On the Decline of Age Grading in Rural Hippie Communes

Ethnographic data from a study of Ru hippie communes suggest a clear attenuation of the normative differences usually ascribed to children on the grounds of their age. The participation of children in drug use & sex, as well as their autonomy in the settlement of their disputes, are cited as exa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of social issues 1974-01, Vol.30 (2), p.163-183
Main Authors: Berger, Bennett M., Hackett, Bruce M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age/Ageism
Child/Children/Childhood
Commune/Communes/Communal/ Communalism/ Communality
Hippie/Hippies
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Summary:Ethnographic data from a study of Ru hippie communes suggest a clear attenuation of the normative differences usually ascribed to children on the grounds of their age. The participation of children in drug use & sex, as well as their autonomy in the settlement of their disputes, are cited as examples of this decline in age grading. Interpretations are offered of the ways in which this equalitarian conception of children is systematically sustained by other facts of communal life & by the ideological postures of parents. Finally, inferences are made from the decline of age grading in the communes of the counterculture for possible changes in the relations between the generations in the future. HA.
ISSN:0022-4537
1540-4560
DOI:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1974.tb00719.x