Generational differences

This is a long article but I found the bits I have read so far by cherry picking really interesting 

https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2026/mar/08/did-baby-boomers-eat-all-pies-john-lanchester-truth-generation-gap

especially this

'For one thing, generational divisions aren’t what they were. People my age and people my parents’ age wore different clothes, listened to different music, ate different food, lived differently and had totally different attitudes to questions of gender and sexuality. The defining experience of their youth was the second world war. The defining experience of ours was the fall of the Berlin Wall. They had different expectations about material comfort. Neither of my parents were brought up in houses with running water or electricity. The equivalent divides between generations we’re experiencing now are much smaller. We like the same clothes, music and food, and have a similar sense of what to expect from the basic material amenities of life. The one area where there is a particular division is around gender identity – and that, I think, is one reason that debate is particularly heated. It’s not that the two generations don’t agree about anything. It’s that we agree about pretty much everything else'

Parents
  • I'm an early boomer who likes to think that the generational differences are mostly disappearing over time. Contrary to standard autistic characteristics, I've always embraced change. I needed to; the first 25 years of my career were in research and development!

    However, some differences are less easy for me to accept. My 18 year old granddaughter has recently chosen to identify as male, something that I continue to struggle with. I'll continue to love her.

Reply
  • I'm an early boomer who likes to think that the generational differences are mostly disappearing over time. Contrary to standard autistic characteristics, I've always embraced change. I needed to; the first 25 years of my career were in research and development!

    However, some differences are less easy for me to accept. My 18 year old granddaughter has recently chosen to identify as male, something that I continue to struggle with. I'll continue to love her.

Children
  • My 18 year old granddaughter has recently chosen to identify as male, something that I continue to struggle with. I'll continue to love her.

    Millennial here. I have a few trans friends and I do find it difficult to adhere to their preferred pronouns because I knew them before the transition. It’s not that I disrespect their new identity, it’s just that my brain can’t seem to comprehend that big of a change or something. I keep having to apologize because I let their former pronouns and names slip when I don’t mean for them to.

    That’s good to hear that you’ll continue to love them. I hear too often about people rejecting LGBTQ+ family members.