Originally I was going to title this column "Don't call me a Generation Xer," because the term "Generation X" is thrown around too often, and as time has gone by, the term is being directed at the wrong group of people for the wrong reasons.
Mostly it is a cliché used to describe any college kid. My mother has used it to describe anyone my age – those born in the late 70s and early 80s. But upon learning the actual origin of the term, one's definition of what this 'X' is changes, and it becomes more difficult to pigeonhole who belongs to it.
The label "Generation X" came into our pop culture exactly 20 years ago, from a book written by then 28-year-old Douglas Coupland – "Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture." Coupland got his novel's title from the final chapter of a sociological book on American class structure. The book named an "X" category of people who wanted to hop off the merry-go-round of status, money, and social climbing that so often defines modern life.
Coupland felt this group had much in common with his three main characters, Claire, Andy, and Dag – a trio of 20-somethings living out in Palm Springs, CA, who are overeducated, underemployed, ironic, cynical, and withdrawing from society in order to find their individual identities. They dislike most institutions and doing what their families expect of them.
The dialogue of the book is interspersed with neo-logisms like "McJob," which is "a low-pay, low-prestige, low-dignity, low-benefit, no-future job in the service sector. Frequently considered a satisfying career choice by people who have never held one," and "Lesslessness - a philosophy whereby one reconciles oneself with diminishing expectations of material wealth: 'I've given up wanting to make a killing or be a big shot. I just want to find happiness and maybe open a little roadside cafe in Idaho."
The three characters weren't meant to represent the 48 million Americans between the ages of 18 and 30, just a subgroup. However pundits and marketers defined 'X' as anyone in that embittered age group. A post-'80s generation of young adults, who resent the baby boomers for embarking on a decade of greed and saddling the Xers with a crippling recession.
Coupland said X was not based on a chronological age but rather a way of looking at the world. However, around the same time of his book's release also came the film "Slacker" and the new music genre of Seattle "Grunge" and alternative-rock, which started off the next big youth trend of the '90s. The media and the advertisers took Coupland's title and ran with it. From then on every 18 to 30 year old has been tagged with the Generation X label as if a day hasn't passed since Coupland's book was first published.
A few years ago you may have seen the commercials for WorldCom, where they claim the members of "Generation d," which is described as "the generation that grew up digital" are now working for their company. And let's not forget Pepsi's attempt to target the market with their '90s slogan "Generation Next." I think it's sad to see corporations define our generations' tastes for us.
It's now 2008 and Generation X is being overlooked to "Generation Y" a.ka. the teen market and their $125 billion allowance.
In a 1995 "Details" magazine article Coupland announced the end of his generation due to the relentless attempts of Madison Ave. to define what X is. "Once people think they've pigeonholed you, they'll also think they can exploit and use you." wrote Coupland.
When asked by Wired Magazine to give a style for what Generation X means, Coupland said "I think it started out being pejorative, and now it's like Kleenex or Jell-O. Semiotically blank I guess if you identified with the characters or the themes in that book you might be "X," but even that's corny."
The label "Generation X" came into our pop culture exactly 20 years ago, from a book written by then 28-year-old Douglas Coupland – "Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture." Coupland got his novel's title from the final chapter of a sociological book on American class structure. The book named an "X" category of people who wanted to hop off the merry-go-round of status, money, and social climbing that so often defines modern life.
Coupland felt this group had much in common with his three main characters, Claire, Andy, and Dag – a trio of 20-somethings living out in Palm Springs, CA, who are overeducated, underemployed, ironic, cynical, and withdrawing from society in order to find their individual identities. They dislike most institutions and doing what their families expect of them.
The dialogue of the book is interspersed with neo-logisms like "McJob," which is "a low-pay, low-prestige, low-dignity, low-benefit, no-future job in the service sector. Frequently considered a satisfying career choice by people who have never held one," and "Lesslessness - a philosophy whereby one reconciles oneself with diminishing expectations of material wealth: 'I've given up wanting to make a killing or be a big shot. I just want to find happiness and maybe open a little roadside cafe in Idaho."
The three characters weren't meant to represent the 48 million Americans between the ages of 18 and 30, just a subgroup. However pundits and marketers defined 'X' as anyone in that embittered age group. A post-'80s generation of young adults, who resent the baby boomers for embarking on a decade of greed and saddling the Xers with a crippling recession.
Coupland said X was not based on a chronological age but rather a way of looking at the world. However, around the same time of his book's release also came the film "Slacker" and the new music genre of Seattle "Grunge" and alternative-rock, which started off the next big youth trend of the '90s. The media and the advertisers took Coupland's title and ran with it. From then on every 18 to 30 year old has been tagged with the Generation X label as if a day hasn't passed since Coupland's book was first published.
A few years ago you may have seen the commercials for WorldCom, where they claim the members of "Generation d," which is described as "the generation that grew up digital" are now working for their company. And let's not forget Pepsi's attempt to target the market with their '90s slogan "Generation Next." I think it's sad to see corporations define our generations' tastes for us.
It's now 2008 and Generation X is being overlooked to "Generation Y" a.ka. the teen market and their $125 billion allowance.
In a 1995 "Details" magazine article Coupland announced the end of his generation due to the relentless attempts of Madison Ave. to define what X is. "Once people think they've pigeonholed you, they'll also think they can exploit and use you." wrote Coupland.
When asked by Wired Magazine to give a style for what Generation X means, Coupland said "I think it started out being pejorative, and now it's like Kleenex or Jell-O. Semiotically blank I guess if you identified with the characters or the themes in that book you might be "X," but even that's corny."
-jordan
