I'm really starting to feel like we need to bring back those stickers. You know the content warning stickers? "Pg-13" and such. Gen X is the reason fo
I’m really starting to feel like we need to bring back those stickers. You know the content warning stickers? “Pg-13” and such. Gen X is the reason for those by the way and we are proud of that. So it is a bit un-comfy that it is our turn to have our art interrogated.
Every generation believes it’s setting the standard for progress. But the truth?
What’s seen as bold, freeing, or “right” today often gets reinterpreted — and rejected — by the next wave.
The X Cap (from the Spike Lee movie about Malcolm X) made my elders shake their head. Granted. It may have been common for someone to have a picture of him in their living room but wearing a baseball cap? No Ma’am.
We bought tickets to go to the theater and see the film. Checked the tickets like Spike got on the radio and asked us to. But that was it for them.
Those big pocket jeans we were wearing covering hiking boots looked strange. And a matching boxy denim jacket too? Hmph. To them, they wondered why young beautiful girls wanted to spend their “pretty years” looking like the boys. “You gals are going to be single for a long time.”
Clubs understood it even less. You could not get into some clubs wearing “fatigues” or “Tims”-man or woman.
We’ve seen it before:
Boomers shocked their parents with long hair, miniskirts, and open talk about sex.
Gen X got called cynical and disrespectful for dressing down and rejecting tradition.
Millennials were labeled entitled over-sharers because of the internet.
Gen Z prides itself on bluntness and tearing down “fake” politeness — but may face criticism later for eroding civility and boundaries.
Today’s norms:
Bluntness = authenticity.
Hyper-casual dress = comfort over formality.
Public oversharing = freedom.
Tomorrow’s critiques?
Rudeness instead of realness.
Immodesty over self-expression.
Self-exposure that costs more than it gives.
Here’s the cycle:
Every generation interrogates the ones before it.
Every generation gets interrogated by the ones after it.
Interrogation can spark awareness — but it doesn’t always mean “right.” It also does not mean that “wrong”. (Ouch. Easy.)
It’s often about defining identity and that’s cool. Younger generations are simply interrogating previous art, drama, and comedy in a quest to say, “This is who WE are.”
It may not be about finding a universal truth, but one that defines a generation.
What must remain constant:
Human rights.
Safety.
Boundaries.
Fashion changes. Speech changes. Values shift.
But dignity, respect, and the right to live without harm should never go out of style.
It’s all good.
