Counterculture

Mention of the term counterculture often invokes an image of youthful men and women in colorful tie-dyed shirts, sandals, beads, flowers, and jeans; smoking marijuana or taking LSD; and either dancing to rock music in a city park or living in a rural commune. Because the men in this image, with their long, flowing hair, so clearly departed from the male stereo-type of the 1950s, it is often assumed that they were less committed to notions of masculinity than their fathers. However, the revitalization of masculinity formed an important dimension of countercultural practice.

As a result of the post–World War II “crisis of masculinity” debate, many men sought to adapt manhood to the companionate marriages and corporate employment patterns of postwar society. Counterculturalists, however, questioned the ...