" (Farber 177)
The rejection of conventional cultural norms also included the experimentation with drugs in an effort to experience altered states of consciousness. Another related characteristic was the rejection of social structures like the family and the penchant for communal living. The emphasis in this subculture was on sharing and a denial of what was seen as the selfish aims and lifestyle of the capitalist materialist.
Yuppies
The term Yuppie is related to the demise and the reduction of interests in the values espoused by the Hippie subculture. As the Hippie movement of the sixties and seventies started to lose impetus and decline, there was resurgence among some young people towards materialistic values and societal demands and norms. Yuppies reacted against the radical rejection of societal norms which was evidenced in the Hippie culture.
The origin of the term Yuppie is commonly ascribed to the former radical activist, Jerry Rubin. He is said to have told an audience that the way to social change is not through the rejection of society but through being involvement in capitalistic enterprise. He believed that "...unfettered capitalism is the ultimate engine of social change." (Wasserman)
The word Yuppie refers to "Young Urban Professional." Unlike the term Hippie, Yuppie is more concerned with class and demographics and represents a profile of a type of young person in society. This refers to, "...people, usually between their early twenties and late thirties, generally with graduate degrees. Yuppies tend to hold jobs in the professional sector, with incomes that place them in the upper-middle economic class." (Noun 1. yuppie.)
The major difference with Hippies and the central characteristic usually associated with Yuppies is that they are to be more conservative and superficial in many respects. A common definition of this group states that they are mainly concerned with their own well-being and social advancement. Whereas the Hippie would be untildily dressed with long...
certain air of informality about them..." (the Eighties Club) However there entire lifestyle is the opposite to that of the Hippies with extreme attention being given to social perceptions and the ability to be accepted within the higher echelons of society. The materialistic views and aims of this class of people is also a central aspect that differentiated them for the Hippie culture.
The heyday of the Yuppie culture was in the mid-1980's. This high point was disrupted the stock market crash of October 1987, which spelt the decline of Yuppiedom. (the Eighties Club)
The exact number or Yuppies are disputed but one estimate from Newsweek Magazine states that "...there were 1.2 million, while American Demographics determined that about 5% of baby boomers (4.2 million) qualified." (the Eighties Club)
Works Cited
http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=102850990
Childs, Peter, and Mike Storry, eds. Encyclopedia of Contemporary British Culture. London: Routledge, 1999. http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=51944047
Farber, David, ed. The Sixties From Memory to History. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1994. http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=98148091
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.
Noun 1. yuppie. 26 Oct. 2006. http://dictionary.laborlawtalk.com/yuppie
The Eighties Club. 26 Oct. 2006. http://eightiesclub.tripod.com/id295.htm http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5002120124
Wasserman, Harvey. "The New Age Movement; the Politics of Transcendence." The Nation 31 Aug. 1985: 145+.
