Generation Jones.

I was born in mid 63 and I am 100% not a boomer. My experiences in life were in line with GenXers as far as the tv shows, computers, MTV, fashion, music, etc. I think there are a few definitions that do say Boomers stop in '61 but even then I think the generation labels are ridiculous. As if someone born on Dec. 31, 1964 is a Boomer and someone born Jan 1, 1965 is a GenXer and there is a magical difference between them??? It should be driven more from social, technological, etc. changes in the world not dates or how many babies were born during a period.

As a former sociology major, I have found this thread really interesting -- and a great procrastination device. The concept of generational differences is most useful in a broad brush context -- e.g., demographics, marketing, polling -- but less so when you look at individuals, especially those born in transition years. For those folks, factors like birth order, region of origin, significant other's birthyear -- can make a big difference in generational identity. So, for me, born in 1960, the fact that I have older sibs and cousins and that my DH is 3 years older make me feel more like a Boomer. Similarly, growing up in the Bay Area, I was probably more aware of and influenced by Boomer culture.

Pegging generational identity to memories of historical events is trickier because those events can be experienced very differently by folks of different ages. For example, I don't remember JFK's assassination at all, but do remember RFK's because it was the only time I can remember seeing my dad cry other than at a funeral or wedding. Similarly, I remember Kent State because my cousins came home when their campuses shut down. At my last college reunion, several of my classmates and I discovered that we share the same memories of watching the Watergate hearings in the summer of 1973.
I asked my DH, younger and older sibs and cousins about this and their memories were hazier, probably because they were either at daycamp (younger) or working at summer jobs (older), while I had nothing to do but go to swim practice in the morning and then watch the hearings all afternoon.

Finally, I'll note that while the end of the military draft has eliminated a useful marker for demographers in defining generations, the advent of new technologies might serve as a replacement tool. So, for example, my kids, nephews and nieces, including Millennials and Gen Z-ers, have had astonishingly different experiences of technology in their lives.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DH was born in 1958. He remembers Michael Jackson as being awesome.
My son is a millennial. He remembers Michael Jackson as being really weird.

And your husband was too young to be eligible for the draft, so his teen years were very different from those of the Boomers, for the simple fact that he didn’t have to think about fighting in Vietnam unless he chose to join the military.

People born in the late 50s and early 60s did not have to concern themselves with Vietnam the way those born from 1945-55 did. That’s one of the biggest defining characteristics of Boomers.

Not true. I was born in ‘62 and my father was in Vietnam for a year as an officer. We had a very difficult year without him and he came home to jeers and protests. We had to move from our house on the highway because the sounds would trigger my father’s PTSD. Our nanny’s father came home from Vietnam and killed himself ten years later. There were many repercussions from Vietnam besides being of age to be drafted to the war.

Yes, that is true and you are right that I worded that badly. I do realize that there were more repercussions from Vietnam than those caused by the draft and also experienced them in older family members whose lives were, sadly, never the same after their service there.

I was more specific in the first paragraph above and should have used the same phrase again in that I meant to indicate that young men born in the late 50s and early 60s didn’t need to worry about being drafted themselves. They and their female peers knew that they would not have to go to Vietnam unless they chose to serve. It made a huge difference to not have to think about being drafted as a teen.

One of the most defining characteristics of the Boomers is that the males were eligible for the draft. That eligibility had a huge effect on many of the choices they made about how they lived their lives and affected how they viewed the world around them. Those born after 1955 did not have to worry about being drafted and that fact made their lives very different from those born 1945-55. They just don’t qualify as Boomers in large part because they didn’t have the experience of having to think about the possibility of being drafted and plan accordingly.

I don't think that is necessarily true. Those boys born in 1956, 57, 58, 59 still grew up expecting that the draft would affect them. The Vietnam era draft ended in 1972, but until 1975, the selective service was still telling young men to expect to be drafted.
Of course, being told to expect to be drafted is very different than actually being drafted, but there was still that looming cloud over a teen boy's existence, even if they were born a few years after 1955.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DH was born in 1958. He remembers Michael Jackson as being awesome.
My son is a millennial. He remembers Michael Jackson as being really weird.

And your husband was too young to be eligible for the draft, so his teen years were very different from those of the Boomers, for the simple fact that he didn’t have to think about fighting in Vietnam unless he chose to join the military.

People born in the late 50s and early 60s did not have to concern themselves with Vietnam the way those born from 1945-55 did. That’s one of the biggest defining characteristics of Boomers.

Not true. I was born in ‘62 and my father was in Vietnam for a year as an officer. We had a very difficult year without him and he came home to jeers and protests. We had to move from our house on the highway because the sounds would trigger my father’s PTSD. Our nanny’s father came home from Vietnam and killed himself ten years later. There were many repercussions from Vietnam besides being of age to be drafted to the war.

Yes, that is true and you are right that I worded that badly. I do realize that there were more repercussions from Vietnam than those caused by the draft and also experienced them in older family members whose lives were, sadly, never the same after their service there.

I was more specific in the first paragraph above and should have used the same phrase again in that I meant to indicate that young men born in the late 50s and early 60s didn’t need to worry about being drafted themselves. They and their female peers knew that they would not have to go to Vietnam unless they chose to serve. It made a huge difference to not have to think about being drafted as a teen.

One of the most defining characteristics of the Boomers is that the males were eligible for the draft. That eligibility had a huge effect on many of the choices they made about how they lived their lives and affected how they viewed the world around them. Those born after 1955 did not have to worry about being drafted and that fact made their lives very different from those born 1945-55. They just don’t qualify as Boomers in large part because they didn’t have the experience of having to think about the possibility of being drafted and plan accordingly.

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Ditto. Another 64 baby here (born the night the Beatles were on the Ed Sullivan show) and I'm Gen X.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DH was born in 1958. He remembers Michael Jackson as being awesome.
My son is a millennial. He remembers Michael Jackson as being really weird.

And your husband was too young to be eligible for the draft, so his teen years were very different from those of the Boomers, for the simple fact that he didn’t have to think about fighting in Vietnam unless he chose to join the military.

People born in the late 50s and early 60s did not have to concern themselves with Vietnam the way those born from 1945-55 did. That’s one of the biggest defining characteristics of Boomers.

Not true. I was born in ‘62 and my father was in Vietnam for a year as an officer. We had a very difficult year without him and he came home to jeers and protests. We had to move from our house on the highway because the sounds would trigger my father’s PTSD. Our nanny’s father came home from Vietnam and killed himself ten years later. There were many repercussions from Vietnam besides being of age to be drafted to the war.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
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.

This isn't true at all. I was born in '61 and my older brother, born in 1954, was drafted in 1971 or 72. He applied and was granted conscientious objector status and it was a prolonged and painful process that had a big impact on our whole family.

(shrug) I was a kid in the 1960s. I had friends with older siblings. Nobody ever talked about the draft or the war.

If you yourself didn't have any older siblings who were drafted or might have been drafted, then from your child's point of view, of course "nobody ever talked about the draft or the war."

Pay attention. Not even my friends who did have older siblings talked about it.

Why do you think that is, considering the war only ended in 1975? Were you in an affluent neighborhood where young men could avoid the draft?

Anonymous wrote:My DH was born in 1958. He remembers Michael Jackson as being awesome.
My son is a millennial. He remembers Michael Jackson as being really weird.

And your husband was too young to be eligible for the draft, so his teen years were very different from those of the Boomers, for the simple fact that he didn’t have to think about fighting in Vietnam unless he chose to join the military.

People born in the late 50s and early 60s did not have to concern themselves with Vietnam the way those born from 1945-55 did. That’s one of the biggest defining characteristics of Boomers.

My DH was born in 1958. He remembers Michael Jackson as being awesome.
My son is a millennial. He remembers Michael Jackson as being really weird.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
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.

This isn't true at all. I was born in '61 and my older brother, born in 1954, was drafted in 1971 or 72. He applied and was granted conscientious objector status and it was a prolonged and painful process that had a big impact on our whole family.

(shrug) I was a kid in the 1960s. I had friends with older siblings. Nobody ever talked about the draft or the war.

If you yourself didn't have any older siblings who were drafted or might have been drafted, then from your child's point of view, of course "nobody ever talked about the draft or the war."

Pay attention. Not even my friends who did have older siblings talked about it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
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.

This isn't true at all. I was born in '61 and my older brother, born in 1954, was drafted in 1971 or 72. He applied and was granted conscientious objector status and it was a prolonged and painful process that had a big impact on our whole family.

(shrug) I was a kid in the 1960s. I had friends with older siblings. Nobody ever talked about the draft or the war.

Another '61 here and I didn't know much at all about Vietnam. I grew up in DC so the protests were going on nearby and I had no idea. However we did not have a TV until I was in 2nd or 3rd grade, and moved out of the country shortly after that to a country with very limited American programming (one channel on weekends only and not current programs) so I was very sheltered. I guess by the early 70s I knew something about it but cared more about the Brady Bunch than current events.

I don't remember the Kennedy assassination at all. I was 2.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
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.

This isn't true at all. I was born in '61 and my older brother, born in 1954, was drafted in 1971 or 72. He applied and was granted conscientious objector status and it was a prolonged and painful process that had a big impact on our whole family.

(shrug) I was a kid in the 1960s. I had friends with older siblings. Nobody ever talked about the draft or the war.

If you yourself didn't have any older siblings who were drafted or might have been drafted, then from your child's point of view, of course "nobody ever talked about the draft or the war."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Good point. I was born in the 60s.

When I hit my teenage years, every form of VD could be cured. Sex without consequences, yay!
Then suddenly there was a form of VD that could not be cured (herpes was a big deal when it first emerged!) but it didn't kill you.
A little later, there was a form of VD that could not be cured and it killed you.
And now... there are lots of types of VD that cannot be cured.

I was born in 55 and remember this change. Also, in the pre-Roe v Wade era, if you got pregnant, the question was whether you could get to New York for an abortion because you sure couldn't get one in Ohio. I heard that a girl had someone else take her SATs for her so she could go to New York for an abortion. But the other thing is that Roe v Wade really mobilized the pro-life movement. When I was a teen, you didn't think about whether abortion was "baby-killing," (and I don't think it is) you just were afraid of getting pregnant and not having access to abortion. After Roe v Wade, this became a huge issue.

Anonymous wrote:What state did you live in where school started the first week of August in 1974? Didn’t most schools back then start in September or the last week of August at the earliest?

I was raised by a single mom. She put me in summer school every summer as a form of day care. And indeed, in those pre-internet, only-four-channels-of-TV days, summer school was preferable to sitting around the house bored out of my gourd.