Greatest Generation vs Silent Generation vs Generation X Women –

Greatest Generation vs Silent Generation vs Generation X Women –

I am a Generation X elder, having been born early in 1965. I am the first child, first grandchild on both sides, and a big sister.

My mom was from the Silent Generation, toward the end. She was an only child, first grandchild on one side, and in the top half of the line in grandchildren on the other side.

My maternal grandmother was from the Greatest Generation, right in the middle of it. She was the first child and a big sister.

These 3 generations are very different:

Greatest Generation 1901-1927

• Didn’t talk to their children about personal things (especially sex).
• Women generally didn’t work.
• Women primarily wore skirts/dresses in public.

Silent Generation 1928-1945

• Talked a little about personal things with their children.
• More women worked outside the home.
• The youngest of these women started the sexual revolution, burned their bras, and fought for women’s rights.
• These women wore pants and mini-skirts whenever and wherever they wanted to. But, they tried to instill in their kids a lot of the things that they were taught even though they no longer followed those “rules”.

Generation X 1965-1980

• We are very open with our children because no one was open with us and we want to do better.
• We raised ourselves and our younger siblings since a lot of times both of our parents worked.
• We’ve “been there – done that”

Every generation wants the next to “have it better” than they did. That is progress. That is how things change. Here are some things that I was taught that no longer exist and my feelings about them:

• Slips under skirts – Boy, did this one bother me! My mom made me wear one even though she didn’t always wear one. My opinion was, everyone knows that my legs to all the way up, what difference does it make if they can see where they are?
• Match purse and shoes color – Who cares???????
• “Do as I say, not as I do.” – These words were actually spoken to me by my mom a lot. I never could do that because it made no sense; if you can do it, why can’t I? Now we teach by example.
• Be Ladylike – We were to be dainty (something I could never physically be), quiet (that wasn’t happening either), prim, and proper. Gen X wasn’t born that way. How could we be those things while having to also be an adult at a very young age taking care of ourselves and siblings? We were wild and free. We left the house when the sun came up and went back home when the lights came on at night. When we were hurt, we were told to “walk it off” and “you’ll live”.
• “Good girls don’t” – Good girls don’t have pre-marital sex. You must wait until you are married. I don’t know about you, but my mom was a divorcee who didn’t remarry until we were out of the house. She dated a lot prior to that. And she wasn’t quiet about it, if you know what I mean. I believed that “good girls don’t” and that has tortured me for a large portion of my life. It turns out that good girls do and can have fun doing it.

Times have certainly changed in my lifetime and I am sure that my children will say the same when they are my age. Is it progress? Maybe, maybe not.

Have women become stronger? I don’t think so – women have always been strong. The difference is that now we are able to show it, talk about it, and be true to ourselves.