Born between 1961 and 1981? If so, welcome fellow Generation Xer! In fact, I was born smack dab in the middle of what I consider to be the most awesome — and inexplicably overlooked — generation. To help celebrate all things Gen X, as we should do more often, here are 10 things that only we would probably understand:
#1 – Star 69
Waaaaaaay back in the day, before electricity or caller ID, we would identify the last caller by pressing *69 and asking, “Who is this?” when they answered. It was awkward, to say the least, but we pretty much thought we were technological geniuses for using this trick.
#2 – Popped Collars
We remember a time when they were genuinely cool, okay? Before there were memes mocking them and the term “douche” applied to anything but feminine products.
I’m not going to lie: I still think Rob Lowe rocks the sh*t out of this look.
#3 – MTV Was Once a MUSIC VIDEO Channel
Yes, kids! It’s true. We watched the videos with our very own eyes and they were AWESOME.
#4 – Friday Night Videos
For those of us who weren’t lucky enough to have cable, we would look forward to staying up late on Friday nights and spending our parents’ hard earned money to call the nationwide 900-number and cast our vote in the all-important VIDEO VOTE!
#5 – Molly Ringwald
Oh, how we Gen X girls wanted those lips! That hair!
#6 – “I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas, but what I decided to do was fulfill my profession, which I entered before my husband was in public life.”
A — GASP! — feminist prospective First Lady with a career and opinions of her own?! The world reeled.
#7 – The Walkman
“Hey, dude, can I borrow your Tears for Fears tape?”
#8 – Mixtapes
Forget Snapchat flirting and texting — making a mixtape is the REAL way to express your love for that guy who sits next to you in homeroom.
#9 – The Dial-Up Sound
As we waited. And waited…
#10 – The Dorothy Hamill Haircut
It looked SO GOOD…until we had to grow it out in order to wear a scrunchie, that is.
