Alternative Lifestyle

An alternative lifestyle is a lifestyle generally perceived to be outside the cultural norm. Usually, but not always, it implies an affinity or identification within some matching subculture (examples include hippies, yuppies, goths and punks). Some people with alternative lifestyles mix certain elements of various subcultures (i.e.-grunge musicians were often influenced by a mixture of the punk, hippie, emo and heavy metal subcultures). Not all minority lifestyles are held to be “alternative”; the term tends to imply newer forms of lifestyle, often based upon enlarged freedoms (especially in the sphere of social styles) or a decision to substitute another approach or not enter the usual expected path in most societies.