In two separate chapters Prato relays the stories of two of her former classmates, Mina, who is Native American, and Alicia, who is Black. These issues include race, rape and sexual assault, mental health, family strife, and the odd messages we got from the pop culture we consumed. In Kids in America, Prato examines issues that were considered verboten when Gen X-ers were kids and coming of age, and writes about them with more clarity and the wisdom that comes with age. She admits she grew up with privileges denied others, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t faced any challenges or strife.
Liz Prato grew up in Denver and graduated from Kent Denver Country Day in 1985, a private prep high school. Kids In America is a very personal collection of essay about coming of age at a particular time (1980s-1990s), and how it affected her as a Gen X-er. One of those Gen X-ers is writer Liz Prato whose voice should be heard, and she writes about her Generation X experiences in her book Kids in America: A Generation X Reckoning. Maybe it’s time for our stories be heard. Generation X-ers may be hard to figure out, but we have lived unique lives.
They just can’t figure us out.īut lately I’ve noticed a lot of Generation X-ers are saying, “Hey, we do exist!” and are creating podcasts, TikTok videos, and Gen X groups on social media. No wonder marketers and the workplace ignore us. Most of us hate to be defined and we certainly hate to be pigeonholed. Now for the most, Generation X accepts being ignored, and just goes about doing their thing, whatever that may be. Most of us Gen X-ers went back into the shadows with misty memories of a time when MTV showed actual musical videos. Raised on Lunchables and participation trophies, millennials wanted to be noticed, and noticed they were. Nipping at the heels of our Doc Martens were the more noisy and populous millennials. But this moment didn’t last long, and once again, we were in the shadows. We had grunge, the TV show “Friends,” and that Gap khakis swing commercial. Okay, for a brief moment, sometime in the 1990s, Generation X had a moment to shine. They still seem to dominate media, business, and politics, especially, politics. When we were younger, baby boomers grabbed the spotlight and never let go. Generation X has always been in the shadows.
0 kommentar(er)
