What springs to mind when you think about generation X?" I ask my hairdresser, who is in her mid-thirties. She puts down her scissors and squints at me in the mirror. "I'm gen X," I prompt. Her brow furrows further. "I mean, I feel like I don't really have any thoughts about your generation," she finally admits. "You guys just sort of chug along and don't harm anyone, do you? You're not hoarding all the houses and wealth like the boomers and you're not jumping up and down and loudly demanding stuff like gen Y. Yeah, no. You seem really nice, I guess, but other than that, I don't really know what you are."
"I don't really know what you are" could easily be the generational tagline of those of us born between 1965 and 1980, the small, low-key, don't-mind-us generation X. Australia's 2021 census showed that we're not only metaphorically unseen, we're also literally quite tiny, only a small blip of the population compared with other generations: there's just 4.9 million of us compared with boomers and millennials who number almost 5.5 million each.
We were the latchkey kids, mostly left to raise ourselves as our "me generation" baby boomer parents - the first gen where both parents likely worked - yukked it up in the wealth-grubbing 1980s. In the 1990s, when we were in our teens and 20s, they called us the "slacker generation" for reasons that aren't entirely clear possibly because we shrouded ourselves in flannelette shirts and floppy hair to blend into the background even more than we already did.
Ironically (and don't we love a bit of irony, we cynical gen Xers), by the time we appeared in the workplace we'd shown everyone exactly how slacker we weren't. As employees, we're often described as hardworking, self-sufficient, uncomplaining, and loyal, which is probably at least partly to do with the fact our DIY childhoods showed us that no one was coming to save us except ourselves.
Denne historien er fra October 2022-utgaven av Marie Claire Australia.
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Denne historien er fra October 2022-utgaven av Marie Claire Australia.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
SHANNEN DOHERTY
The rebellious actor died in July after a nine-year battle with cancer. Zara Wong looks back at the legacy of a woman who always lived on her own terms
IN THE WILDS OF ALASKA
Nature served up a spectacular array of delights, while cruising the majestic waters of the far north.
Back to EARTH
In its earliest days, the farm bred draught horses for export. Now Tasmania's 1840 cottage Leighton House has been restored as a glorious getaway
ODE to LIGHT
Created by master perfumer Francis Kurkdjian in 2011, Elie Saab's Le Parfum has since gained a cult following and become an industry icon. Here, Sally Hunwick uncovers the origins of the stunning chypre floral scent
JEN ATKIN
The Ouai beauty guru is regularly called on by the Kardashians and a host of other A-listers. Here, she talks about hair, her beauty cupboard and how she keeps up her energy levels
A NEW DIRECTION
When she was 16, Jordan Lambropoulos told her surgeon she'd rather die than wake up with a colostomy bag. Today - 10 years, countless operations and 14,000 Instagram followers later - she's proof that a colostomy bag is not the end. In fact, it can be the beginning of a whole new life
LADY LUCK
Rosalía takes her accessories as seriously as she takes her art. The Spanish musician spent three years working on her much-lauded album Motomami, finessing the details and perfecting the finishing touches. And when it comes to her outfits, she's no less specific
Wait... superhero movies are cool now?
Who had Emma Corrin and Juno Temple as supervillians on their 2024 bingo card?
CURTAIN CALLING
Brisbane-born star Vidya Makan steps into the shoes of America's founding mother in the long-awaited return of Hamilton
LEIGH-ANNE
The English singer on colourism, freedom and reuniting Little Mix
