inevitably but not surprisingly took over the symbol for their own. By associating themselves with the popular political movement that the symbol is recognized for, companies were able to gain a tremendous amount of success. The symbol is tied to the political message to protest the US involvement in the Vietnam War or "peace not war". Sarah Banet-Weiser said, "the politics of visibility usually describes the process of making visible a political category such as gender or race that has been historically marginalized in the media law policy and so on”. The companies profiting off of the peace sign intentionally or unintentionally are aligning themselves with the political message of peace, not war. The recognize the societal impact the symbol has made and sees the use of it from even soldiers fighting in the war the peace sign is advocating against.