The Gotham Gal and I were born in 1961, at the tail end of the baby boom. Or so we thought.

In an excellent longish essay on GenX in T Magazine, Amanda Fortini writes:

The consensus, particularly among elder Gen X-ers .. is that the endpoints were mysteriously revised, but no one seems to know why or when or by whom .....many hold that the real Gen X range is 1961 to 1981 — beginning when fertility rates declined, soon after the Food and Drug Administration’s 1960 approval of the birth control pill..... Still, a 2017 Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies article placed Gen X at 1965 to 1984, recasting four years of millennials as Gen X-ers, in part because “using 20-year age spans for each generation” makes it “easier to compare them.” It also renders much generational theorizing meaningless.

While I largely agree that this generational theorizing can be pretty meaningless, it is fun. And so is Amanda's essay, particularly if you are GenX. My friend Pat called the essay, "my so called life". That cracked me up. If you were born between 1961 and 1984, you should read it. It will be at least a fun trip down memory lane, and maybe more, for you.

I likely am a baby boomer. If growing up in a Leave It To Beaver household is the measure, that was me and my family. And it was warm, safe, healthy, and happy. I believe I am a boomer because of that.

The Gotham Gal, on the other hand, grew up in the classic 70s household where the kids would come home to an empty house and had the run of the place. And everything else too. I believe she's GenX because of that.

Does any of this matter? I don't think it matters much. But there are cultural differences between children and their parents and charting them and understanding them can be helpful to marketers and anthropologists. And for the rest of us, it sure can be a lot of fun.

The Gotham Gal and I were born in 1961, at the tail end of the baby boom. Or so we thought.

In an excellent longish essay on GenX in T Magazine, Amanda Fortini writes:

The consensus, particularly among elder Gen X-ers .. is that the endpoints were mysteriously revised, but no one seems to know why or when or by whom .....many hold that the real Gen X range is 1961 to 1981 — beginning when fertility rates declined, soon after the Food and Drug Administration’s 1960 approval of the birth control pill..... Still, a 2017 Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies article placed Gen X at 1965 to 1984, recasting four years of millennials as Gen X-ers, in part because “using 20-year age spans for each generation” makes it “easier to compare them.” It also renders much generational theorizing meaningless.

While I largely agree that this generational theorizing can be pretty meaningless, it is fun. And so is Amanda's essay, particularly if you are GenX. My friend Pat called the essay, "my so called life". That cracked me up. If you were born between 1961 and 1984, you should read it. It will be at least a fun trip down memory lane, and maybe more, for you.

I likely am a baby boomer. If growing up in a Leave It To Beaver household is the measure, that was me and my family. And it was warm, safe, healthy, and happy. I believe I am a boomer because of that.

The Gotham Gal, on the other hand, grew up in the classic 70s household where the kids would come home to an empty house and had the run of the place. And everything else too. I believe she's GenX because of that.

Does any of this matter? I don't think it matters much. But there are cultural differences between children and their parents and charting them and understanding them can be helpful to marketers and anthropologists. And for the rest of us, it sure can be a lot of fun.