One thing I want to add about Low Millenials and High Zoomers is I've never seen a sort of microgeneration worse at aging. Nobody thinks it will happen to them, everybody's bad at it, but Zillenials seem really, really prone to psychic damage from entering and approaching their thirties and part of their seething at old people feels like an extension of this. Like we're idiots for not being as miserable as they expect to be, and they look at Alphas like "Where the fuck did you come from?!?" The worse couple of baby-baton passers I've seen in my life.
The acceleration of Botox and fillers and weird fake hair extensions starting in their 20’s really nails this. I have started to see these uncanny Instagram plastic Bratz doll faces now even in the Midwest and it is insanely cringe.
My maternal grandmother was Borderline and married 6x and even as a grandmother was OBSESSED with the male gaze and I found her to be such a pathetic creature even when I was a little girl and didn’t have words for it.
My adult life heuristics have often been just to do the opposite of my Boomer mother and my maternal grandmother who are both crazy in different ways. Seems to have mostly served me well. I seem to have a decent relationship still with my teen daughter which is definitely breaking a generational curse in my family.
"Probably the first generation of women in history to effectively shield their children from casual abuse" Agree here -- my mom made sure that my whole childhood I had basically a bowlcut or a mullet. Whether consciously or unconsciously, I think Boomettes had a sense it was perverse to try to glam up little kids. It was very weird when in the 2000s moms started dolling their 7 year olds up like little models.
Bowlcut, baseball hat, and absolutely ZERO trust of men; my mom did not allow sleepovers and was very picky about the houses I could play at. 10/10 excellent job because her life was much more dangerous with all those stepdads
Yeah, the "Toddlers and Tiaras" phase was ... very odd, I felt like someone definitely did not outgrow their Barbies and just decided to dress up their kids instead
I love the piece, Walt, but I think Boomettes are more famous for opting to go on euro river cruises and live a boomerslop public television ideal lifestyle instead of helping out with the grandkids. That’s been a common trope of angry overwhelmed Millenial moms. I’ve seen it firsthand. Boomers preached penny pinching and financial responsibility in the name of a better future for the family, which ended up meaning that they skimped on aid for their Millenial children so that they could party and spend all that money on boomerslop later on.
Idk I feel like this might be Millennial women being kind of entitled because comparing the Boomettes to latchkey crones I know the former are way more generous with their time and Zoomettes I've dated seem usually not to expect it at all or at least much less
Going to agree here. I mean my mom totally goes on euro river cruises and lives a PBS lifestyle but is *also* obsessed with her grandkids and spends as much time as possible with them. Only millennials would actually resent their parents for going on a vacation when they're retired lol.
Yeah, I do not get the hate on the retired and elderly that Millennials and I think the oldest Zoomers are about.
"My money! Your free labor?"
Bitch, your money? Their free labor? I have been watching Millennials and Zoomers make the most "The real family in your life is your dipshit late high school and college friends" entertainment and saying all "I don't owe you jack for your bare minimum roof over my head, food on my plate ah parenting" and then like... you wanna cut all the ties and flip your folks the bird on the way out but still get free babysitting? Maaaaan....
Yeah this was my only serious hitch too, we’ve had zero help from our parents. But I think there’s just tons of variance here, and millennial parents either strike gold or strike out totally. Specifically almost everyone I know who had tons of grandparent care growing up is getting none from their parents. It’s odd until you realize the theme in common is boomer abdication of care. Silent gen reigns supreme on the grandma front imo
Omg my Silent Gen grandmothers were literally the worst. Just god awful nasty women.
My Maternal GrandMother was abusive in basically every way including making my teenage Mom the villain for step-dad impropriety. A total psycho of a woman like Mommy Dearest.
My Paternal Grandmother was straight up white trash. Obese. Nasty and foul. Spent all of her time drinking, chain smoking, and playing bingo at the VFW post. Did not even come to our birthday parties. Never had money to pay her bills and relied on my Dad to financially support her until she died. Was a miserable cunt to my mother for insisting we move out of the actual ghetto. Lmao. Truly horrid women.
I feel like it is such a coin flip with Boomer Grandparents with some being all-in total lifeline kind of parents and grandparents (my MIL) and others being so busy with hobbies and trips that weeks will go by without a call (my Mom).
In a way though, it is really hard to begrudge my Mom her retirement and widowhood spent however she chooses. Her life was HARD and she vanquished a ton of generational curses to give us stability in our childhood as best as her broken self could manage.
The only time I get annoyed anymore is when she gets all FOMO, pouty, angry jealous about us doing things with MIL or about how close my kids are to MIL when MIL made my kids her top priority and my Mom had a dozen higher priorities.
Her parents and in-laws never helped her with anything and if anything the entire lot of them were an albatross around her neck trying to crab bucket her back into poverty etc… so she of all people gets that the relationship a child has with Grandparent is really proportional to the effort the grandparent puts in. She knows how true that was for us, her kids but has a hard time applying it to herself wrt my kids.
My grandma was Greatest Gen/Silent Gen hybrid and that cohort is by far the best grandparents
Boomer grandparents are kind of give or take, but when they give it's all about spoiling the grandkids with bluey coloring books or whatever, as opposed to the older generation generally enjoying your time/company (or if theyre not, instilling the virtue in the grandkids in one way or another to make them tolerable company.
Not even talking spanking or beating necessarily, that was mom/dad's job, but the old worlders had their ways
Super on point, Walt.
One thing I want to add about Low Millenials and High Zoomers is I've never seen a sort of microgeneration worse at aging. Nobody thinks it will happen to them, everybody's bad at it, but Zillenials seem really, really prone to psychic damage from entering and approaching their thirties and part of their seething at old people feels like an extension of this. Like we're idiots for not being as miserable as they expect to be, and they look at Alphas like "Where the fuck did you come from?!?" The worse couple of baby-baton passers I've seen in my life.
The acceleration of Botox and fillers and weird fake hair extensions starting in their 20’s really nails this. I have started to see these uncanny Instagram plastic Bratz doll faces now even in the Midwest and it is insanely cringe.
My maternal grandmother was Borderline and married 6x and even as a grandmother was OBSESSED with the male gaze and I found her to be such a pathetic creature even when I was a little girl and didn’t have words for it.
My adult life heuristics have often been just to do the opposite of my Boomer mother and my maternal grandmother who are both crazy in different ways. Seems to have mostly served me well. I seem to have a decent relationship still with my teen daughter which is definitely breaking a generational curse in my family.
100%. Being mad and thinking it's cringe that old people aren't as miserable as they expect to be totally nails it.
"Probably the first generation of women in history to effectively shield their children from casual abuse" Agree here -- my mom made sure that my whole childhood I had basically a bowlcut or a mullet. Whether consciously or unconsciously, I think Boomettes had a sense it was perverse to try to glam up little kids. It was very weird when in the 2000s moms started dolling their 7 year olds up like little models.
Bowlcut, baseball hat, and absolutely ZERO trust of men; my mom did not allow sleepovers and was very picky about the houses I could play at. 10/10 excellent job because her life was much more dangerous with all those stepdads
Yeah, the "Toddlers and Tiaras" phase was ... very odd, I felt like someone definitely did not outgrow their Barbies and just decided to dress up their kids instead
Disappointed in the no comment for Alphettes. My wife was particularly offended by the lack of representation in this piece.
That AI image is hilariously accurate
I love the piece, Walt, but I think Boomettes are more famous for opting to go on euro river cruises and live a boomerslop public television ideal lifestyle instead of helping out with the grandkids. That’s been a common trope of angry overwhelmed Millenial moms. I’ve seen it firsthand. Boomers preached penny pinching and financial responsibility in the name of a better future for the family, which ended up meaning that they skimped on aid for their Millenial children so that they could party and spend all that money on boomerslop later on.
Idk I feel like this might be Millennial women being kind of entitled because comparing the Boomettes to latchkey crones I know the former are way more generous with their time and Zoomettes I've dated seem usually not to expect it at all or at least much less
Going to agree here. I mean my mom totally goes on euro river cruises and lives a PBS lifestyle but is *also* obsessed with her grandkids and spends as much time as possible with them. Only millennials would actually resent their parents for going on a vacation when they're retired lol.
Yeah, I do not get the hate on the retired and elderly that Millennials and I think the oldest Zoomers are about.
"My money! Your free labor?"
Bitch, your money? Their free labor? I have been watching Millennials and Zoomers make the most "The real family in your life is your dipshit late high school and college friends" entertainment and saying all "I don't owe you jack for your bare minimum roof over my head, food on my plate ah parenting" and then like... you wanna cut all the ties and flip your folks the bird on the way out but still get free babysitting? Maaaaan....
Yeah this was my only serious hitch too, we’ve had zero help from our parents. But I think there’s just tons of variance here, and millennial parents either strike gold or strike out totally. Specifically almost everyone I know who had tons of grandparent care growing up is getting none from their parents. It’s odd until you realize the theme in common is boomer abdication of care. Silent gen reigns supreme on the grandma front imo
Omg my Silent Gen grandmothers were literally the worst. Just god awful nasty women.
My Maternal GrandMother was abusive in basically every way including making my teenage Mom the villain for step-dad impropriety. A total psycho of a woman like Mommy Dearest.
My Paternal Grandmother was straight up white trash. Obese. Nasty and foul. Spent all of her time drinking, chain smoking, and playing bingo at the VFW post. Did not even come to our birthday parties. Never had money to pay her bills and relied on my Dad to financially support her until she died. Was a miserable cunt to my mother for insisting we move out of the actual ghetto. Lmao. Truly horrid women.
I feel like it is such a coin flip with Boomer Grandparents with some being all-in total lifeline kind of parents and grandparents (my MIL) and others being so busy with hobbies and trips that weeks will go by without a call (my Mom).
In a way though, it is really hard to begrudge my Mom her retirement and widowhood spent however she chooses. Her life was HARD and she vanquished a ton of generational curses to give us stability in our childhood as best as her broken self could manage.
The only time I get annoyed anymore is when she gets all FOMO, pouty, angry jealous about us doing things with MIL or about how close my kids are to MIL when MIL made my kids her top priority and my Mom had a dozen higher priorities.
Her parents and in-laws never helped her with anything and if anything the entire lot of them were an albatross around her neck trying to crab bucket her back into poverty etc… so she of all people gets that the relationship a child has with Grandparent is really proportional to the effort the grandparent puts in. She knows how true that was for us, her kids but has a hard time applying it to herself wrt my kids.
It is what it is.
My grandma was Greatest Gen/Silent Gen hybrid and that cohort is by far the best grandparents
Boomer grandparents are kind of give or take, but when they give it's all about spoiling the grandkids with bluey coloring books or whatever, as opposed to the older generation generally enjoying your time/company (or if theyre not, instilling the virtue in the grandkids in one way or another to make them tolerable company.
Not even talking spanking or beating necessarily, that was mom/dad's job, but the old worlders had their ways
Well done as usual, Walt. I've got it bookmarked.
You should release a digital version of these as a book so you can claim you published a book. I don't know how to keep it from Amazon banning though.
boomer females want to spend time with grandkids?!