boomer, gen x or y differing needs

women of different generations have different needs too.  Let’s look at the Baby Boomers, Generation X & Generation Y or Millennials and how women from each generation have differing needs.  I would like to add to my previous posts on What Do Women Want? & Changing Seasons of Women’s Needs with this brief investigation.  I’m from the Baby Boomer generation & really can only confirm that generation so I would love to hear from women of other generations to get their feedback in the comments below.  You can also check out an older post of mine Generation Gap for further info.

“The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible — and achieve it, generation after generation.” Pearl S. Buck

The Baby Boomer Generation, born from the 1950’s to 1960’s, were the ‘Me Generation’.  We changed everything that our parents valued, as they had come out of the Second World War.   Rock & roll was how we differentiated ourselves and ‘Make Love, Not War’ our slogan.  Baby Boomer Women looked for meaningful relationships and we wanted to be treated as equals.  We had mad forays into psychedic drugs and changed the nature of what constitutes family and relationships to a community model.  So friends are just as important if not more than family.  We have a funny romantic value so men who appeal to this in Baby Boomer women, are ten streets ahead.  We are also idealistic & visionary so make sure you go lightly on that idealism.  As a generation we do think that we created & started the best in society so try to pander to us in that way even if you know we are not seeing the whole picture.  The rules that our parents lived were thrown by the wayside but many of us still harbor a respect for manners & civilised behavior.

“We may consider each generation as a distinct nation, with a right, by the will of its majority, to bind themselves, but none to bind the succeeding generation, more than the inhabitants of another country.” Thomas Jefferson

Wikipedia had some interesting observations about the differences between the generations on the post ‘Generation Gap’ as per this quote:

In the 1990s and 2000s, cultural differences concerning what should be the sexual norm, as well as new technology, political differences, workplace behavior, age of consent, age of responsibility, the education system, and many other political, cultural, and generational issues, has produced a generation gap between Generation X and Y and their Baby Boomer parents. However, many Baby Boomers grew up during the late 1960s, and can relate to their young offspring better than their parents related to them. Nevertheless, the portrayal of teenagers in popular reality television channels, like MTV, has caused concern for parents and a sense of alienation amongst teens and young adults of today.

“Think not forever of yourselves, O Chiefs, nor of your own generation. Think of continuing generations of our families, think of our grandchildren and of those yet unborn, whose faces are coming from beneath the ground.” T. S.Eliot

In the Time article titled ‘Gen-X: The Ignored Generation?’ by M.J. Stephey I found an interview with Jeff Gordinier author of the book ‘How Generation X Got the Shaft But Can Still Keep Everything From Sucking’.  He shares some great realisations about Generation X, born in the 1980’s.

Xers witnessed the rise of the yuppie and the burst of the dot-com bubble. Theirs, he argues, was a bleak inheritance. “Instead of getting free love, we got AIDS,” says Douglas Rushkoff, author of 1993’s GenX Reader . “We didn’t believe the same kind of things as boomers. It was much harder to fool us.”

As with most generation labels, “Generation X” is a loaded term, first coined and later disowned by Douglas Coupland, author of the 1991 book Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture. For Coupland, the letter “X” was meant to signify the generation’s random, ambiguous, contradictory ways.

“Gen-X stomping grounds of the past — the espresso bar, the record shop, the thrift store — have been resurrected in digital form. The new bohemia is less a place than it is a headspace. It’s flexible enough to bypass all the old binaries. It encompasses mass and class, mainstream and marginal, yuppie and refusenik, gearhead and Luddite. It’s everywhere and nowhere in particular,” he writes.
This generation is also sometimes referred to as the Peter Pan Generation because of their possible penchant for delaying some of the rites of passage into adulthood longer than most generations before them

Xers witnessed the rise of the yuppie and the burst of the dot-com bubble. Theirs, he argues, was a bleak inheritance. “Instead of getting free love, we got AIDS,” says Douglas Rushkoff, author of 1993’s GenX Reader . “We didn’t believe the same kind of things as boomers. It was much harder to fool us.”

As with most generation labels, “Generation X” is a loaded term, first coined and later disowned by Douglas Coupland, author of the 1991 book Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture. For Coupland, the letter “X” was meant to signify the generation’s random, ambiguous, contradictory ways.

“Gen-X stomping grounds of the past — the espresso bar, the record shop, the thrift store — have been resurrected in digital form. The new bohemia is less a place than it is a headspace. It’s flexible enough to bypass all the old binaries. It encompasses mass and class, mainstream and marginal, yuppie and refusenik, gearhead and Luddite. It’s everywhere and nowhere in particular,” he writes.

It’s something like a national case of sibling rivalry, with millennials playing the part of the spoiled, naive baby and boomers acting as the self-righteous firstborn. Gordinier’s book, then, is like the earnest ranting of a forgotten middle child.

This generation is also sometimes referred to as the Peter Pan Generation because of their possible penchant for delaying some of the rites of passage into adulthood longer than most generations before them.

“Ecology is rather like sex — every new generation likes to think they were the first to discover it.” Michael Allaby

So I understand that Generation X women like the men are extremely creative, and humble to boot!  This generation have participated in creating technology and the new forms of communication that now we all take for granted.  They are also the generation that values community and humanitarian causes.  They don’t tend to make as much fuss about their needs as possibly Baby Boomer Women but they are smart & independent.  So if their needs are not attended to by their partners they will leave for greener pastures.  They can easily communicate their needs and those needs may be simple but they must be listened to by their partners.  They like to be appreciated but don’t need the huge fanfare that the two generations around them may require, consistent acknowledgement would be great!  They also need freedom to follow their own creative & individual pursuits as well as being in a partnership.  Please let me know in the comments below if I have missed anything or if you disagree with anything that I have mentioned.

“A revolution does not last more than fifteen years, the period which coincides with the flourishing of a generation.” Jose Ortega Y Gasset

In the above article Coupland goes on to speak about Generation Y as follows:

Generation Y “They just love stuff. They love celebrities. They love technology. They love brand names. . . . They’re happy to do whatever advertising tells them to do. So what if they can’t manage to read anything longer than an instant message?”

In the Wikipedia article titled Generation Y I have quoted a good synopsis of Generation Y below:

The Millennials are sometimes called the “Trophy Generation”, or “Trophy Kids,” a term that reflects the trend in competitive sports, as well as many other aspects of life, where “no one loses” and everyone gets a “Thanks for Participating” trophy and symbolizing a perceived sense of entitlement.The instant communication framework Gen Y developed through extensive computer usage has led to a need for more professional feedback than that of past generations. Communication platforms such as SMS, e-mail, video chat, and blogging have engendered a mindset that necessitates constant communication with others. That mindset has carried over into the workplace.  Flexibility–The divide between work and life is continually growing narrower as more people shift from the bricks-and-mortar to a remote workplace. The rate of remote office workers has increased significantly in the past two years.

“That which seems the height of absurdity in one generation often becomes the height of wisdom in the next.” John Stuart Mill

Another article in USA Today titled ‘Generation Y: They’ve arrived at work with a new attitude’ by Stephanie Armour elaborates further about the current generation.

Unlike the generations that have gone before them, Gen Y has been pampered, nurtured and programmed with a slew of activities since they were toddlers, meaning they are both high-performance and high-maintenance, Tulgan says. They also believe in their own worth.

“The millennium generation has been brought up in the most child-centered generation ever. They’ve been programmed and nurtured,” says Cathy O’Neill, senior vice president at career management company Lee Hecht Harrison in Woodcliff Lake, N.J. “Their expectations are different. The millennial expects to be told how they’re doing.”

“I don’t like giving names to generations. It’s like trying to read the song title on a record that’s spinning.” Ian Williams

Generation Y women, born in the late 1980’s into the 1990’s,  like to be spoiled and to be complimented.  They like to be shown in very fiscal terms how much they are valued.  If they don’t get their needs met, they easily move on to someone else that can provide what they need.  They also require communication albeit nothing deep & meaningful but short & to the point.  They also need to know that they are listened to by their partners and the rest of their community.  They also may not appreciate any negative feedback.  The jury is still out on whether that is ultimately helpful for their relationships and self awareness.  I would really appreciate any feedback in the comments below if I have missed anything for Gen Y or if you disagree on any of these points.

I’d like to leave you with a very funny scene from the movie ‘Gran Turino’ with Clint Eastwood.  If you haven’t seen it, it is brilliant to see the whole movie.  This is a short scene which shows up in a very funny way the differences between generations of men. Funny…..

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