# Generation Xer with an embarassing question about Generation Y culture? Post it here **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 14, 2005, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generation-xer-with-an-embarassing-question-about-generation-y-culture-post-it-here/331007 "2005-11-14T16:53:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generation-xer-with-an-embarassing-question-about-generation-y-culture-post-it-here/331007/61 "2005-11-15T05:25:46Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > The manga magazine _Shonen Jump_ comments about this, stating that reversing the pictures sometimes leads to errors such as a girl wearing a shirt with the English word “MAY” instead wearing a shirt reading “YAM.” I think I have the book that’s in reference to - it was an early volume of Ranma before leaving the books unflopped was the thing to do - the middle Tendo sister was wearing it (Jeeze, been a long time since I’ve read Ranma…that was Nabiki?). Another disconcerting effect is the impression that the majority of Japanese people are left handed. And clocks with the wrong time - but that’s not as easy to tell sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![soulmurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@soulmurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soulmurk)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generation-xer-with-an-embarassing-question-about-generation-y-culture-post-it-here/331007/62 "2005-11-15T07:55:38Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > A liger is a combination between a lion and a tiger. I forget if it’s the result of a male tiger and a female lion, or a male lion and a female tiger (one of these is a liger, the other is a tigon). However, despite Napoleon Dynamite’s statement to the contrary, they are not generally bred for their skills in magic. From [here](http://www.tigers-animal-actors.com/about/liger/liger.html) > [@](#): > > The reason that they are called a liger is because the father was a lion and the mother was a tiger. If the situation was reversed and the mother was a lion and the father was a tiger, he would be called a tigon, and would be a dwarf instead of a giant. A fully grown tigon is usually less that 350lbs. Ligers are not sterile, and they can reproduce. If a liger were to reproduce with a tiger, it would be called a titi, and if it were to reproduce with a lion, it would be call a lili. Seems the father’s species determines the prefix. [Wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liger) agrees, and goes into more detail. > [@NDP](#): > > If that’s the case, why was Bush re-elected (and–until recently–held in absolute awe by a significant block of Americans)? Why is Fox News so popular? Why does anybody still pay attention to what Rush Limbaugh or Bill O’ Reilly have to say? Why does any reality show continue to garner ratings? Why is it possible for an artist lauched on “American Idol” to have fairly viable career? Why do these “hyped celebrities with no talent” (frequently from the world of pop music) continue to grab the media’s and public’s attention more than artists who are interesting and have talent? > > I think it would help if we got more cynical. Don’t blame X’ers; we don’t vote. Really, all the things you’ve listed can be attributed to the generation before X and the one after. Except reality shows. That one remains a mystery. Seriously though, it seems to me that Gen Y is so indoctrinated to being told what is good, that American Idol “stars” and over-hyped hacks like Ashley Simpson are popular because their fans are told they’re popular. As to the continued publicity, that’s a combination of the “train wreck syndrome”, and publicists who follow the creed that media saturation is a good thing; no such thing as bad publicity and all. ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generation-xer-with-an-embarassing-question-about-generation-y-culture-post-it-here/331007/63 "2005-11-15T08:06:25Z")
> [@Orual](#): > > I was born in '81, graduated high school in '99. My older sister (class of '96) is definitely Gen X. My little sister (class of '03) is definitely Gen Y. I don’t seem to quite fit in either one. I’m in almost exactly the same situation. I was born in 1981, and graduated from high school in 1999. My older sister is from the class of '97, and my younger sister the class of '01. I like to call those like you and me the XY generation. It’s fairly self-explanatory, and as a bonus it sounds nice and manly. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generation-xer-with-an-embarassing-question-about-generation-y-culture-post-it-here/331007/64 "2005-11-15T10:47:15Z")
> [@pokey](#): > > I do have a question for Gen Y people. How do they stand having every single person they ever met and every person in their family tree on messenger. How??? If you’re online, everyone knows where you are. You’re at home on the computer. Everyone knows if you so much as turn on your computer. If someone talks to you you don’t feel like talking to, how do you hide? I don’t get it. I just pretend that I didn’t see an incoming message if I don’t want to respond. I’ve gone out and left my computer on, and they can’t prove I didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generation-xer-with-an-embarassing-question-about-generation-y-culture-post-it-here/331007/65 "2005-11-15T11:55:14Z")
Yeah, I realized I wasn’t with it anymore when one day I was hanging with some work companions quaffing a few beers. The younger people in the group were talking about going to some club. I was feeling a lilttle adventurous that night and I didn’t have anything else better to do, so I invited myself to come along with them. It was like “Hey, yeah, I’ll go with you guys.” After I said that, there was a short awkward pause followed by “Yeah, Shakes, come along with us.” These guys were too nice to say it, but I knew; They didn’t want me to come along with them because I’d be cramping their “Style” Kind of hard to pick up chicks if you’re parting with your Dad. I was a little miffed at first but then I got to thinking about it and I’m glad I chose not to go because: A.) I’d walk away from the experience feeling really depressed or B.) I’d wind up getting really annoyed at the music selection or topics of conversation going on. or C.) A little of both. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generation-xer-with-an-embarassing-question-about-generation-y-culture-post-it-here/331007/66 "2005-11-15T12:02:28Z")
Feh, I just realized I completely missed the point of the OP. What’s with the soup’n up of foreign cars? When did THAT become cool? [old man voice] why back in my day, the only cars worth soup’n up were American made cars… … And WE LIKED IT![/old man voice] ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generation-xer-with-an-embarassing-question-about-generation-y-culture-post-it-here/331007/67 "2005-11-15T13:17:32Z")
Another indicator for me that the times, they were a’changin’ was the day I downloaded “Blitzkreig Bop” and “Underpressure” as ringtones for my cellphone. Well, I’m going to go sets easy now, the ol’ rheumatiz’ is flarin’ up again, sonny. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generation-xer-with-an-embarassing-question-about-generation-y-culture-post-it-here/331007/68 "2005-11-15T13:18:46Z")
> [@The Chao Goes Mu](#): > > Another indicator for me that the times, they were a’changin’ was the day I downloaded “Blitzkreig Bop” and “Underpressure” as ringtones for my cellphone. > > Well, I’m going to go sets easy now, the ol’ rheumatiz’ is flarin’ up again, sonny. I downloaded “_Under Pressure_” too. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![RobuSensei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/919ad9/32.png) [@RobuSensei](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobuSensei)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generation-xer-with-an-embarassing-question-about-generation-y-culture-post-it-here/331007/69 "2005-11-15T13:42:27Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > Japanese books have been printed in the opposite direction of Western books for years, I believe. More like centuries, actually. 14 or 15 of them. > [@tengu](#): > > I think I have the book that’s in reference to - it was an early volume of Ranma before leaving the books unflopped was the thing to do - the middle Tendo sister was wearing it (Jeeze, been a long time since I’ve read Ranma…that was Nabiki?). Another disconcerting effect is the impression that the majority of Japanese people are left handed. And clocks with the wrong time - but that’s not as easy to tell sometimes. Yep, that was Nabiki. One reason why it took so long for manga to be translated and published in English back in the day was because the really conscientious companies like Viz and Dark Horse went to great efforts to correct things that came out wrong after flopping the artwork. Another thing that the flopping of manga caused was to show people wearing their kimono tucked the wrong way. Left side over right side: traditional. Right side over left side: Someone else dressed you. Usually, this meant that you were dead, and your body had been prepared for viewing. Thus, native Japanese were puzzled when they saw the occasional news coverage of an American manga convention, and a number of people were dressed like corpses. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![RobuSensei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/919ad9/32.png) [@RobuSensei](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobuSensei)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generation-xer-with-an-embarassing-question-about-generation-y-culture-post-it-here/331007/70 "2005-11-15T13:54:12Z")
One more thing: The traditional Japanese writing system is from the top down, starting at the right side. So, just turn your book (or your monitor :)) 90 degrees clockwise, and you have a basic approximation of the direction of Japanese writing. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generation-xer-with-an-embarassing-question-about-generation-y-culture-post-it-here/331007/71 "2005-11-15T14:23:07Z")
I’m a cusp X/Y too, making me neither yet both But a loner type as I’ve never known all that much core pop culture, just my own preferred areas. Plus I played neither the atari nor nintendo but rather a TI-99. Ahh, good ol’ Tombstone City. Any questions I’d have would be more loner/social ones. Like how the heck can you people stand to talk on the phone so much?! Huh, I always thought they were referring to Emo Phillips. It seemed odd that they’d be such fans of his but it never seemed contradictory the way it was used. Wikipedia on [Hollaback Girl](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollaback_Girl) > [@](#): > > Although the term “hollaback girl” was never confirmed by Stefani, Greg Stacy of the O.C. Weekly assumed its meaning in the May 6, 2005 edition, writing, “Gwen is apparently the captain of the cheerleader squad; she is the girl who ‘hollas’ the chants, not one of the girls who simply ‘hollas’ them back.” Makes sense. Even back in 97 on ICQ we all used the hidden/offline option so you only had to talk to people you wanted too. You get used to reading manga right to left real fast. I started with Dragonball back around 1990 (having it translated for me) so that means I’m bored with the variety already. It’s just the Japanese discovering they could dump their already profitable stuff here with a cheapie translation for a little exta. Hollwood discovered the same thing decades ago. And then it became a larger source of revenue. It’ll be interesting to watch what happens in the next decade. Do international sales become a driving force (Big O season 2, IGPX) or do we find something else to do? ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generation-xer-with-an-embarassing-question-about-generation-y-culture-post-it-here/331007/72 "2005-11-15T14:57:57Z")
> [@](#): > > I was born in '81, graduated high school in '99. My older sister (class of '96) is definitely Gen X. My little sister (class of '03) is definitely Gen Y. I don’t seem to quite fit in either one. If this is the case, there has been some definite “generation creep”. I was born in 1975, and graduated high school in 1994. Ten years ago when people were actually using the term, I was clearly either the young edge or just outside of Generation X. Of course, that was before Generation Y had really defined itself. I was just thinking about this last week [after I read this article](http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20051107/bs_usatoday/generationytheyvearrivedatworkwithanewattitude). I think I am closer to Generation X chronologically, but to Generation Y culturally. I fit most of the characteristics they describe in the article: I listen to an iPod (well, a Dell DJ, same thing) at my desk, I’m completely plugged in technologically, I dress pretty casually for a professional (no flip-flops, alas), and I am openly determined to have a life outside of work, often finding conflict because of it. I like to think that since I fall in between the generations, I can take what I want from each one. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Orual](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/779978/32.png) [@Orual](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orual)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generation-xer-with-an-embarassing-question-about-generation-y-culture-post-it-here/331007/73 "2005-11-15T15:33:31Z")
> [@BlackKnight](#): > > I like to call those like you and me the XY generation. It’s fairly self-explanatory, and as a bonus it sounds nice and manly. 🙂 Hee. Too bad I’m a gal. I like the “Nintendo Wave” Gen-X appellation. It sounds appropriately goofy. Does anyone else miss the Gwen Stefani who was the lead singer of a bubbly, ska-ish band that sang stuff like “Don’t Speak”? And what the hell is a Harajuku girl? And where the hell are my prunes?! ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generation-xer-with-an-embarassing-question-about-generation-y-culture-post-it-here/331007/74 "2005-11-15T15:46:04Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > Why in my day, nerds didn’t have girlfriends, let alone “ex girlfriends”. > > Damn nerds these days!! Sure they did… IN CANADA! -Joe, wahahahaha ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generation-xer-with-an-embarassing-question-about-generation-y-culture-post-it-here/331007/75 "2005-11-15T16:08:55Z")
> [@SHAKES](#): > > What’s with the soup’n up of foreign cars? When did THAT become cool? My understanding is that ricing became popular in the late 1990s. My generation (childhood in the 1970s high school in the early 1980s) - folks who were big into car culture tended to overlap with the groder and hesher culture; the guys who wore all denim and leather, attended arena concerts every weekend, and smoked a bit of weed every so often; the archetype would be The Onion’s Jim Anchower. Cars from the pre-emissions era were increasingly harder to find, but they were still cheap. A high schooler might not be able to afford a GTO, but they could still find a Nova, or if they had a bit more money, an old Pontiac Tempest or Oldsmibile Cutlass. They’d paint the car primer grey, drop tons of aftermarket products into it, and drive around town blasting Van Halen tapes on their prized Pioneer car stereos with crappy factory speakers. 1985-1995 - no teen/young adult car subculture, or so it seemed. Generation Y - Most pre-emissions era cars are museum pieces or beaten beyond repair, and if they can find one in decent condition, aftermarket parts are expensive, not to mention gasoline. However, Honda Civics have been rolling off the assembly lines for years. They’re plentiful, reliable, and affordable to buy and operate. To improve performance a little bit, all one needs to so is swap a computer chip; they don’t have to get dirty or spend thousands of dollars dropping in a new carb or engine. This time, car culture seems to overlap a bit with the suburban hip-hop/wigger crowd; the obnoxious kids challenging you to race are listening to rap or bass/subwoofer demos on Alpine and Sony stereos with elaborate animated displays, not rock with lots of guitars. Please correct me and fill in any blanks. I know there’s probably a lot that’s missing. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generation-xer-with-an-embarassing-question-about-generation-y-culture-post-it-here/331007/76 "2005-11-15T16:33:07Z")
> [@Orual](#): > > And what the hell is a Harajuku girl? Harajuku is a very expensive and trendy shopping district in Tokyo, and Harajuku girls (usually teenagers) hang out there wearing the latest fashions and styles, including several that just seem bizarre or scary to Americans: everything from blonde wigs and designer handbags to fetish clothing and futuristic slutty outfits that would be weird even for Halloween costumes. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generation-xer-with-an-embarassing-question-about-generation-y-culture-post-it-here/331007/77 "2005-11-15T16:40:07Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > Harajuku is a very expensive and trendy shopping district in Tokyo, and Harajuku girls (usually teenagers) hang out there wearing the latest fashions and styles, including several that just seem bizarre or scary to Americans: everything from blonde wigs and designer handbags to fetish clothing and futuristic slutty outfits that would be weird even for Halloween costumes. My wife and I lived in Japan for a year and laughed at the kinds of fashions they were following over there. Then we moved back to the states. And a few months after that, we started seeing many of the things we’d laughed at in Japan starting to be adopted here. We were dismayed. Researching online (don’t remember where) I found out that we are in fact _behind_ Japan when it comes to matters of fashion. Look at Japan now and that’s the US coasts in about a year or so. So beware. -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generation-xer-with-an-embarassing-question-about-generation-y-culture-post-it-here/331007/78 "2005-11-15T16:47:01Z")
> [@myskepticsight](#): > > I feel like I have to post this whenever the term ‘emo’ pops up - because it has taken on a different meaning - [real emo](http://www.fourfa.com), [not real emo](http://www.dashboardconfessional.com). What generation am I from if I think [this](http://www.emophilips.com/epk/images/emo_philips_birthday_party_5x7-72.jpg) is **real emo**? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generation-xer-with-an-embarassing-question-about-generation-y-culture-post-it-here/331007/79 "2005-11-15T17:56:53Z")
> [@Thudlow Boink](#): > > What generation am I from if I think [this](http://www.emophilips.com/epk/images/emo_philips_birthday_party_5x7-72.jpg) is **real emo**? Yeah, I was talking to one of my partner’s cow-orkers who was 19 years old and in a band. So of course, I ask him what type of music he plays. Jake: Emo Me: Really? I think Emo is hysterical. I didn’t know he recorded music though. Jake: :::::blink::::::::::blink::::::::::::blink:::::::::::: ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generation-xer-with-an-embarassing-question-about-generation-y-culture-post-it-here/331007/80 "2005-11-15T18:08:52Z")
Sorry, man, but hoppin up ricemobiles is at least early 90s. What my friends and I did to a Datsun 510… well, it involved a sawzall. It didn’t get mainstreamed till '95 or so, but my Isuzu Impulse had two nicknames. The first was Cocaine, as it looked like a white DeLorean. The second was ‘Stang Eater’. Because it did. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generation-xer-with-an-embarassing-question-about-generation-y-culture-post-it-here/331007.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generation-xer-with-an-embarassing-question-about-generation-y-culture-post-it-here/331007.md?page=5)