Hype for the Future 16A: The Countercultural Movements of America

The most notable and interesting countercultural movements in the United States of America are largely identified by LGBTQIA+ culture and heritage traits. While LGBTQIA+ have existed long before such identities have become normalized in society, the historical shunning and taboos continue to linger into the modern day in the vast majority of spaces within the nation. novaTopFlex aspires to network with countercultural hubs, including hubs of movements outside the LGBTQIA+ and intersecting communities. Such communities include the vacation destinations of Provincetown (Ptown), Massachusetts; Fire Island Pines, New York; and Saugatuck, Michigan. Additionally, pockets exist within New York City (NYC), including all boroughs (but especially Manhattan and Brooklyn), Boston (especially in select neighborhoods within the inner city and across the Charles River in Cambridge, Somerville, and Medford), and even the Five Colleges communities of Northampton and Amherst. Although Cambridge is primarily renowned for prestige at Harvard and MIT, even outside the institutions the city remains quite a significant activist community. The same is also true of Somerville and Medford, where Tufts University dominates the cultural scene.

Seneca Falls, New York

Seneca Falls is a hamlet located east of Waterloo and west of Auburn, New York, within Seneca County. Within Seneca County, New York, the principal progressive movement of the community was largely connected to Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Lucretia Mott, and associated individuals and with the greater community. The community is also largely determined by improvements in voting rights that have also contributed to the power of social roles regarding demographics.