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Generation X is a term for a cohort of people born following the peak of the post-World War II baby boom, especially in Canada and the United States. While all sources agree the group includes at least some people born in the 1960s, the exact demographic boundaries vary depending on whether each source means people born just before the end of the boom, or just after, or just whoever happens to be twentysomething at the time.Ted Rall, MARKETING MADNESS: A Post-Mortem for Generation X, 1997. The term is used in demography, the social sciences, and marketing, though it is most often used in popular culture. The generation's influence over pop culture began in the 1980s and may have peaked in the 1990s.
Although the term Generation X goes back as far as the early 1960s, it was popularized by Douglas Coupland's 1991 novel Tales for an Accelerated Culture, in which Coupland described the angst of those born between roughly 1960 and 1965, who, while technically part of the baby boom generation, felt no connection to its cultural icons. In Coupland's usage, the X of Generation X referred to the namelessness of a generation that was coming into an awareness of its existence as a separate group but feeling dwarfed and overshadowed by the Boomer generation of which it was ostensibly a part. Afterwards the term stretched to include more people, being appropriated by the generation following the Baby Boomers and being used by marketers throughout the 1990s to denote potential buyers in their twenties.
Generation X has also been described as a generation consisting of those people whose teen years were touched by the 1980s, although this excludes the oldest and youngest X'ers covered by the other definitions. Another common description of Generation X involves a period of transition (1945–1990) from the end of World War II and the decline of colonial imperialism to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War. The transition between colonialism and globalization is thought to separate the Baby Boomers from the Baby Busters, a sub-generation of Generation X made up of the earliest born members.
The history of the term
The term was coined as a result of a 1964 study of British youth by Jane Deverson. Initially, Deverson was asked by the editor of the magazine Woman's Own to conduct a series of interviews with teenagers of the time. The study revealed teenagers who "sleep together before they are married, don't believe in God, dislike the Queen and don't respect parents", which was deemed unsuitable for the magazine because it was a new phenomenon. Deverson, in an attempt to save her research, worked with Hollywood correspondent Charles Hamblett to create a book about the study. Hamblett decided to name it Generation X.Asthana, Anushka & Thorpe, Vanessa. "Whatever happened to the original Generation X?". The Observer. January 23, 2005.
In 1976, the phrase was picked up as the name of a punk rock band featuring Billy Idol, which released three albums before disbanding in 1981.Prato, Greg. "Generation X". All Music Guide. Retrieved July 6, 2005. The term Generation X was later popularized in 1991 when Douglas Coupland's popular novel Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture was published. Coupland took the X from Paul Fussell's 1983 book Class, where the term "class Y" designated a region of America's social hierarchy, rather than a generation.Interview with Douglas Coupland on CNN's Heads Up, May 28, 1994. However, this term has transcended its roots in that country and expanded into other areas of the West.
Coupland first wrote of Generation X in September, 1987 (Vancouver magazine, "Generation X", pp. 164-169, 194: see illustrations below), which was a precursor to the novel and slightly preceded the term "twentysomething". The main character Kevin, 25, is a Canadian "trailing edge" baby boomer who denies cohort affiliation with his older sister, 34, and friends, all boomers. Kevin and his cohorts are all over-educated, under-employed, and pay skyrocketing living expenses, which forces some to move back home to live with their parents (that is, boomerang). Unlike boomers, they were too young to march for peace (Vietnam protests ended with the draft in 1973 with protestors typically aged 16-25) and either were not born or were too young to recall Kennedy's assassination in 1963 (long term memory starting at age 5). Coupland referred to those born from 1958 to 1966 in Canada, or 1958 to 1964 in the United States. As the term Generation X later became somewhat interchangeable with "twentysomething", he later revised his notion of Generation X to include anyone considered as "twentysomething" in the years 1987 to 1991.Smyth, Michael. "Review of Generation X". Calgary Herald. January 21, 1992.
The book reflects a common perspective of citizens who live in Vancouver, British Columbia, and elsewhere, which has been economically exploited by wealthy foreigners from Hong Kong and other countries. Statements such as "Boomers got all the good houses" reflect an underlying anger at elders for selling out to foreign ownership. Many aspects of the book (such as "Reverse Sabbatical", "McJobs", etc.) reflect the severe economic conditions faced by high-achieving intellectuals in that city.
As Coupland explained in a 1995 interview, "In his final chapter, Fussell named an 'X' category of people who wanted to hop off the merry-go-round of status, money, and social climbing that so often frames modern existence." It was after the publication of Coupland's book (and the subsequent popularity of grunge music) that the term began being used as a name for the generation by the media and later by the general public. The media introduced Generation X as a group of flannel-wearing, alienated, overeducated, underachieving slackers with body piercings, who drank franchise-store coffee and had to work at McJobs, concepts that had some truth to them but were in many cases stereotypes. In fact, while Coupland's book is often seen as being an accurate description of the generation, Coupland maintains that the book was meant to show the lack of a single description for it.
International factors defining Generation X
Japan has a generation with similar characteristics to Generation X, shin jin rui.
Developing countries, too, have a Generation X, but it differs from that in the West, due to poor education and little disposable income. The version of Generation X that the developing nations experience essentially came out of the end of World War II and the subsequent decline of colonial occupation, the changes demanded on social hierarchy that it accompanied among the second generation born since the Second World War, and the duality of democratic transition amid increasing information blockade and ever-increasing numbers of people seeking urban life over an agrarian economy.
The alleged version of Generation X in the developing world is the following:
- its need to redefine social norms to newer socio-economic systems
- the sheer pace at which they need to adapt to new social influences along with the need to integrate them to their native cultural context
- the constant aspiration for a more egalitarian society in cultures that were long colonised and have an even longer history of hierarchical social structure.
The aspects that bind Generation X across economic levels and cultures are the defining points of the 1970s: the Bretton Woods system and its subsequent failure, the impact of the contraceptive pill on social-interactional dynamics, and the oil shock of 1973.
Gen X's attitude towards technology can be summarized by noticing that most were either born after the 1969 moon landing, or were very young at that time. Therefore, to Gen Xers, "anything is possible", as long as you're willing to throw enough money at it. Thus for Gen X, success is much less a matter of if one can accomplish something; and more a matter of should one accomplish something: a "so what" factor. Gen Y may be all about choosing one's priorities (and then maintaining the will and discipline to follow through with them) rather than dreaming of the Possible (especially false utopias, per Nineteen Eighty-Four and other literature in Gen X required school reading). Gen X knows that the United States landed on the moon, from reading the history books; but they did not live through it and feel the national pride: it is a "so what".
Other common international influences defining Generation X across the world include: increasingly flexible and varied gender roles for women contrasted with even more rigid gender roles for men, the unprecedented socio-economic impact of an ever increasing number of women entering the non-agrarian economic workforce, and the sweeping cultural-religious impact of the Iranian revolution towards the end of the 1970s in 1979.
The international experience of a cultural transition like Generation X, although in various forms, revealed the inter-dependence of economies since World War II in 1945, and showed the huge impact of American economic policies on the world.
Generation X grew up during the end of the Cold War and the Ronald Reagan/Margaret Thatcher/Mikhail Gorbachev eras but as they transitioned into adulthood watched the Soviet Union collapse and the United States of America become the only superpower. As Gen X transitions into parenthood, they've compared the Boomer media and college professor versions of history with their own concurring or differing perceptions.
Beginnings
A popular starting year of Gen X is 1965 when North American birth rates had dropped into what is frequently called the "Baby Bust" that followed the Baby Boom span of 1946–1964. But since many notable people who are normally thought of as clearly Gen-X, such as Courtney Love, Janeane Garofalo and Eddie Vedder, were born in 1964, this year is often cited as the beginning of Generation X.
In the book Generations, William Strauss and Neil Howe called this generation the "13th Generation" because the tag, like this generation, is a little Halloweenish, and it is the thirteenth to know the flag of the United States (counting back to the peers of Benjamin Franklin). Strauss and Howe defined the birth years of the 13th Generation as 1961 to 1981 based on examining peaks and troughs in cultural trends rather than simply looking at birthrates.Strauss, William & Howe, Neil. Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069. Perennial, 1992 (Reprint). ISBN 0688119123
In continental Europe, the generation is often known as Generation E, or simply known as the Nineties Generation, along the lines of such other European generation names as "Generation of 1968" and "Generation of 1914". In France, the term Génération Bof is in use, with "bof" being a French word for "whatever", considered by some French people to be the defining Gen-X saying. In Iran, they are called the Burnt Generation. In some Latin American countries the name "Crisis Generation" is sometimes used due to the recurring financial crisis in the region during those years. In the Communist bloc, these Gen-Xers are often known to show a deeper dislike of the Communist system than their parents since they grew in an era of political and economic stagnation, and were among the first that embraced the ideals of Glasnost and Perestroika, which they tend to be called the Glasnost-Perestroika Generation. In the USA, this generation's parents are the Silent Generation and the early Baby Boomers (post-WWII). Generation X's typical grandparents are from the G.I. Generation (the World War II generation), but sometimes from the Silent Generation. The subsequent generation, Generation Y have been born of older Generation X parents or Generation X parents having children at a young age, but strikingly also by younger Baby Boomers having children in second and third marriages (resulting in 10-18+ year gaps between the children). Generation Y will have been born in the late 1980s and into the early 1990s. Generation Z will consist of the children of the younger Generation Xers, having put off having children til their late 20's and early 30s, or older Generation Y's having children in their early-mid 20's.
In Western countries, Generation X consists of far fewer people than the baby boom generation and has had correspondingly less impact on popular culture, but it came into its own during the late 1980s and early 1990s. As is common in generational shifts, Gen-X thinking has significant overtones of cynicism against things held dear to the previous generation. A fashion for grunge music exemplified by the band Nirvana expressed the frustrations of a generation forever doomed to live in the shadow of its elders. Others point out that grunge derived its stance and musical values from 1970s punk and heavy metal, and thus was simply part of the wave of 1970s nostalgia that swept college campuses in the early 1990s. European music experienced a renaissance in the form of many kinds of electronic dance music such as Acid House, Rave etc pioneered by groups such as The Shamans which were less beholden to 1970s nostalgia, and more clearly descended from 1980s American club "house" music. The electronic dance scene in Europe would experience great notoriety thanks to a number of highly publicised Ecstasy related deaths.
Generation X birth years further defined
best-selling authors
- Zemke, Ron & Raines, Claire & Filipczak, Bob "Generations at Work: Managing the Clash of Veterans, Boomers, Xers, and Nexters in Your Workplace" American Management Association, 2000, ISBN 0814404804.
- 1960-1980
- Ritchie, Karen "Marketing to Generation X" Free Press, 2002, ISBN 0743236580.
- 1961-1981
- Tulgan, Bruce (RainmakerThinking, Inc) "Managing Generation X: How to Bring Out the Best in Young Talent" Capstone Ltd, 2003, ISBN 1900961091. Interviewing thousands of Xers, his definition has undergone modification:
- 1963-1981, with 1961 & 1962 as "cuspers" (1995), based on Strauss & Howe
- 1963-1977, with 1961 & 1962 as cuspers (1996-2000)
- 1965-1977, with 1963 & 1964 as cuspers (2001)
- 1965-1977, with 1960-1964 as cuspers (2002+) but usully only referred to as Baby Boomers (1946-1964) in company newsletters.
- Foot, David (Footwork Consulting Inc.) "Boom, Bust & Echo: How to Profit from the Coming Demographic Shift" Saint Anthony Messenger Press and Franciscan, 1997, ISBN 0921912978.
- Generation X are post-birth-peak Boomers, 1960-1966 (Canada), 1958-1964 (US). Statistics Canada (US Census Bureau equivalent) also observes this demographic.
- Smith, J Walker & Clurman, Ann S "Rocking the Ages: The Yankelovich Report on Generational Marketing" Collins; Reprint edition, 1998, ISBN 0887309003.
- Yankelovich Partners, One of the largest consumer research organizations in the US maintains the years 1965-1978. Trailing Boomers, 1960-1964, are referred to as the bridge between generations. The main distinction between bridgers and Xers is a brief economic boom for the former in the mid-eighties, whereas the latter generational cohort has never been able to presume economic success. "Trailing Boomers thus bridge generations - the last Boomers expecting perpetual abundance and the first Xers faced with breakdown and uncertainty." (p. 81)
external links
- The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000)
- The generation following the post-World War II baby boom, especially people born in the United States and Canada from the early 1960s to the late 1970s.
- Compact Oxford English Dictionary (2006)
- The generation born between the mid 1960s and the mid 1970s, perceived as being disaffected and directionless.
- Link Magazine: "Marketing Madness: A Postmortem for Generation X" (1997)
- Examines the divergent age groups ascribed to the Generation X generational cohort by various media and demographers.
- US Census Bureau "Census 2000 Ethnographic Study" (June 17, 2003)
- "For the purpose of this study, Generation X is defined as persons aged 21 to 32, that is, respondents born during the years 1968-1979. Various studies define Generation X differently by age, with some analyses categorizing persons born in 1961 as the cohorts oldest members, while others use a younger upper boundary to demarcate the age group (Craig and Earl Bennett 1997). Only in hindsight will the boundaries for this cohort become clearer."
- Statistics Canada "Census Consultation Guide - Age, Sex and Marital/Common-law Status" (1996/2001)
- "Generation X. Generation Xers, the back-end boomers *, entered the labour market in the early 1980s, when jobs were scarce. Since then, this generation has struggled to gain employment due to a weak economy and the bulk of the jobs being filled by the baby-boomers. How will these individuals cope until the baby-boomers begin to retire early in the next century? Are they more inclined to work at two or three jobs or seasonally?"
periodicals and cinema
- Time Magazine "Twentysomething" (cover story - July 16, 1990)
- 18-29 year-olds (1961-1972) "Members of the tail end of the boom generation, now ages 26 through 29, often feel alienated from the larger group, like kid brothers and sisters who disdain the paths their siblings chose." (p. 57)
- Time Magazine "Great X-pectations" (cover story - June 9, 1997) Three sets appeared in the story:
- 1965-1977 (p. 58)
- "If twentysomethings entered the decade floundering in the job market, did they deserve to be labeled dazed and confused?" * (p. 60)
- 1965-1976 (p. 62)
- Reality Bites (film)(1994) written by Helen Childress. Plot Outline: An aspiring videographer working on a documentary called Reality Bites about the disenfranchised lives of her friends and roommates. Their challenges, both documented and not, exemplify (perhaps too simplistically) the career and other lifestyle choices and issues faced by their generation.
- Singles (film) (1992). Plot Outline: A group of twenty-something friends, most of whom live in the same apartment complex, search for love and success in grunge-era Seattle. The soundtrack billed as the "music of a generation searching for itself" (Warner home video).
- Dr. Jeffrey Jamison (Bill Pullman) 33 years old
- Eddie Vedder (himself) 27 years old
- Janet Livermore (Bridget Fonda) 23 years old. Main characters' year of birth ranges from 1958-1968 (see "Baby Busters" above).
- Slacker (film) (1991). Most of the cast was born in the early 1960s ("tweeners"), with some in the late 50's and late 1960s, spanning the baby-bust years.
Late 1980s Coupland Gen-X illustrations & comic strip
Notes
See also
- List of Generation Xers
- XY Cusp, also known as MTV Generation
External links
References
- Deverson, Jane & Hamblett, Charles. Generation X: Today's Generation Talking About Itself. London: Tandem, 1964. ISBN 0874496209 (different edition). (Review: *Deverson, Jane & Hamblett, Charles. Generation X: Today's Generation Talking About Itself. London: Tandem, 1964. ISBN 0874496209 (different edition). (Review: [http://www.trashfiction.co.uk/youth_nf.html)
*NOTE: These years are estimates only based on the sources referenced above. The exact year ranges of the generations are debated; different sources state different start and end dates.
1960s births | 1970s births | American generations
Generation X | Generación X | Génération X | דור האיקס | Generacja X | Geração X | Generation X | X世代
"Generation X"