You actually do sound like an Xer there. Did you grow up with 8- and 16-bit computing? To me, that’s one of the touchstones of being an Xer. Do you remember Reagan and the end of the Cold War? Did you grow up or come of age with computers, but pre-Internet? Do you remember records, but the bulk of your collection was cassettes? It’s not just what music you listened to. Fuck, I didn’t listen to 80s music back then (like you, I was into 50s and 60s music, then got into classic rock, and only hit the current music scene around 1992), but I came around to it later, but I’m definitely an Xer.
My parents were little kids in 1945, but seem to me to “belong” to it because their fathers and brothers fought in Japan and the European theatre and the war was still talked a lot about when I was young. Sidenote: my fraternal grandpa was a really mean bastard. He took “souvenirs” from the “Jap” soldiers he killed; he had a special trunk of uniforms and memorabilia that included a small bag of Japanese soldiers’ teeth, their bayonets, and other creepy shit. He’d open the trunk for us grandkids – it was nightmare-inducing shit.
Not much was said about the Korean, Vietnam, or Cold War in my tucked-away Utah hamlet. To me, WWII seemed more vivid because family fought and no relatives or friends eere involved in later conflicts.
Well, the thing the “Xennial” label does point out is that there is a gradation between generations. It’s not like there’s hard cut-off dates. There’s no reason to require an extra inter-generational name, though. It’s like a rainbow–red blends into orange blends into yellow, blends into green, etc. Of course there’s going to be a continuum of generational experiences that are most noticeable at the cusps.
And here I thought the whole “Gen-X” thing had to do with music, clothes, and emo-ism.
But yes, by your standards (give or take being basically unaware of presidents or politics as a kid) I’d qualify as an X-er. Damn you.
Is this something you’re parroting, or do you have any basis for the comment? I am solidly in the BB category and worked hard for everything I have.
I was born in 1961 which technically makes me a Boomer, although culturally that’s not really a cohort that describes me very well. Elvis, “greasers”, Sputnik, “pedal pushers”, I Love Lucy, the first Dragnet, the Honeymooners, doo-wop, John and Jackie Kennedy, West Side Story, the Mercury Seven, etc., etc.- All before my time. I wasn’t old enough to have cultural awareness until about 1965, after the British invasion, “Vietman” <sic> was something I kept hearing about on the news, and I only knew of hippies by cliche.
Sure, but that’s every generation ever. They didn’t all need little special subgroups.
One thing that made a little sense in the “Who are the Xennials?” articles was that they didn’t grow up with Cold War fear. Regardless of whether or not that’s accurate, it makes me think that maybe the cut-offs are more things you didn’t experience rather than assuming someone four years older than you had vastly different cultural or technological experiences. Did you see the finale of MASH? Did you see The Day After? Do you remember when MTV went on the air? How many hours did you log in Bank Street Writer on the original TRS-80? Ever use a Vic-20? How disappointed were you with Atari’s ET? If you’re technically GenX but missed 80% or more of those, you may be a Xennial!
Of course, no one likes being judged or classified based on the things they didn’t do or missed out on no matter how mundane.
To me, one of the defining factors of my generation (GenXer, born in 1970, raised in Los Angeles) was the coincidence of us reaching sexual maturity at the same time that the AIDS crisis hit. The generation ahead of us had had this awesome sexual revolution, and just at about the time we could take advantage of it…all of a sudden sex = possible death sentence.
Add to that the nuclear sabre-rattling that was going on, with the world seeming that it could end at any minute (remember The Day After?), and together they had a huge impact on our collective psyche. When the most pleasurable thing you can do, the thing that is required for humanity to continue, can kill you; and when They might start WW3 and obliterate the human race at any minute anyway, why should we care about the future? There probably wasn’t going to be one anyway.
I’m a late Xer… Born 1979. The First President I well remember is Reagan.
Personally, I associate Generation X with the characters in Rent. Which, yes, includes the AIDS scare, but it also includes the sense of entitlement and that the world owes them a living. Which is why I do not care to identify with that generation.
That’s funny, I was born in late 82 and feel strongly like a millennial. Did you have older siblings? My wife was born in 80 and identifies more with Gen X than millenials but was the youngest of 4.
But I think we gave up on the hope we die before we get old bit.
I’m a Boomer, and have a Social Security check (well, direct deposit) to prove it!
And I’m old enough to remember when they didn’t assign labels to shrinking age ranges to sell books.
Now get off my artificial turf!
Yes, exactly. That’s my point.
But that’s the same complaint leveled against the Millennials and probably post-Millenials. That’s not a defining aspect, IMHO, of that generation. If anything, Gen Xers that I know bitch at Millennials because they view Millennials as being entitled and not wanting to “pay their dues”/ work their way up in a system. Which I also think is largely a pile of bullshit, too, but entitlement has been more something associated with Millennials and beyond.
Right, there is that transitional BoomX cusp group of people born at various points of the 60s who may be technically Boomers by this definition but they never really experienced the Cultural 60s, or may be very early Xers who as you say see their formative experiences more associated with the mid-late 70s than with the mid-80s.
This also happens at the other end of the Boomer range, the wide time slot for both the Silents and the Boomers creates some closer affinities across the cusps than within the “generations” – both the youngest Silents and oldest Boomers were teenagers when JFK got to the White House
8 hours in and hypothesis looks to be in need of re-evaluation. When I read the title and options I figured the boomers would be well represented.
I always did not like being lumped with the boomers. I was also a 1961 baby. I barely recall Armstrong’s moon landing and Bobbie Kennedy. I was a preteen with Watergate. Growing up rural Midwest set me 5-10 years behind to start with. Hippies were just stories on TV no more real than “My Favorite Martian” reruns. I recall having to look on a globe to realize Vietnam was a real place on Earth and where it was. Could have been by Madagascar or Chile to me until I payed enough attention to look. My entire career has been spent waiting for the older boomers to hang it up and get out of the way. Spent 15 years in a less desirable spot just because of seniority which also got them the choice vacation times, work hours, and training. When I finally can get there my skills are out of date or I am too old or we are eliminating / outsourcing that position.
yes, of course. nobody ever helped you with anything, and you had no advantages which gave you a leg up.
Illusory superiority is a powerful drug.
Boomer but I prefer to think of myself as the Buddy Holly Generation.
I belong to the blank generation.