able to confidently figure things out on their own / able to easily figure out how to get help or ask for help in something when they know they’re not an expert at it and need more info
good at knowing HOW to figure things out (related to bullet point above)
skeptical
general attitude of waiting for the other shoe to drop, needing a backup plan in case everything goes to poo
at the workplace, general attitude of “GSD” (get stuff done)
sometimes healthy dose of skepticism toward individuals in positions of power, largely due to experiences in elementary, middle & high school of teachers, administrators, & parents not believing them, not having their back, being told to just suck it up and deal with it
as parents, will protect their kids (but sometimes too much bubble wrapping of their kids) due to feeling that their own parents didn’t do that for them
most of Gen X grew up in an age in which being different in some way was a killer for your social life. Like if you were the kid (or was friends with someone) who was rumored to be gay/lesbian, then your social life was pretty much over and you were treated like you were Typhoid Mary. In my opinion, as a result of that, Gen X (generally speaking) is pretty pragmatic & non-judgmental about LGBTQ+ topics and are willing to treat people different than them as if there were no differences at all. Huge step up from Baby Boomer generation, in general. Are there pockets of resistance to this in places? Yes. But like I said, this is just my gut take on it.
then if you apply the above bullet to the workplace, if you are in the LGBTQ+ category (or are in any special group category, whatever it is) AND you are a GSD person (“get stuff done”) at WORK, then Gen X will 100% respect you, take you out for a drink after work, bust their butt to help you out, etc…and they don’t give a flying fart who you date, what or who you worship, etc., etc.
Ok but a journalist in 2025 should do more research than a novel from 1991 !
Separately, something I saw the other day - definitely true for me and most of my colleagues (we work in investment management so we get a lot of sell-side research) - gen X prefers to read the articles and the millennials prefer to watch/listen to the video or podcast version if there is one.
That seems to be part of a general phenomenon where noticeably high performers in an individual* sense are likely to encounter less (not necessarily no) bigotry-based discrimination than average performers or those whose high performance is less obvious.
*As opposed to in a group sense, where bigotry against the group can be intensified due to perception of “unfair competition”.
Regarding specifically Gen X, the quoted statement suggests that much of Gen X still has some anti-LGBTQ bigotry, but not so hard-line that it cannot be overridden by high individual performance, and that this is an improvement over the Boomers. While likely true, later generations likely have less anti-LGBTQ bigotry to being with, so avoidance of such discrimination from later generations is less dependent on being a high performer. (Note also that anti-T is much greater than anti-LGB.)
I believe that there was a time when Gen X were thought of a slackers (something this book portrayed somewhat accurately) because in their early 20’s many were reacting to the post-hippie/Yuppie faze of the generation before them (boomers) . Then as Gen X had their own families they were perceived as digging in more at work and became known as the opposite of slackers----grinders.
A lot of the people I went to college with (myself included) were first gen, understood that they had opportunities their parents never did, and worked really hard because of that. I honestly can’t think of many people I know who could be called slackers.
I would say that my brothers and sisters in law who are solidly in Gen X (we are young boomers…they are older Gen X) are definitely more “slackers” than we were. They took lower paying jobs that gave them more freedom.
So maybe that’s a definitional difference. I wouldn’t call that slacking as much as I would call it different priorities. If they weren’t working at all, or were slacking at their actual jobs, then I’d be more inclined to call it slacking.
I’m a young boomer, but I never feel as if the stereotypes of my generation really fit me. That may be why so many of the people I end up making friends with are Generation X.
Gen X was the first generation where a higher percentage of women than men completed bachelor’s degrees. In Boomer and earlier generations, a smaller percentage of women than men completed bachelor’s degrees.
I think “slacker” probably refers to the 1990 Richard Linklater film of that name (no second s).
I think of Gen X as the MTV generation. I was born in 64 so I’m technically the last year of boomers, but I claim Gen X. My older sibs (6.5 and 9 years older than me, born in the 50s) are very much boomers and I am not like them. My spouse is Gen X (67) and we have the same cultural references. We grew up with MTV, John Hughes movies, and mall culture. I was a latchkey kid, key on a string around my neck, and I walked home or rode my bike home from school.
I may be in the minority but I have never “related” or referenced myself to one of these age categories. If someone asks me I can say “I guess I’m a boomer” (1959) but I cannot even tell you all the names for different generations of people. It holds no importance to me.
You should me who you are through how you act, speak, perform. I don’t need to know your birth year to form an opinion.
To me it’s not so much about labeling generation names as understanding your peers.
I know my friends who get my jokes are gen X like me, haha. Like this one for the girls. (I know it gives the decade but we would know if you asked “what decade was this” jeopardy- style. )
