All right then...let's hear it Gen Xer...

In My Humble Opinion
21

I was born in 1971, and I have never identified with Generation X. When Kurt Cobain, whom I’ve always intensely disliked, was apparently speaking for my generation, I was at home breastfeeding my infant. When Reality Bites was showing in theatres, I was potty training my second child. I have never flitted from job to job, and in fact, am a bit of a workaholic. My parents were not baby boomers. In fact, my father was raised in northern Alberta during the Depression, and my mother was raised in Poland during World War II.

From the website linked to below:

Nope, nope and nope.

Nirvana? Rage Against the Machine? Lollapalooza mosh-pits?

No.

I have no idea where I was when the Challenger exploded. 1986, right?

I don’t understand or identify with Generation X. So is the generation defined strictly by the year you were born, or by the attitude you have?

22

Seems to me there are several conflicting ways of approaching what constitutes a Gen X person. The people in the book the term came from are in their mid-twenties. The book was published in 1991, which means they were born in roughly 1963-1968. Is that Gen X?
I read the book around when it first came out and it definitely resonated with my own experience/worldview (I was 26 at the time). One of the main characters had a younger brother, IIRC all of five years younger (which would make him born around 1969-73). This character was frighteningly similar to my own youngest brother (born in 1976). Coupland called this brother and his friends Benneton (sp?) Teens, a term that never caught on. So by that criterion, jarbabyj, you aren’t Gen X, you’re a Benneton Teen! even though you’re 29…

But that’s all only if you consider the original source holy writ and think that meanings never change. I remember all through the nineties watching ‘Gen X’ get younger and younger in the media, equated with ‘twentysomethings’ even though the characters in the book would then be on the far side of thirty (as, sigh, was I).

In the end, who give’s a rat’s ass? As Coupland said in the linked article:

[Gen] X is a term that defines not a chronological age but a way of looking at the world

and asks that we

Refuse to participate in all generational debates.

which I will now proceed to do…

T

23

OH MY GOD…I’m 28…28 28 28…not 29 until September…still a young, spring chicken, still a pretty girl :: rocking back and forth ::, still attractive…still popular, still going to rock concerts…28 28 28 :smiley:

Beneton Teen. Great. Pardon me while I go punch this brick wall.

Oh hey, not me. I’m just trying to make Vile mad. :wink:

jarbaby

24

But…um…I thought…it seemed like a good idea at the time. :smiley:

Ja, ich bin zu groß! I’ll fix deine Cable.

Did you say MASSAGE THERAPIST? All the badass manual labor I do really wears out my massive, rippling shoulders. I may have to come to Chicago more often. When my high-rise hot steel riveting jobs take me there, of course.

MR

25

I was born in 1981, a year which seems to be in some dispute as being in “Generation X”. Apparantly, I was born right at the meeting point between Generations X and Y, which suits me fine. I’ll just say I’m a member of Generation XY and leave it at that. It sounds nice and masculine.

26

Born in '79 to two Baby Boomers. Mom stayed at home until third grade and then was always back home before we got done with school. I’ve always considered my sister born in '76 to be the last or one of the last Gen X’ers. My brother was born in '81 and I definetly consider him a Gen Y. Even within the couple of years separating us I see a definite shift in outlook and history.

I don’t see myself as Gen Y but as BlackKnight suggested a Generation XY. I don’t fit in either mold as I’m between the two different attitudes and lifestyles. I could link myself to Gen X in ideology and upbringing while relate to Gen Y in cultural history. I remember the Challenger explosion (class was canceled because it was too cold) and yet was still in high school when the OJ verdict was announced. I was around for Nirvana but I can also relate to Limp Bizkit’s audience.

I think the hardest part of labeling a generation is that the more you look at it, the more you want to cut it up. If people want to label me as Gen X or Gen Y, they are probably right because both are appropriate.

27

[/quote]
Originally posted by Maeglin
I am definitely not a GenX’er, even though I was born in 78. My formative years were defined by Reagan. Alas.

Though I do remember exactly where I was when the Challenger exploded. Fifth grade.
[/quote]

You must have been a pretty advanced student, the Challenger incident was in 1986.

28

I’m part of Generation X. Born in 1972.

Video games have always been part of my life but I didn’t use a VCR or CD player until I was a teenager. I remember the first videogame system that DIDN’T require a TV/Game RF switch on the back of the TV that you had to flip manually. The family TV was always color but my first personal one was B&W. I remember functioning as my parents’ biological remote control, and having to use two dials on the TV to get to channels above 13. I remember when the Walkman came out, and the first time I saw one. I remember 8-tracks, and how crummy cassette tapes sounded initially. I remember trying to find a phone number with an answering machine for making a prank call and having to call about a dozen doctors and lawyers before getting one. Hell, I remember when you could make prank calls without getting caught, and receiving them fairly regularly. I remember when even the big states only had a handful of area codes. I remember our first car that required unleaded gas. I remember when grocery stores usually had some guy with a water mister walking around the produce areas spraying the veggies and fruit. I remember when you could bring a pocketknife to school as long as it was less than 6" open. I remember saying the Lord’s Prayer right after the Pledge of Allegiance in school, and how it was a rare day when at least one student in class didn’t get spanked by the teacher. I remember when rap was a novelty.

29

<flips Soulmurk the bird>

Fifth grade, third grade, whatever.

30

I was born in '61, and as I slide miserably into my 40’s am thrilled to death at being labeled as a disgruntled youth.

My first memory was Kennedy’s funeral. My parents were children of the depression, so we skipped the whole baby boomer thing.

Now, according to Time or Newsweek, I’m raising a tween.

Aren’t labels fun?

31

Hmmm…If someone asked me, I’d say I was gen-x. I was born in 77’ and my baby brother, who was born in 83’ has a hugely different set of memories than I do. So far as he’s concerned, there were always vcrs, microwaves, personal computers, and video game systems etc. I remember when all of those things were bought by my family for the first time. Hell, I even remember the first MTV video I saw “the warrior” by Patti Smith and Scandal, back when people had to pay to get Nickoloden from our cable company. I remember seeing Bambi at the drive-in. I didn’t see live footage of the challenger explosion because we couldn’t get a tv in our class, but a teacher burst into our room in tears saying “it blew up.” I even remember the Punky Brewster episode about the explosion, and how the kids were worried that Punky still wanted to go into space when she grew up. Kids my brother’s age get mad when I point out that the boy band phenomena isn’t new and cite NKYOB as the first one I remember. Or that Tickle Me Elmo wasn’t nearly as fight-inducing a toy fad amoung parents as Cabbage Patch dolls… I guess what you remember determines which group you identify with.

32

I feel stuck between two generations! I am a 1980 baby. I remember many things from both “eras” that you guys are talking about(mostly eighties stuff though, obviously). I am depressed because I am not part of any group. Please, give me a label. It will make me feel better when I study for my finals.:smiley:

33

Okay, my dad was born in 1950, Mom in 1952. My older brother was born in 1970, and I came along in 1973. I consider both of us Gen-Xers (which I heard for a while was possibly going to be renamed “The Star Wars Generation”). I was in the sixth grade when the Challenger exploded as I watched from my Social Studies class. Anyway, my little bother (that was intentional) came along in 1980. And we’re worlds apart.

34

:: slapping label on dlgirl ::

“Best if used before 2.2003”

hows that :smiley:

35

Thank you, Jarbabyj! I needed that, but couldn’t you have made the expiration date a little further into the future? I want to live to be more than 22 years old. :frowning: Oh, well. Now I have a coveted label. I can now study for my Anthropology and Statistics finals. That is, until another topic on the SDMB screams, “Reply! Reply! Your life depends on it! Reply!”:smiley:

36

baby, i wasn’t talking about your life span :wink: grwwowwl

37

Well, I’d just like to state that I was watching the Challenger launch/explosion because I chose to go back to the room rather than play in the gym. You see, it was raining that day and we had indoor recess.
I plan on being much more financially solvent than my parents, even though they were fairly well off. Mutual funds, IRAs and 401ks are doing wonders for this GenX-er and even though I’ve technically had three jobs in the last four years, I stayed with one company for two of them out of some sick loyalty to the company that had, up until the lay-off, treated me very well. I remember our first cable box with the “remote” that was attached by a thick cable similar to a phone line. I still have our Betamax and some tapes. My first car was a '78 Suburban that ran on regular leaded gasoline. I’ve got our Sears knock-off Atari system stashed away, too. I wore Jams, parachute pants and Z. Cavaricci’s. I listened to Rock like Def Leppard, Ratt, Scorpions and <ugh> Quiet Riot when Heavy Metal was W.A.S.P., Judas Priest and Accept. I listened to rap when it was Run DMC, Ice T, Doug E. Fresh (and the Get Fresh Crew) and Whodini. I watched HBO when they had the movies start with a fly-by of a tiny little town they had made just for HBO and they had Fraggle Rock. I never go to drink it, but Cool Aid had, what, 3 flavors back then? Does anyone remember Like cola? I do.

thinksnow, born 1973.

38

I don’t consider myself a “Generation X” type, but that may be just because I don’t like being labeled.

I define “my generation” in terms of cultural events that shaped me and my life, not by a set of years. Although the cultural events also fall within a specific set of years, but there’s a little more fuzzy-gray area in my definition.

You’re part of my generation if you have vivid memories from your formative years (10 to 20) of:[list=1]
[li]life without a VCR. You should have clear recollections of the day your family got their first one.[/li][li]Black and White TV sets with knobs you actually had to turn to change channels. You probably remember seeing color sets BECOME common. If this didn’t happen in your late childhood or youth, you’re not part of my generation.[/li][li]vacuum tube testers at the corner Walgreens. This is optional. I remember a tube tester, where you could plug in suspected bad tubes from your B&W TV and know if they worked, and if not, buy a replacement.[/li][li]seeing spaceflight become commonplace. I stayed home from school (6th grade) to watch the maiden voyage of The Space Shuttle (Columbia). A few years later, nobody knew or even cared when the next space launch would be.[/li][li]no list is complete without the Challenger explosion. If you were too young to be traumatized by this shattering of NASA’s image of infallibility, or you were already done with college when it happened, you’re not part of my generation.[/li][li]the electronics revolution. You used one of the first wave of console video games (We had a Pong/Hockey game first, followed by the Atari 2600, baby!). Nintendo does not count.[/li][li]using one of the first personal computers (TRS-80 here. Or if you prefer, I learned BASIC on a Commodore 64). If you ever programmed mainframes with punchcards, you might not be part of my generation. If your earliest memories include climbing on daddy’s IBM-PC, you’re definitely not.[/li][li]the Rock/Metal era. If you knew guys who drove primer-gray '69 Camaros to high school and listened to Metal, you’re part of my generation. And I don’t mean Limp Bizkit or Korn. I mean Van Halen, Triumph, Sammy Hagar (solo), the Ramones, etc.[/li][li]when “Classic Rock” didn’t mean “everything that’s more than 5 years old.” To us, Classic Rock meant the bands that pioneered Rock as it is now: the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, the Doors, the Rolling Stones, Jefferson Airplane, etc. Stuff that was recorded from 1968 until about 1972 under the influence of heavy pharmaceuticals.[/li][li]when Madonna was “just this chick” who had a couple of hit songs. If you always remember her as a pop-culture icon and an irresistable force in the world of entertainment and marketing, you’re definitely not part of my generation.[/li][li]when M was for MUSIC. MTV played videos. No sitcoms, no game shows, no teen-angst-ridden dramas. Just music.[/li][li]Miami Vice shaping the style of dress at your school. Whether you liked it (I didn’t) or hated it (I did), if Crockett & Tubbs affected how the cool people dressed, you’re part of my generation.[/li][li]when Punk Rock wasn’t “retro”. If you watched “Sid & Nancy” (or even knew what it was) in high school, you’re definitely part of my generation.[/li][li]“Death before disco.” “Where’s the Beef?” “Who shot J.R.?” If all of those phrases, whether you like them or not, strike a chord with you and bring back memories, you’re definitely part of my generation.[/li][/list=1]

So there you have it. What I consider to be [sub]ugh. I don’t want to say it[/sub] Generation-X.

39

Well, I’m a 1973 baby. My father was born before the baby boom(1941) and my mother was born at the very beginning(1946). My older brothers and I were born in 1968, 1970 and 1973. My oldest brother is definately of a slightly different mindset than me and the other older brother. This could be simply from being the oldest. Younger brother, however, was born in 1981.

The older ones of us:

remember vividly the Mt. St. Helens eruption. Little brother has seen pictures of it. We remember Reagan being shot, he was born during the Reagan’s first term. We remember the warnings to our parents about watching The Day After. He’s been playing video games with more graphic violence in them since he was about 6.

The first movie that I remember seeing in theaters is Star Wars(I was Princess Leia for Halloween that year and my brothers were Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. We didn’t know then that Darth Vader was Luke’s father).

According to most labels I’ve seen, the three oldest of us are GenX, while little brother is a species all his own.

40

Well, I was born in '81. According to a book that came out a couple of years ago (Boomers, X, and Echo, or something like that), I’m part of the Echo Generation.

Basically, the idea behind that name is that whereas Generation X had a hard time finding jobs because of the Baby Boomers already having a strong hold on them, the Echo Generation is profitting…from the Baby Boomers retiring. Thus, the Echo Generation will have more jobs and thus “echo” the good fortune of the Baby Boomers.

I don’t know how generally accepted that is, but around '80 or just before is generally accepted as a change.