Final answer:
The term for youths who embraced a free and alternative lifestyle characterized by flamboyant attire, rock music, drug use, and a liberated spirit is 'hippies'. Hippies sought peace, rejected materialistic values, and were influential in the cultural dissent of the 1960s and 1970s, originating from the Beat Generation's ideologies.
Step-by-step explanation:
The term that refers to youths who lived a free and alternative lifestyle that included flamboyant dresses, rock music, drug use, and free-spirited people is hippies. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, hippies formed a subculture that rejected the conventions of traditional society. This movement encompassed various forms of self-expression, from the long hair and beards of men to the adoption of non-Western clothing by both genders. They valued casual sex, used drugs like marijuana and LSD, and were proponents for peace and freedom, often protesting against the Vietnam War.
Hippie culture was considered as a progression from the Beat Generation, which was also known for its nonconformist and anti-materialistic values. The Beats were earlier referred to as 'beatniks', critiquing capitalism and searching for a higher consciousness, often with the aid of psychedelic drugs. The legacy of the Beats paved the way for the hippies, who sought to live in harmony with nature and explore higher spiritual dimensions through their lifestyle practices.