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42 | GRAVITAS MAGAZINE GravitasMag.com The Origins of Gen X Gen X was born into perhaps the most anti-child phase in American history. e birth control pill became widely available in the early 1960s and abortion was legalized in 1973. ese contributing factors resulted in diminished numbers of births compared to the Boomers. Due to lower birth rates combined with miscalculations in generational cycles, Gen X has long been minimized as the small group sandwiched between the enormous Boomers and Millennials, but that is simply not accurate. To the contrary, 2010 Census numbers show Generation X (born 1961-1980) at 84 million compared to Boomers (born 1943-1960) at 65.6 million and Millennials (born 1981-2001) at 52 million. If the proper, twenty-year age cycle of a generation is given to Gen X, the numbers become more equal but, the surge in immigration is mostly responsible for the shift in current population numbers. e sleeping giant of a generation is preparing to take over corporations and government across the country and beyond. Perhaps it's time someone acknowledges who we truly are. To understand this diverse group of individuals marching into middle age, one must peel back the facade of the disenfranchised slackers who lack enthusiasm, drive and dedication. Perhaps the reason Boomers never understood the Xers is due to the extreme fundamental differences in their realities. Boomers grew up believing in the American dream, apple pie and a bright future. When their ideals were shattered by war and segregation, they embraced peace and love, determined to change the world. Along the way, they traded their peace beads for a Benz and the real revolution began. ey did not mature into the peace-loving, commune-living hippies some expected. Instead their revolution took a sharp right turn on Wall Street, cocaine replaced weed and the almighty dollar fueled the party. Back at home, Generation X came of age without a net. From a young age, latch keys tied to our backpacks, we were told the world owed us nothing. Unsupervised we watched too much TV, some skipped out of homework and fell into escalating levels of crime. According to Coupland's book Generation X: Tales of an Accelerated Culture, self-consumed Boomers sometime regarded their children as "obstacles to their self-exploration," resulting in permissive parenting on a grand scale. In addition to the many hours bored and lonely, Coupland concluded that Generation X was "rushed through childhood." It's difficult to maintain the customary optimism of youth when the world crumbles around you, beginning with President Nixon waving goodbye to his dignity and office. Marriages disintegrated, mom went back to work, gas became scarce, Iran-Contra imploded, the Space Shuttle exploded, Chernobyl melted down, layoffs escalated, Enron stole the kitty and Clinton fondled the intern. Ready to leave our less-than-perfect childhoods behind, we launched out of universities into a recession while corporate anarchy unleashed a drunken dotcom investment frenzy and the Internet Age roared to life. Anticipating the 1999 super dance party Prince sang about, instead Y2K panic and the 9/11 tragedy ushered in a new millennium, briskly followed by infrastructure deficits, takeovers, acquisitions, downsizing, supersizing, re-fi and wars without end. en, as we finally embraced marriage and parenthood during what should have been our peak earning years, global market instability strikes. Our homes became worthless, the corporate ladder broke, salaries and careers stalled. And now, our child stars act like porn stars, we consciously uncouple, date by text, proclaim juice as a food group, and downward dog our way to satisfaction. Perhaps, we should not blame the Boomers for not understanding. Who could possibly survive the mayhem? All Grown Up e generation that has weathered a lifetime of storms is a resilient, scappy menagerie of survivors. e most educated generation in American history and yet, the first ones not doing better than its parents. Yet, despite the relentless barrage of disappointments we endure, we are surprisingly a fairly content bunch. It's our reward for our hard- earned indifference to a system that failed us. As Whitney Collins writes in his article, Generation X's Journey from Jaded to Sated in the Weeklings, "at's what happens when resentment turns into resilience and you step out into the world with no one really watching. And it's a nice landing

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