I’m not sure if it’s because I’m an English major, a conservative, or just a contrarian that I have a sincere problem with the way members of my generation refer to one another. For several years now, the U.S. legal system has recognized my age cohort as full-fledged adults. So why do we insist upon demeaning ourselves through our own way of speaking? If my friends are calling 21-year-old males “boys,” then surely those “boys” are reciprocating the favor, giving us the same label of girlishness we’ve held since elementary school.
There’s a lot of sociology out there on the so-called “Boomerang Generation,” mostly dealing with the fact that so many young people have delayed the major decisions that come with adulthood and opted to move back in with Mom and Dad. A critical mass of young adults are on-hold or regressing when it comes to responsibly embracing adulthood. Sure, conservatives can provide a number of explanations for this bleak phenomenon: the dismal job market, the student loan bubble, the decline of personal responsibility, helicopter-parenting styles, etc. All are legitimate concerns and contributing factors for our social-stalling. But I wonder to what extent our own “guys” and “girls” discourse is holding us back.
Read more at Intercollegiate Review.
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