The Gen X experience is illuminating, Jordan. It was such a pivotal generation into tech and media, and dominated feminine identity, much more so than mine, a pre-Boomer (1941). The pressures were immense for Gen X women, how to look, how to create. Kudos for navigating those cultural waves.
At mid-life, I remember being more arrogant, willing to take bigger risks, sky is the limit kind of feeling as a creative. Some of that was successful! I felt the buoyancy of past achievements that led to a new cycle of inner work.
Wow, I really appreciate your perspective! You're so right that our generation was the first to really get access on a daily level to tech, though we're talking mammoth sized personal computers/early email when I was in college. But we were also driven by third-wave feminism that told us we could be more than just homemakers. It's so fascinating how cultural, political and other factors shape the generations. It doesn't help that many of us Gen-Xers aren't retired yet and are concerned about how we even will, given the economic state of affairs, to name a few things.
That would be interesting: to compare the effects of second-wave feminism to third-wave for different generations. I remember the slogan in the 80s that "women wanted to have it all," a high-powered career, marriage, and motherhood, and by the 90s to "woman have had it" on a Time mag cover. It was all impossible and exciting!
What saved me after years of high wire creative pursuits was returning to public school education that guaranteed a teacher's pension plus years of Social Security—a cushion to be able to retire and return to creative work. xo
Great post. I especially liked, “It’s when we try to squeeze ourselves back into the version of ourselves we’re outgrowing that things get complicated.” And how.
Thank you for the Gen X perspective, Jordan! Not that I fully understand the labels that go with generations; it's still helpful to hear about women's experiences, from all of us, in real time.
J’ai pris le temps ce matin de promener le chat dans l’air enfin chaud du printemps, et j’ai lu ton poste sur la créativité en crise des femmes de notre âge.
Ça me donne du plaisir de te lire, même si je ne me sens pas vraiment concernée. J’ai des amies Franco-américaines qui veulent écrire, et qui me demandent de les appeler pour reprendre la rédaction de leurs mémoires. Ton dernier livre va être un bon présent pour elles.
The Gen X experience is illuminating, Jordan. It was such a pivotal generation into tech and media, and dominated feminine identity, much more so than mine, a pre-Boomer (1941). The pressures were immense for Gen X women, how to look, how to create. Kudos for navigating those cultural waves.
At mid-life, I remember being more arrogant, willing to take bigger risks, sky is the limit kind of feeling as a creative. Some of that was successful! I felt the buoyancy of past achievements that led to a new cycle of inner work.
Wow, I really appreciate your perspective! You're so right that our generation was the first to really get access on a daily level to tech, though we're talking mammoth sized personal computers/early email when I was in college. But we were also driven by third-wave feminism that told us we could be more than just homemakers. It's so fascinating how cultural, political and other factors shape the generations. It doesn't help that many of us Gen-Xers aren't retired yet and are concerned about how we even will, given the economic state of affairs, to name a few things.
That would be interesting: to compare the effects of second-wave feminism to third-wave for different generations. I remember the slogan in the 80s that "women wanted to have it all," a high-powered career, marriage, and motherhood, and by the 90s to "woman have had it" on a Time mag cover. It was all impossible and exciting!
What saved me after years of high wire creative pursuits was returning to public school education that guaranteed a teacher's pension plus years of Social Security—a cushion to be able to retire and return to creative work. xo
Great post. I especially liked, “It’s when we try to squeeze ourselves back into the version of ourselves we’re outgrowing that things get complicated.” And how.
Right? And believe me, I've tried, lol
Thank you for the Gen X perspective, Jordan! Not that I fully understand the labels that go with generations; it's still helpful to hear about women's experiences, from all of us, in real time.
Bonjour, Jordan !
Comment vas-tu ?
J’ai pris le temps ce matin de promener le chat dans l’air enfin chaud du printemps, et j’ai lu ton poste sur la créativité en crise des femmes de notre âge.
Ça me donne du plaisir de te lire, même si je ne me sens pas vraiment concernée. J’ai des amies Franco-américaines qui veulent écrire, et qui me demandent de les appeler pour reprendre la rédaction de leurs mémoires. Ton dernier livre va être un bon présent pour elles.
Je te salue respectueusement,
Marie-Anne