This is brief excerpt from a book called Kids in AMERICA: a Gen X Reckoning. In a 1000-word introduction, which this is, she is not going to cover everything that happened to our generation, in every corner of the globe! Nor does she in her book. But she covers a lot of common American Gen X experiences in the book, and I highly recommend it.
I say yes to all this but remember the gen x kids in Ireland and the terrorism they lived with. I hope we’re the last to think all the generations only exist in our own little North American part of the world.
The term "Gen X" refers to a specifically American demographic based on declining birth rates in the US, but I'm very curious about the experience of people in this age group in other countries. Anatoly Molotkov has a memoir coming out about growing up in the USSR during this time period, so the Cold War fear would be the same, but the rampant consumerism and emphasis on self would be wholly different (along with a ton of other interesting things). I was surprised when someone in Australia recently told me they could relate to a lot of the book!
People in other countries also refer to themselves as Generation X; those declining birth rates were similar in much of Europe. Absolutely, a lot of the generational issues are similar - a friend who grew up in what was then Yugoslavia and I can relate on a lot of things about our childhoods (before the bombs started falling there), but he found the idea that people outside the US and USSR (and to a smaller degree Iron Curtain countries, of course) put as much weight on the Cold War to be fascinating. I was surprised when my Canadian friends said the Cold War issue was not anything they ever thought about growing up (and they also referred to themselves as GenX).
But the point about the 1993 WTC bombing still stands. I really liked the essay overall, and it reflects a lot of things I've talked about, but I do think it ignores that our generation was actually the first to experience terrorism on our soil, and also that our generation was the Prozac Nation and many of my GenX friends in the US took antidepressants as teens.
This is just proof that no generation can really be generalized. But those covered by this article should be very happy, it’s well done for them, and well written.
I mean, I was in London in the 80s when bombs were being set off, and remember the Spanish friend in Madrid in the early 90s warning me to avoid certain areas that were considered targets for terrorism. I think some ppl lived in bubbles.
I love the use of the collective voice. It reminds of Julie Otsuka's novel, Swimmers. I have always been intrigued how generations take on identities and characteristics. That's what makes the use of "we" so powerful. That doesn't mean every individual had the same experience or had the same attitude but that, taken as whole, certain qualities are true.
I'm a sucker for anything titled GEN-X, and this one didn't disappoint. I have a section on my Substack called Open Letter to Gen-X exploring the themes you touch upon here. The circumstances of our upbringing is an endless source of fascination to me. Can't wait to read the book, considering signing up for the Zoom chat.
Yes--I love the combined tone of nostalgia, wisdom, and sheepishness here. The use of "we" is a reminder that we are all at least partially subject to the collective consciousness of our day. Lovely!
Love this. The listing technique works so well. Evocative content. I am from a slightly older generation, now dubbed Generation Jones, but much of what is said here resonates. I might try my hand at it someday but Wikipedia does an okay job of already. 😂 Gen Jones: the cohort born from 1954 to 1965 in the U.S.,[7] who were children during Watergate, the oil crisis, and stagflation rather than during the 1960s.
This is brief excerpt from a book called Kids in AMERICA: a Gen X Reckoning. In a 1000-word introduction, which this is, she is not going to cover everything that happened to our generation, in every corner of the globe! Nor does she in her book. But she covers a lot of common American Gen X experiences in the book, and I highly recommend it.
I say yes to all this but remember the gen x kids in Ireland and the terrorism they lived with. I hope we’re the last to think all the generations only exist in our own little North American part of the world.
Also, the first WTC bombing, in 1993; fully half of GenXers who went to college were in college then.
I also agree that this is a very American-centric post. Even in Canada, GenX friends of mine didn't see the Cold War as drastically as we did.
The term "Gen X" refers to a specifically American demographic based on declining birth rates in the US, but I'm very curious about the experience of people in this age group in other countries. Anatoly Molotkov has a memoir coming out about growing up in the USSR during this time period, so the Cold War fear would be the same, but the rampant consumerism and emphasis on self would be wholly different (along with a ton of other interesting things). I was surprised when someone in Australia recently told me they could relate to a lot of the book!
People in other countries also refer to themselves as Generation X; those declining birth rates were similar in much of Europe. Absolutely, a lot of the generational issues are similar - a friend who grew up in what was then Yugoslavia and I can relate on a lot of things about our childhoods (before the bombs started falling there), but he found the idea that people outside the US and USSR (and to a smaller degree Iron Curtain countries, of course) put as much weight on the Cold War to be fascinating. I was surprised when my Canadian friends said the Cold War issue was not anything they ever thought about growing up (and they also referred to themselves as GenX).
But the point about the 1993 WTC bombing still stands. I really liked the essay overall, and it reflects a lot of things I've talked about, but I do think it ignores that our generation was actually the first to experience terrorism on our soil, and also that our generation was the Prozac Nation and many of my GenX friends in the US took antidepressants as teens.
This is just proof that no generation can really be generalized. But those covered by this article should be very happy, it’s well done for them, and well written.
I mean, I was in London in the 80s when bombs were being set off, and remember the Spanish friend in Madrid in the early 90s warning me to avoid certain areas that were considered targets for terrorism. I think some ppl lived in bubbles.
I love the use of the collective voice. It reminds of Julie Otsuka's novel, Swimmers. I have always been intrigued how generations take on identities and characteristics. That's what makes the use of "we" so powerful. That doesn't mean every individual had the same experience or had the same attitude but that, taken as whole, certain qualities are true.
Wow. Just wow. Amazing language and storytelling!
Wow. This litany brought me right back to so many visceral moments.
I'm a sucker for anything titled GEN-X, and this one didn't disappoint. I have a section on my Substack called Open Letter to Gen-X exploring the themes you touch upon here. The circumstances of our upbringing is an endless source of fascination to me. Can't wait to read the book, considering signing up for the Zoom chat.
thanks
Ric
Yes--I love the combined tone of nostalgia, wisdom, and sheepishness here. The use of "we" is a reminder that we are all at least partially subject to the collective consciousness of our day. Lovely!
Love this. The listing technique works so well. Evocative content. I am from a slightly older generation, now dubbed Generation Jones, but much of what is said here resonates. I might try my hand at it someday but Wikipedia does an okay job of already. 😂 Gen Jones: the cohort born from 1954 to 1965 in the U.S.,[7] who were children during Watergate, the oil crisis, and stagflation rather than during the 1960s.
This speaks directly to my soul. Thank you.
Yes, after all these years it all seems like a stream of thought now, a dream we were born into that keeps repeating.
Bravo.