I’ve known for years that I fall into that category of people known as Generation X, but I’ve never given much thought to what it means. So, like every good Gen X-er, I did a little online research. Apparently, I missed a few key things that should have taken place in my life like listening to grunge rock (did people really do that?) and wearing flannel. Four of the articles I read specifically mentioned flannel wearing as a way that Generation X rebelled against the restraints that baby boomers placed on our society.
I see all kinds of problems with that statement. First of all, it was the baby boomers that started the whole free love movement. Since when do we call that restraint? Thanks to them we have to be very restrained or we will wind up with any number of nasty, and possibly fatal, diseases.
Another thing, when did any of us wear flannel? I was totally caught up in neon hair bows, fingerless lace gloves, and anything that resembled plastic. To my knowledge, parachute pants did not come in flannel, and neither did Bermudas. I do occasionally see women, who don’t give any thought toward their appearance, waddling into Wal-mart in flannel pajama pants, but I hardly think that defines our entire generation.
There was that Christmas my mom made matching red and white striped flannel gowns for me, my sister, and our baby dolls, but I was more tempted to rebel by not wearing it. So, either I missed an entire trend, or the authors of these articles have some sort of flannel insight that completely escapes me. I’ve been so busy raising my kids for the past 16 years that I suppose I could have missed the flannel fad.
Wait a minute! Now that I think about it, for a brief time in 1988 I dated a guy who wore flannel shirts over his thermals, but much to my parents’ chagrin, he was actually a baby boomer.
So, let’s get back to that part about our need to rebel against the baby boomers. I have no problem with them or their pretense of being restrained. I say pretense because a remarkable number of us Gen X-ers were born prematurely, weighing in at a whopping nine pounds even though we were conceived on our parents’—ahem–wedding night. Maybe we’re called Generation X because our moms had to X out the dates on their wedding invitations and type in earlier dates so our dads could make honest women out of them before being carted off to Vietnam.
The Clintons are baby boomers. Do you see their restraint? George W. Bush is a baby boomer. Restraint? Other notable baby boomers are: Madonna, Elton John, Eddie Van Halen and basically all the rock stars that influenced Generation X. Perhaps the more restrained baby boomers are Oprah Winfrey, Donald Trump, and Barbie.
I think the restraint actually came from the generation just prior to the baby boomers. They were the ones that tried to keep moral standards in our society. The baby boomers started rebelling way before Gen X came along. In fact, it is because of their rebellion that a lot of us Gen X-ers are even here! So, let’s get over this stereo type that baby boomers are restrained.
Another article stated: Generation X is the most ignored, misunderstood, and disheartened generation our country has seen in a long time. Well, frankly, I wasn’t disheartened until I read that!
There are only 47 million of us out there, compared to 80 million baby boomers and 78 million ‘millenials’ (the generation right after us). In spite of our small numbers we’ve offered quite a lot to this world. Without us there would be no—ummm–Facebook! That’s right. Being the first generation of latch key kids we understand the need to be able to come home and connect with someone, even if it is in a virtual world. And not only that we have given birth to a generation of wonderful role models like Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and Lindsay Lohan.
Never mind. I can’t defend Generation X. I’m just going to throw on my flannels and listen to some grunge rock.
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