Back-to-the-Land

Title: Back-to-the-Land
Alternative Title: "Dressing for the Return to Nature"
Description: This advertisement for peasant dresses in the May 27, 1970 San Francisco Chronicle capitalizes on the growing popularity, essentially among young people living in cities, of the “Back-to-the-Land” movement. The counterculture and environmental movements of the 1960s and 1970s led many to leave their lives in cities in search of more self-sufficient and environmentally friendly lifestyles. This advertisement suggests that anyone could be an environmentalist if they begin dressing in a particular way, “growing her own vegetables,” and “protecting the environment.” The advertisements references to Volkswagons and jobs “where straight clothes are required” target a specific group of white, middle-class San Franciscans. The threads of elitism within the back-to-the-land movement was a point of tension between this new group of environmentalists and rural homesteaders.
Creator: Joan Chatfield-Taylor See all items with this value
Publisher: San Francisco Chronicle
Date: Wednesday, May 27, 1970 See all items with this value
Type: newspaper advertisement
Format: pdf
Subject: Back-to-the-Land See all items with this value
Rights: fair use

Item sets: Who is an Environmentalist? Remaking the American Environmental Movement

Site pages: Who is an Environmentalist? Remaking the American Environmental Movement