Getting Loose

Lifestyle Consumption in the 1970s

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, Popular Culture
Cover of the book Getting Loose by Sam Binkley, Duke University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Sam Binkley ISBN: 9780822389514
Publisher: Duke University Press Publication: April 27, 2007
Imprint: Duke University Press Books Language: English
Author: Sam Binkley
ISBN: 9780822389514
Publisher: Duke University Press
Publication: April 27, 2007
Imprint: Duke University Press Books
Language: English

From “getting loose” to “letting it all hang out,” the 1970s were filled with exhortations to free oneself from artificial restraints and to discover oneself in a more authentic and creative life. In the wake of the counterculture of the 1960s, anything that could be made to yield to a more impulsive vitality was reinvented in a looser way. Food became purer, clothing more revealing, sex more orgiastic, and home decor more rustic and authentic.

Through a sociological analysis of the countercultural print culture of the 1970s, Sam Binkley investigates the dissemination of these self-loosening narratives and their widespread appeal to America’s middle class. He describes the rise of a genre of lifestyle publishing that emerged from a network of small offbeat presses, mostly located on the West Coast. Amateurish and rough in production quality, these popular books and magazines blended Eastern mysticism, Freudian psychology, environmental ecology, and romantic American pastoralism as they offered “expert” advice—about how to be more in touch with the natural world, how to release oneself into trusting relationships with others, and how to delve deeper into the body’s rhythms and natural sensuality. Binkley examines dozens of these publications, including the Whole Earth Catalog, Rainbook, the Catalog of Sexual Consciousness, Celery Wine, Domebook, and Getting Clear.

Drawing on the thought of Pierre Bourdieu, Zygmunt Bauman, and others, Binkley explains how self-loosening narratives helped the middle class confront the modernity of the 1970s. As rapid social change and political upheaval eroded middle-class cultural authority, the looser life provided opportunities for self-reinvention through everyday lifestyle choice. He traces this ethos of self-realization through the “yuppie” 1980s to the 1990s and today, demonstrating that what originated as an emancipatory call to loosen up soon evolved into a culture of highly commercialized consumption and lifestyle branding.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

From “getting loose” to “letting it all hang out,” the 1970s were filled with exhortations to free oneself from artificial restraints and to discover oneself in a more authentic and creative life. In the wake of the counterculture of the 1960s, anything that could be made to yield to a more impulsive vitality was reinvented in a looser way. Food became purer, clothing more revealing, sex more orgiastic, and home decor more rustic and authentic.

Through a sociological analysis of the countercultural print culture of the 1970s, Sam Binkley investigates the dissemination of these self-loosening narratives and their widespread appeal to America’s middle class. He describes the rise of a genre of lifestyle publishing that emerged from a network of small offbeat presses, mostly located on the West Coast. Amateurish and rough in production quality, these popular books and magazines blended Eastern mysticism, Freudian psychology, environmental ecology, and romantic American pastoralism as they offered “expert” advice—about how to be more in touch with the natural world, how to release oneself into trusting relationships with others, and how to delve deeper into the body’s rhythms and natural sensuality. Binkley examines dozens of these publications, including the Whole Earth Catalog, Rainbook, the Catalog of Sexual Consciousness, Celery Wine, Domebook, and Getting Clear.

Drawing on the thought of Pierre Bourdieu, Zygmunt Bauman, and others, Binkley explains how self-loosening narratives helped the middle class confront the modernity of the 1970s. As rapid social change and political upheaval eroded middle-class cultural authority, the looser life provided opportunities for self-reinvention through everyday lifestyle choice. He traces this ethos of self-realization through the “yuppie” 1980s to the 1990s and today, demonstrating that what originated as an emancipatory call to loosen up soon evolved into a culture of highly commercialized consumption and lifestyle branding.

More books from Duke University Press

Cover of the book A Revolution for Our Rights by Sam Binkley
Cover of the book Alien Encounters by Sam Binkley
Cover of the book Beyond Belief by Sam Binkley
Cover of the book Violence Work by Sam Binkley
Cover of the book The Making and Unmaking of the Haya Lived World by Sam Binkley
Cover of the book A New Type of Womanhood by Sam Binkley
Cover of the book The Barbara Johnson Reader by Sam Binkley
Cover of the book Lending Power by Sam Binkley
Cover of the book Art for People's Sake by Sam Binkley
Cover of the book The Guatemala Reader by Sam Binkley
Cover of the book Mark Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson by Sam Binkley
Cover of the book The Invention of the Brazilian Northeast by Sam Binkley
Cover of the book Racial Revolutions by Sam Binkley
Cover of the book Why the Vote Wasn't Enough for Selma by Sam Binkley
Cover of the book Making Girls into Women by Sam Binkley
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy