If you were born between 1960-1964 do you consider yourself a boomer or generation Xer.

[Anonymous]

^ I also believe there's more to it than where you were during a monumental historical event. There are little things that sway me more Gen X than Gen Y, like growing up playing Atari games but not owning a Nintendo, and watching Captain Kangaroo but not Barney.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:In my opinion, if you remember the jfk assasination, you are a boomer. After, gen x

Yeah, that's the quintessential boomer question. "Where were you when Kennedy was shot?"

I think millennials can be identified with a question like this too. If you were in school or college on 9/11, you’re a millennial. What would it be for Gen X? The Challenger?

There really is no defining question like this for Xers. I think it's if they can remember the Reagan/Carter election.

Yes there is. Where were you when you found out Kurt Cobain was dead? I bet a lot of my fellow Gen Xers would agree.

Only if you were white.

Nah. I'm white and that was not on my radar either. I was practicing law by then anyway.

If you were 24+ in 1994, you are not an Xer.

The thread is asking about people born between 60-64 and suggesting that they are Gen X (they aren't).

I was born in 1967. But I actually agree: we are The Lost Generation, because we aren't Boomers and we really aren't Gen X either. We are the Breakfast Club/Brat Pack Generation.

You can't possibly be saying that the Brat Pack weren't Xers? They were the poster children of generation X.

Except most of them were born 60-65, which technically puts them in Baby boomer territory.

They starred in coming of age movies for Gen Xers. Boomers were already of age - they had done the whole HS, college, first apt thing well before those movies came out.

It isn't the age of the actors as much as it is the movies that they were in. Plus, I think some of us on this thread have been saying that the cut off for Gen X or the Lost Gen or whatever you want to call us - this Brat Pack Gen - should include earlier 60's, too. Late 70's/early 80's seems like another generation entirely with totally different cultural references.

[Anonymous]

1955 is pretty much the last year for the Boomers. If the draft ended before you (or your male peers if you are female) were eligible for it, then you are not a boomer. The draft, and thinking about it, is probably the defining experience of the Boomers.

The war in Vietnam was a huge concern for young people of that time. Many were very worried about the possibility of having to go there. If the draft did not directly affect you or your age peers, you are not a boomer.

[Anonymous]

DH was born in 1963, and definitely falls into the boomer category. I'm 1966, and a Gen Xer, although I have a lot of boomer affinity, maybe because my parents were older, i.e., served in the war.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1955 is pretty much the last year for the Boomers. If the draft ended before you (or your male peers if you are female) were eligible for it, then you are not a boomer. The draft, and thinking about it, is probably the defining experience of the Boomers.

The war in Vietnam was a huge concern for young people of that time. Many were very worried about the possibility of having to go there. If the draft did not directly affect you or your age peers, you are not a boomer.

I was born in '66 and I remember watching news footage about Vietnam on t.v.. My husband was born a couple of years earlier and his dad is a Vietnam Vet. The draft may have ended in '55 but if you think that people weren't still concerned about it in the 60's/70's you would be wrong. There was always that looming possibility that it could be brought back at any time.

Still I consider myself to be a Gen Xer while I consider my older siblings born nearly a decade earlier than I was to be Boomers.

[Anonymous]

Born in 1963, which makes me a boomer by my definition. Looking at my life and my relatives I feel like a "tweener". My older relatives are total boomers - counter culture, did drugs, alternative life styles, got college degrees for dirt cheap, have jobs with pensions. The younger ones would fit into the cast of the Cosby Show or Family Ties. I can't help but feel like I just missed the party (not a boomer) or end up shaking my head as the oldest guy in the room (not GenX).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I was born in 1961 and identify as a boomer. My parents were Greatest Generation, and while I was an only child, most of my peers were the youngest in their families, so the tail end of the baby boomers.

I do think that my experience was different from those in the first part of the baby boom born a decade or more earlier. As a PP said, their lives had that '50s straitlaced Leave It to Beaver setting, where as my developing years in the late 60s and early 70s were more the mod days of mini skirts and go-go boots and Bobby Sherman and Donny Osmond. I remember being 10 or so and people just talking about twentysomethings living together and how scandalous it was. In elementary school we had to wear dresses, there was no meat on Fridays and it was rare for a mom to be working outside the home.

I don't identify with Gen X at all.

Born in '61 and this describes my experience exactly.

We were not allowed to wear pants (or sneakers) to school until I was in junior high school (grade 7) and it was right around that time that Title IX went into law, permitting (e.g.) girls to take shop class and boys to take home ec.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1955 is pretty much the last year for the Boomers. If the draft ended before you (or your male peers if you are female) were eligible for it, then you are not a boomer. The draft, and thinking about it, is probably the defining experience of the Boomers.

The war in Vietnam was a huge concern for young people of that time. Many were very worried about the possibility of having to go there. If the draft did not directly affect you or your age peers, you are not a boomer.

I was born in '66 and I remember watching news footage about Vietnam on t.v.. My husband was born a couple of years earlier and his dad is a Vietnam Vet. The draft may have ended in '55 but if you think that people weren't still concerned about it in the 60's/70's you would be wrong. There was always that looming possibility that it could be brought back at any time.

Still I consider myself to be a Gen Xer while I consider my older siblings born nearly a decade earlier than I was to be Boomers.

The draft did not end in 1955, it ended in 1972. People born in 1955 were 17 in 1972, so just missed being eligible for the draft. It was a big concern for them, though, since they did not know in advance that the draft would end when it did. People born later in the 50s and early 60sdid not have to worry as much about the draft since it had ended while they were younger teens or tweens.

It is difficult to have these conversations when people think that the draft ended in 1955 and thus do not understand the effect the draft had on a particular age cohort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1955 is pretty much the last year for the Boomers. If the draft ended before you (or your male peers if you are female) were eligible for it, then you are not a boomer. The draft, and thinking about it, is probably the defining experience of the Boomers.

The war in Vietnam was a huge concern for young people of that time. Many were very worried about the possibility of having to go there. If the draft did not directly affect you or your age peers, you are not a boomer.

I was born in '66 and I remember watching news footage about Vietnam on t.v.. My husband was born a couple of years earlier and his dad is a Vietnam Vet. The draft may have ended in '55 but if you think that people weren't still concerned about it in the 60's/70's you would be wrong. There was always that looming possibility that it could be brought back at any time.

Still I consider myself to be a Gen Xer while I consider my older siblings born nearly a decade earlier than I was to be Boomers.

The draft did not end in 1955, it ended in 1972. People born in 1955 were 17 in 1972, so just missed being eligible for the draft. It was a big concern for them, though, since they did not know in advance that the draft would end when it did. People born later in the 50s and early 60sdid not have to worry as much about the draft since it had ended while they were younger teens or tweens.

It is difficult to have these conversations when people think that the draft ended in 1955 and thus do not understand the effect the draft had on a particular age cohort.

The main point is that people born 1961-65 did not give a shit about the draft or the Vietnam War, so they were not Boomers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was born in mid 1964. I do not feel apart of either generation. JFK was shot before I was born. I don't remember Viet Nam. I have a vague memory of the moon shot, ("watch THIS, you will remember it the rest of your life!!!!!" is what I remember). I was just becoming aware when Nixon was nearly impeached - mid-ES. Carter's election is the first one I remember. I remember John Anderson.

I remember when John Lennon was shot mainly because it was the first banner headline I had ever seen in the newspaper and that shocked me. I really wasn't aware of the Beatles until that point. Same for Elvis's death.

I remember when Reagan was shot, I know who shot JR, I remember the Iranian hostages coming home - these were when I was in HS.

I remember Challenger in college, same for Thriller - I was never really a Michael Jackson fan. Madonna was huge. Purple Rain came out in college. U2 was on my radar then. Live Aid.....

I remember Lockerbie- two students from my HS were on the plane. I remember Tiananmen square- a mom from church was in a hotel just off the square. I remember the hijacked plane that went to Beirut- a neighbor was on that plane. (I don't remember the chronology of those events).

I remember when the wall came down and Perestroika- I was living in DC and working. I did not know of Kurt Cobain until after his death.

I was born in 1964 and have all these memories too, but I consider myself Gen X.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:In my opinion, if you remember the jfk assasination, you are a boomer. After, gen x

Yeah, that's the quintessential boomer question. "Where were you when Kennedy was shot?"

I think millennials can be identified with a question like this too. If you were in school or college on 9/11, you’re a millennial. What would it be for Gen X? The Challenger?

There really is no defining question like this for Xers. I think it's if they can remember the Reagan/Carter election.

Yes there is. Where were you when you found out Kurt Cobain was dead? I bet a lot of my fellow Gen Xers would agree.

Only if you were white.

Nah. I'm white and that was not on my radar either. I was practicing law by then anyway.

If you were 24+ in 1994, you are not an Xer.

The thread is asking about people born between 60-64 and suggesting that they are Gen X (they aren't).

I was born in 1967. But I actually agree: we are The Lost Generation, because we aren't Boomers and we really aren't Gen X either. We are the Breakfast Club/Brat Pack Generation.

You can't possibly be saying that the Brat Pack weren't Xers? They were the poster children of generation X.

Except most of them were born 60-65, which technically puts them in Baby boomer territory.

They starred in coming of age movies for Gen Xers. Boomers were already of age - they had done the whole HS, college, first apt thing well before those movies came out.

It isn't the age of the actors as much as it is the movies that they were in. Plus, I think some of us on this thread have been saying that the cut off for Gen X or the Lost Gen or whatever you want to call us - this Brat Pack Gen - should include earlier 60's, too. Late 70's/early 80's seems like another generation entirely with totally different cultural references.

I think you could also consider pre-AIDS, post-AIDS.
I was born in 72, and have never had the concept of casual fun sex. Sex could kill you, from the moment I was aware of it as a personal thing.
My DH was born in 66, and he remembers how sex was fine and great, and then suddenly it could kill you.

We're both Xers, but that's a big difference in how teenagers relate and mature.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1955 is pretty much the last year for the Boomers. If the draft ended before you (or your male peers if you are female) were eligible for it, then you are not a boomer. The draft, and thinking about it, is probably the defining experience of the Boomers.

The war in Vietnam was a huge concern for young people of that time. Many were very worried about the possibility of having to go there. If the draft did not directly affect you or your age peers, you are not a boomer.

I was born in '66 and I remember watching news footage about Vietnam on t.v.. My husband was born a couple of years earlier and his dad is a Vietnam Vet. The draft may have ended in '55 but if you think that people weren't still concerned about it in the 60's/70's you would be wrong. There was always that looming possibility that it could be brought back at any time.

Still I consider myself to be a Gen Xer while I consider my older siblings born nearly a decade earlier than I was to be Boomers.

The draft did not end in 1955, it ended in 1972. People born in 1955 were 17 in 1972, so just missed being eligible for the draft. It was a big concern for them, though, since they did not know in advance that the draft would end when it did. People born later in the 50s and early 60sdid not have to worry as much about the draft since it had ended while they were younger teens or tweens.

It is difficult to have these conversations when people think that the draft ended in 1955 and thus do not understand the effect the draft had on a particular age cohort.

The main point is that people born 1961-65 did not give a shit about the draft or the Vietnam War, so they were not Boomers.

Right. Because none of us had siblings who were drafted and we all grew up knowing exactly when it would end so no worries. Right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1955 is pretty much the last year for the Boomers. If the draft ended before you (or your male peers if you are female) were eligible for it, then you are not a boomer. The draft, and thinking about it, is probably the defining experience of the Boomers.

The war in Vietnam was a huge concern for young people of that time. Many were very worried about the possibility of having to go there. If the draft did not directly affect you or your age peers, you are not a boomer.

I was born in '66 and I remember watching news footage about Vietnam on t.v.. My husband was born a couple of years earlier and his dad is a Vietnam Vet. The draft may have ended in '55 but if you think that people weren't still concerned about it in the 60's/70's you would be wrong. There was always that looming possibility that it could be brought back at any time.

Still I consider myself to be a Gen Xer while I consider my older siblings born nearly a decade earlier than I was to be Boomers.

The draft did not end in 1955, it ended in 1972. People born in 1955 were 17 in 1972, so just missed being eligible for the draft. It was a big concern for them, though, since they did not know in advance that the draft would end when it did. People born later in the 50s and early 60sdid not have to worry as much about the draft since it had ended while they were younger teens or tweens.

It is difficult to have these conversations when people think that the draft ended in 1955 and thus do not understand the effect the draft had on a particular age cohort.

I assumed the person who referred to the draft ending in 55 did not write that intentionally, the pp had referred to 55 being the last year for boomers to be born.

[Anonymous]

Late 1963–Gen Xer all the way

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1955 is pretty much the last year for the Boomers. If the draft ended before you (or your male peers if you are female) were eligible for it, then you are not a boomer. The draft, and thinking about it, is probably the defining experience of the Boomers.

The war in Vietnam was a huge concern for young people of that time. Many were very worried about the possibility of having to go there. If the draft did not directly affect you or your age peers, you are not a boomer.

I agree with the 1955 designation as well, although for many other reasons than just the draft.