Generation X

Members of the reactive, nomadic Generation X, which include some of our kin, were born between 1961 and 1981; there will probably be members of this generation playing on the world's stage at least until about 2071.¹ Their parents were either the last wave of the adaptive Silent Generation or the first wave of the idealistic Boom Generation, who "nurtured" them in an underprotective way.

Generation X grew up as underprotected (even neglected) and highly criticized youths during a spiritual awakening (the Boom Awakening of the late 1960s and early 1970s) and matured into risk-taking, alienated rising adults. They are now mellowing into pragmatic midlife leaders during a secular crisis, and they will later maintain respect (but wield little influence) as savvy but reclusive elders. Generation X (of the Nomad archtype in the Millennial Saeculum, or Cycle) survived a hurried childhood of divorce, latchkeys, open classrooms, devil-child movies, and a shift from G to R movie ratings. They came of age curtailing the earlier rise in youth crime and fall in test scores--yet heard themselves denounced as so wild and stupid as to put The Nation at Risk. As young adults, maneuvering through a sexual battlescape of AIDS and blighted courtship rituals, they date and marry cautiously. In jobs, they embrace risk and prefer free agency over loyal cooperation. From grunge to hip-hop, their splintery culture reveals a hardened edge. Politically, they lean toward pragmatism and nonaffiliation and would rather volunteer than vote. Widely criticized as slackers, they inhabit a Reality Bites economy of declining young-adult living standards.²

Generations in the past whose peer personality closely resembled that of Generation X include:

• The Lost Generation (birthyears 1883-1900) of Harry Truman, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and our ancestor Mary Caroline Findley
• The Gilded Generation (birthyears 1822-1842) of Ulysses Grant, Mark Twain, and our ancestor Arthur Noah Bean
• The Liberty Generation (birthyears 1724-1741) of George Washington, Patrick Henry, and our ancestor Abraham Stickney II
• The Cavalier Generation (birthyears 1618-1647) of Benjamin Church, Captain Kidd, and our ancestor John MacBean
• The Picaresque Generation (birthyears 1512-1540) of Queen Elizabeth I, Francis Drake, and our ancestor Jennett Millington.

Here is a table of contents for the Generation X's lifecycle:

• Generation X Youth
• Generation X Rising Adulthood
• Generation X Midlife
• Generation X Elderhood
• Generation X Notes

Continue

Birthyears for Generation X

• 1961:
  Princess Di (Diana Frances Spencer), Eddie Murphy, Michael J. Fox, Boy George, Larry Rinder, Abu Zubaydah
• 1962:
  Tom Cruise, Roger Clemens, Jon Bon Jovi, Lana Clarkson, Jodie (Alicia Christian) Foster
• 1963:
  Julian Lennon, Len Bias, Whitney Houston, Michael Jordan, Tatum O'Neal, Vanessa Williams, Quentin Tarantino
• 1964:
  Tracy Chapman, Cynthia Cooper
• 1965:
  Brooke Shields, Cindy Crawford, Michael Dell, Robert Downey
• 1966:
  Mike Tyson, Elena Ford, Paula Jones, Salma Hayek, Chris Evans
• 1967:
  Boris Becker, Jim Abbott, Lisa Bonet, Jayson Williams, Deion Sanders, Julia Roberts, Brendan Fraser
• 1968:
  Wuer Kaixi, Gary Coleman, Moon Unit Zappa, Mary Lou Retton, Darryl Kile, Ann Swisshelm, Timothy McVeigh, Celine Dion, Ashley Judd, Halle Berry, Lucy Lawless, Celine Dion, Ricki Lake, Toni Braxton, Will Smith, Lucy Liu, Parker Posey, Hugh Jackman
• 1969:
  Steffi Graf, Eric Bergoust, Kristin Chenoweth
• 1970:
  Tonya Harding
• 1971:
  Jimmy Pedro
• 1972:
  Samantha Smith, "Tiffany" Darwish, Lisa Lopes, Chris Klug, Pharrell Williams, Eminem (Marshall Mathers), Winona Ryder, Snoop Doggy Dog
• 1973:
  Chad (Chase) Hugo, Monica Lewinsky, Danniella Westbrook
• 1974:
  Alanis Morissette, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jedediah Purdy, Victoria Beckham, Robbie Williams
• 1975:
  Allen Iverson, Phil Lord, Lauryn Hill, Wendy Shalit, Tiger Woods, Livan Hernandez, Juan Pablo Montoya, Ralf Schumacher
• 1976:
  Jennifer Capriati, Chris Miller, Curtis Jackson ("50 Cent"), Jason Sorens, Alicia Silverstone, Peyton Manning, Jevon Kearse, Martine McCutcheon
• 1977:
  Bode Miller, Adam Heidt, Summer Phoenix, Jonathan Safran Foer, James Van Der Beek, Fiona Apple, Sarah Michelle Gellar
• 1978:
  Donovan Patton, Jean Racine, Kobe Bryant, Steve Francis
• 1979:
  Norah Jones, Brandy, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Aaliyah Haughton
• 1980:
  Conor Oberst, Alexei Yagudin, Venus Williams, Chelsea Clinton, Macaulay Culkin, Christina Aguilera, Nick Carter, Christina Ricci, Jessica Simpson, Macaulay Culkin, Nick Cannon, Ashanti Douglas
• 1981:
  John Walker, Serena Williams, Gregory Kingsley, Britney Spears, Rachael Leigh Cook, Anna Kournikova, Johnny Lang

See the next generation
See the previous generation

Back to the top

Close this window

This page was last modified on 07/20/2025 03:00:48