Counterculture in America

Counterculture Movement

An American counterculture is a group of people who live a lifestyle that does not essentially fit into the norm of mainstream society. In a sense they can be seen as outsiders going against what is typical of American traditions. The main goal or purpose of countercultures are to change or have an effect on mainstream cultures. Examples of groups that participate in this are feminist, polygamist, hippies, etc.

There are other subcultures in America who also have the intention of, in some way, changing mainstream culture. The difference is that those subcultures, unlike countercultures, prefer to keep in the background and not bring any attention to themselves. A majority of countercultures prefer to have attention on them so that their lifestyle or their idea is well acknowledged and noticed throughout society. This can most commonly be done by holding strikes, protests, movements, etc.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to get the good effects that countercultures have on America without getting the bad effects. Another problem is that this is completely a matter of opinion when it comes to what the good effects are and what the bad affects are.

For instance, when looking at a counterculture such as polygamy, supporters of polygamy whether they practice it or not will argue that the practice occurs in many different countries and just because it is not as common in America does not mean it should be viewed as something that is “contrary to human nature”. Opposers of polygamy will argue that it has a bad effect on American society because it will lead to a gender imbalance in cases where one man marries six or seven women or vice versa.

America is combination of many cultures. When it comes to cultures such as, countercultures and mainstream cultures, disputes may occur because each group does not agree with the others way of living. Although there are many countercultures who have the intention of changing mainstream society for the better, there are some groups who have an intention of changing it so that a norm seizes to exist.


Comments

  1. UnknownApril 15, 2018 at 8:20 PM

    Hello Liz,
    I find your views of countercultures very interesting. I find it interesting as well that there are other counter cultures who don't wish to be in the spotlight. I feel like when it comes to cultures, we should be a little cautious because it can negatively impact society as a whole. I feel that if we are better informed about these countercultures then maybe we can accept them and change society.

    ReplyDelete

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