Wearing the X . . . or not

Do I consider myself a GenXer? Yes and no. At the outset of this year, I would have said that I consider myself a Gen Xer by birth year only but not by experience or attitude, a stance I’ve since adjusted. After researching the culture of Gen X, I see that I’ve lived in the midst of Gen X, absorbing much either directly or through friends. Does that mean I or any other person born between 1965 and 1981 fit exactly into the Gen X mold? No. But I understand what I’m learning about the experiences and attitudes of Gen X much more deeply inside of myself than I expected. I’m finding that I’m not nearly as “other” as I thought.

13 Gen Xers were kind enough to answer all sorts of nosey questions I asked them about their experiences earlier this year. Counting my response above, today’s post shares an equal mix of male and female voices, all with MidWest U.S. childhood experiences in spite of living in different places now. These answers are in response to the question, “Do you feel that you are a Gen Xer?”

Yes. I am part of a group of people that is the first generation in quite a while to not do better financially than their parents. We also have less of an identity in terms of the label of our generation.

Yes. After the reading the info on Wikipedia, I saw that those were all of my reference points.

Yes.  I am much more open to free thought and expression, much more tolerant of other cultures and beliefs. I feel that life experiences are more valuable than tangible items.

I don’t know. This is a somewhat silly, arbitrary designation without meaning for me.

Perhaps? In some ways, yes. My parents are significantly older and in some ways I relate more to a generation before the X because I didn't have the same experiences of the typical generation Xers. I was not a latch key kid, did not grow up with cable TV and electronics in the same way that others in my age bracket did. I've never defined myself as fitting into a generation box.

No, not really. I don't like to think of myself as being a part of anything, let alone a marketing concept.

I guess I have to be part of some generation so it can be noted in the history books.

Yes, based on age demographic of myself and peers.

Loaded question . . . I believe morally I relate to Boomers more than most Xers. I am very conservative in my beliefs; I do not trust big government and am a Christian.  Because the dates that supposedly define this “generation” are rather large, 1965-1981, I am seven years older than the youngest and nine years younger than the oldest Xers.  Being in the middle of this generation, places me in a unique position regarding issues like homosexuality, abortion and such. I always favor what the Bible says, although I have friends who have both experienced both and are living life styles of one. My “older” friends tend to be more Boomer-like, and my younger friends and sibling tend to be more Generation Y-Like…  So, outside of my birth year, if the standard is that I feel conflicted and lost as a generation, sorry for people around me and their choices? Do I believe that we are a “neglected generation” as data suggests? Yes.

Yes. Probably the most direct comparison is to the Baby Boomers. I've had conversations with Baby Boomers who have reflected on their formative years - say, teens and twenties, and a lot of them tend to get this excited look in their eyes, because anything seemed possible at the time. They can still feel the zeitgeist of the era in a fairly visceral way. But I don't think Gen Xers feel that way. When we came on the scene, anything had already seemed possible, a lot of new and strange things had been tried, and people were tired. We sort of came up in a society that just wanted to feel normal again.

I feel like I fit the GenX mold in most ways, and like many others born in the 70s, I find myself still tilting at windmills and still having an "anything is possible" outlook on life. Oddly, I've always felt that Gen Xers have been most defined by our attachment to 80s music & 80s culture. Our parents were the hippies and free-thinkers, and I feel like I'm part of the collective result of that and have benefitted from it.  One way in which I am NOT similar to Gen Xers, though, has always stuck out in my mind: GenXers were always thought to be aimless wanderers, unmotivated, unable to commit to a career path -- the ultimate slacker generation. That piece of the GenX model has never fit me.

I've thought about this question for a while and can't really answer it. I'm sorry.

Yes. We are a generation of change and expression, in my opinion. We are the postmodernists. We seek answers and do not take things for granted usually; in other words, we understand truth is connected to many other variables. We also understand traditions and new ways of thinking. One may ask, do we fulfill self-imposed definitions of our identity though? If Gen Xers were defined as a group as something other, would we try to uphold that definition?

*Some definitions of Gen X start with birth years as early as 1962 and go through 1985. I asked people in these extended years the same question. The people born before 1965 each identified with Boomers. No one born after 1981 responded.

I’ll let the voices of others echo as I pause the Gen X journey for the day.

Question: Other voices? Gen X or otherwise? Thoughts? You’re welcome to chime in! I’d especially love to hear from young Gen Xers.

This blog post is part of a series of writing (April 3-May 14, 2011) by Tammy Fletcher Bergland about Generation X facing midlife.   tbergland.blogspot.com