Generation X

Generation X is a term used in demographics, the social sciences, and more broadly in popular culture. It is mostly related to the Western culture and demography and generally refers to persons born in the 1960s and 1970s, although the exact dates of birth defining this age demographic are highly debated. Born after baby boomers, it has also been described as a generation consisting of those people whose "teen years touched the 1980s", though many people that are considered part of the generation had their teenage years during the 1990s.

The origin 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, due to being a new phenomenon, was deemed unsuitable for the magazine. Deverson, in an attempt to save her research, worked with Hollywood correspondent Charles Hamblett to create a book about the study. Hamblett would decide to name it Generation X.{{ref|observer}}

Related Topics:
1964 - British - Jane Deverson - Teenager

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In America during the 1960s and 1970s, the Civil Rights Movement and the non-conformist youth culture (hippies, etc) of that time defined the name and characteristics of Generation X. First, American civil rights leader Malcolm X changed his last name from 'Little' to 'X' (this happenned before the 1964 study that was done in the United Kindgom). The letter 'X' became known a symbol of defiance and rebellion to the societal issues that existed in the USA during the 1960s. (Hamblett was probably influenced by Malcolm X's rebellion). Furthermore, the youth culture of the 1960s and 1970s developed a huge defiance against many of the political issues that existed during this time: such as segregation, the Vietnam War, racism, feminist movement, gay rights, etc.

Related Topics:
1960s - 1970s - Civil Rights Movement - Hippies - Civil rights - Malcolm X - Last name - 1964 - Segregation - Vietnam War - Racism - Feminist movement - Gay rights

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In 1992 an autobiographical film was made of Malcolm X's life. And, again the 'X' re-emerged to became a symbol of defiance to the issues that faced the USA during that time: high unemployment, high crime rates, homelessness, poverty, racism, womans rights, gay rights, workers rights, etc. Simultaneously, the USA was on the verge of electing a Baby Boomer and Vietnam protestor from the 1960s as the next President (Bill Clinton). Hence, ideals of the youth culture from the 1960s and 1970s defined the characteristics of this Generation. And, the popularity of Malcolm X was a huge influence in the exeptance of 'X' to define people born during the revolutionary periods of the 1960s and 1970s.

Related Topics:
1992 - Baby Boomer - Bill Clinton - 1960s - 1970s - Malcolm X

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In 1976, the phrase was picked up as the name of a punk rock band featuring Billy Idol, which lasted until 1981.{{ref|amg}} The term Generation X was later popularized in 1991 when Douglas Coupland's popular novel ' was published. Coupland took the X from Paul Fussell's 1983 book Class, where the term "class X" designated a region of America's social hierarchy, rather than a generation. However, this term has transcended its roots in that country and expanded into other areas of the West.

Related Topics:
Punk rock band - Billy Idol - Douglas Coupland - Paul Fussell

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Coupland first wrote of Generation X in September, 1987 (Vancouver Magazine "Generation X", pg 164), which was a precursor to the novel and slightly preceeded the term twentysomething. The main character Kevin is a Canadian Trailing Edge Baby Boomer who denies cohort affiliation with his older sister and friends, all Boomers. Kevin and his cohorts are all over-educated, under-employed, pay sky-rocketing living expenses and some are forced to move back home with their parents. Unlike older Boomers, they were too young to march for peace (Vietnam protesting to 1973, typically aged 16-25) and weren't born yet or don't recall when JFK was shot in 1963 (memory starting at age 5). Coupland was referring to those in Canada and America born form 1958 to 1966 or 1964 respectively. As the term Generation X later became somewhat interchangeable with twentysomething, he later revised his notion of Generation X to include anyone known as twentysomething in the years 1987 to 1991.

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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 piercing, 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.

Related Topics:
Grunge music - Slacker - Body piercing - McJob

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