Bohemianism. La vie Bohème. Bohémienne. An unconventional lifestyle, usually among those of like-minds.
Bohemians pursue musical, artistic, and literary pastimes. They like to travel far and wide and undertake adventures, or may simply be vagabonds with no permanent homes or ties.
The term “Bohemian” arrived in the English language from the French, in which it was used to describe artists, writers, journalists, musicians, actors, and others of such artistic vocations in nineteenth century European cities.
These Bohemians were associated with left-leaning political or anti-establishment opinions and social viewpoints. These artist-types began moving into the lower-rent, and therefore lower-class, neighborhoods of Paris, which were generally inhabited by the Romani people, commonly known as gypsies. Bohémien(ne) was a common term for gypsies, who were believed to have originated in Bohemia, a region of the modern day Czech Republic.
In modern usage, a Bohemian is usually understood to be a person with artistic or literary interests who disregards both standard behaviors in society and a life of convention. It is closely associated with the hippie lifestyle. There are, however, several types of Bohemians, some indistinguishable from “hippies” and others vastly different. “The Bohemian Manifesto” by Laren Stover is an excellent resource to discover which Bohemian you embody best.
"I'm a girl from a good family who was very well brought up. One day I turned my back on it all and became a bohemian." ~ Brigitte Bardot
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