33 Gen X Memes for the Generation Caught in The Middle
![Amber Garrett - Author](https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/5YLNcS2aG/200x200/31B5BB5B-F88F-4F04-86D8-5213AE730E02-1553615204523.jpg)
Jul. 10 2021, Updated 11:42 a.m. ET
![Gen X Memes for Anyone Delighting in the Boomer-Millennial Feud](https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/9cLLEV-FO/480x251/gen-x-memes-header-1574867847149.jpg 480w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/9cLLEV-FO/640x335/gen-x-memes-header-1574867847149.jpg 640w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/9cLLEV-FO/768x402/gen-x-memes-header-1574867847149.jpg 768w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/9cLLEV-FO/1024x536/gen-x-memes-header-1574867847149.jpg 1024w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/9cLLEV-FO/1280x670/gen-x-memes-header-1574867847149.jpg 1280w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/9cLLEV-FO/1440x753/gen-x-memes-header-1574867847149.jpg 1440w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/9cLLEV-FO/1600x837/gen-x-memes-header-1574867847149.jpg 1600w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/9cLLEV-FO/2160x1130/gen-x-memes-header-1574867847149.jpg 2160w)
"Generation X" got its name in the early '90s from an article turned book by Canadian writer Douglas Coupland. And ever since, they've been fighting or embracing labels like "slacker" and "cynic." That is, until Millennials came of age and all that "you kids today" energy from older generations started to get heaped on them. Slowly, Gen X found they were no longer being called slackers... they weren't even being mentioned at all. And that suits them just fine.
Here are 33 memes that will resonate with just about anyone born between 1965 and 1980.
Get it?!
![gen x memes](https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/wpEuqcTZV/480x252/gen-x-memes-11-1625937483384.png 480w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/wpEuqcTZV/640x335/gen-x-memes-11-1625937483384.png 640w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/wpEuqcTZV/768x402/gen-x-memes-11-1625937483384.png 768w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/wpEuqcTZV/1024x536/gen-x-memes-11-1625937483384.png 1024w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/wpEuqcTZV/1280x670/gen-x-memes-11-1625937483384.png 1280w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/wpEuqcTZV/1440x754/gen-x-memes-11-1625937483384.png 1440w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/wpEuqcTZV/1600x838/gen-x-memes-11-1625937483384.png 1600w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/wpEuqcTZV/2160x1131/gen-x-memes-11-1625937483384.png 2160w)
A most excellent Gen-X meme, if I do say so myself.
Some Gen X-ers took it personally.
![caillou](https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/0uK_HjsxG/480x252/caillou-1625937769257.png 480w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/0uK_HjsxG/640x335/caillou-1625937769257.png 640w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/0uK_HjsxG/768x402/caillou-1625937769257.png 768w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/0uK_HjsxG/1024x536/caillou-1625937769257.png 1024w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/0uK_HjsxG/1280x670/caillou-1625937769257.png 1280w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/0uK_HjsxG/1440x754/caillou-1625937769257.png 1440w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/0uK_HjsxG/1600x838/caillou-1625937769257.png 1600w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/0uK_HjsxG/2160x1131/caillou-1625937769257.png 2160w)
Who knows what kind of hard-nosed nostalgia "Gen Alpha's" going to be parading around the internet.
Gen X basically invented "Whatever."
![gen x memes](https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/_cV0R_d-m/498x500/gen-x-memes-1-1574183106153.jpeg 498w)
Until recently, Generation X has been sitting back and watching as Millennials and Boomers eat each other with an amused, non-confrontational attitude. But recently, Millennials and Gen Z became aware of their presence, and dubbed them "The Karen generation."
Cue the intro to "Just like Heaven."
![gen x memes](https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/h50AlXwAH/480x252/gen-x-memes-12-1625938965204.png 480w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/h50AlXwAH/640x335/gen-x-memes-12-1625938965204.png 640w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/h50AlXwAH/768x402/gen-x-memes-12-1625938965204.png 768w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/h50AlXwAH/1024x536/gen-x-memes-12-1625938965204.png 1024w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/h50AlXwAH/1280x670/gen-x-memes-12-1625938965204.png 1280w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/h50AlXwAH/1440x754/gen-x-memes-12-1625938965204.png 1440w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/h50AlXwAH/1600x838/gen-x-memes-12-1625938965204.png 1600w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/h50AlXwAH/2160x1131/gen-x-memes-12-1625938965204.png 2160w)
Great songwriting, but the production can sometimes be a little gimmicky.
A fundamental difference.
Of course then are some Gen-X'ers who just don't want the attention, either.
![Embedded Image](https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/u8-u01yNn/480x252/1-1100-1625939537857.png 480w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/u8-u01yNn/640x335/1-1100-1625939537857.png 640w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/u8-u01yNn/768x402/1-1100-1625939537857.png 768w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/u8-u01yNn/1024x536/1-1100-1625939537857.png 1024w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/u8-u01yNn/1280x670/1-1100-1625939537857.png 1280w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/u8-u01yNn/1440x754/1-1100-1625939537857.png 1440w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/u8-u01yNn/1600x838/1-1100-1625939537857.png 1600w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/u8-u01yNn/2160x1131/1-1100-1625939537857.png 2160w)
Isn't that the point? To just kinda be left alone so they can go and do their own thing? Why's everyone always prying all the time?
They seem to be embracing the Karen thing.
![gen x memes](https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/wK0N__4JW/389x500/gen-x-memes-2-1574183298677.jpeg 389w)
While I"m pretty sure the "Karen" thing is not complimentary — as BuzzFeed puts it, it's meant to communicate someone who is "the middle-aged white mom who is always asking for the manager and wondering why kids are so obsessed with their identities," lots of people landed on a different Karen to represent the generation: the martini-guzzling, wise-cracking Karen Walker.
Halloween was a struggle, but if you wanted candy...
![gen x masks](https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/jHFpK9iyf/480x252/gen-x-masks-1625939925028.jpeg 480w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/jHFpK9iyf/640x335/gen-x-masks-1625939925028.jpeg 640w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/jHFpK9iyf/768x402/gen-x-masks-1625939925028.jpeg 768w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/jHFpK9iyf/1024x536/gen-x-masks-1625939925028.jpeg 1024w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/jHFpK9iyf/1280x670/gen-x-masks-1625939925028.jpeg 1280w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/jHFpK9iyf/1440x754/gen-x-masks-1625939925028.jpeg 1440w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/jHFpK9iyf/1600x838/gen-x-masks-1625939925028.jpeg 1600w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/jHFpK9iyf/2160x1131/gen-x-masks-1625939925028.jpeg 2160w)
Keanu Reeves may be the patron saint of Gen X...or just anyone and everyone really.
This tweet pretty much sums it up.
![gen x will be ok](https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/QHrR-OLKs/480x167/gen-x-will-be-ok-20-1625941311010.png 480w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/QHrR-OLKs/640x223/gen-x-will-be-ok-20-1625941311010.png 640w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/QHrR-OLKs/768x267/gen-x-will-be-ok-20-1625941311010.png 768w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/QHrR-OLKs/1024x356/gen-x-will-be-ok-20-1625941311010.png 1024w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/QHrR-OLKs/1280x445/gen-x-will-be-ok-20-1625941311010.png 1280w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/QHrR-OLKs/1440x501/gen-x-will-be-ok-20-1625941311010.png 1440w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/QHrR-OLKs/1600x556/gen-x-will-be-ok-20-1625941311010.png 1600w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/QHrR-OLKs/2160x751/gen-x-will-be-ok-20-1625941311010.png 2160w)
Gen X romance was made in the kitchen.
![gen x lick batter](https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/mb_JeBjHF/480x252/gen-x-lick-batter-1625941447439.jpeg 480w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/mb_JeBjHF/640x335/gen-x-lick-batter-1625941447439.jpeg 640w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/mb_JeBjHF/768x402/gen-x-lick-batter-1625941447439.jpeg 768w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/mb_JeBjHF/1024x536/gen-x-lick-batter-1625941447439.jpeg 1024w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/mb_JeBjHF/1280x670/gen-x-lick-batter-1625941447439.jpeg 1280w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/mb_JeBjHF/1440x754/gen-x-lick-batter-1625941447439.jpeg 1440w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/mb_JeBjHF/1600x838/gen-x-lick-batter-1625941447439.jpeg 1600w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/mb_JeBjHF/2160x1131/gen-x-lick-batter-1625941447439.jpeg 2160w)
Fine cuisine as a Gen-X kid.
A true Gen X milestone has been achieved.
Get it right!
Well [expletive] me gently with a chainsaw, she's right. The 1980s cult classic starring Winona Ryder and Shannen Doherty really is the Mean Girls of the '80s and a much better term than Karen.
The disdain is mutual...
![gen x memes](https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/yCnitPYP0/480x338/gen-x-memes-3-1574183135495.jpeg 480w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/yCnitPYP0/640x451/gen-x-memes-3-1574183135495.jpeg 640w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/yCnitPYP0/768x541/gen-x-memes-3-1574183135495.jpeg 768w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/yCnitPYP0/1024x722/gen-x-memes-3-1574183135495.jpeg 1024w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/yCnitPYP0/1280x902/gen-x-memes-3-1574183135495.jpeg 1280w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/yCnitPYP0/1440x1015/gen-x-memes-3-1574183135495.jpeg 1440w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/yCnitPYP0/1600x1127/gen-x-memes-3-1574183135495.jpeg 1600w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/yCnitPYP0/2160x1521/gen-x-memes-3-1574183135495.jpeg 2160w)
Most of my Gen X friends have Gen Z kids and they are intergenerationally very chill with each other. However, Gen X is the generation most likely to have Boomer parents and younger millennial kids, and this meme seems to be resonating a bunch with Xers of a certain age.
A lot of Xers are enjoying the "OK boomer" squabble.
![gen x memes](https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/boGdUjrHo/480x346/gen-x-memes-4-1574183150654.jpeg 480w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/boGdUjrHo/640x462/gen-x-memes-4-1574183150654.jpeg 640w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/boGdUjrHo/768x554/gen-x-memes-4-1574183150654.jpeg 768w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/boGdUjrHo/1024x738/gen-x-memes-4-1574183150654.jpeg 1024w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/boGdUjrHo/1280x923/gen-x-memes-4-1574183150654.jpeg 1280w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/boGdUjrHo/1440x1038/gen-x-memes-4-1574183150654.jpeg 1440w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/boGdUjrHo/1600x1153/gen-x-memes-4-1574183150654.jpeg 1600w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/boGdUjrHo/2160x1557/gen-x-memes-4-1574183150654.jpeg 2160w)
The media tends to ignore Generation X as a whole — as a few tweets coming up demonstrate — and this pleases Gen X just fine. After all, they're used to it. They were latchkey kids whose parents both worked long hours, so they're used to being somewhat neglected.
A whole mood.
![gen x memes](https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/B08SGi5pD/480x356/gen-x-memes-17-1574867307567.jpg 480w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/B08SGi5pD/640x474/gen-x-memes-17-1574867307567.jpg 640w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/B08SGi5pD/768x569/gen-x-memes-17-1574867307567.jpg 768w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/B08SGi5pD/1024x759/gen-x-memes-17-1574867307567.jpg 1024w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/B08SGi5pD/1280x948/gen-x-memes-17-1574867307567.jpg 1280w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/B08SGi5pD/1440x1067/gen-x-memes-17-1574867307567.jpg 1440w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/B08SGi5pD/1600x1185/gen-x-memes-17-1574867307567.jpg 1600w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/B08SGi5pD/2160x1600/gen-x-memes-17-1574867307567.jpg 2160w)
Gen X: "Look, don't pull us into this. You'll make me spill my beer."
Gen X: Get used to it.
![gen x memes](https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/DPGWMuq1d/480x360/gen-x-memes-14-1574866414317.png 480w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/DPGWMuq1d/640x480/gen-x-memes-14-1574866414317.png 640w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/DPGWMuq1d/768x576/gen-x-memes-14-1574866414317.png 768w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/DPGWMuq1d/1024x768/gen-x-memes-14-1574866414317.png 1024w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/DPGWMuq1d/1280x959/gen-x-memes-14-1574866414317.png 1280w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/DPGWMuq1d/1440x1079/gen-x-memes-14-1574866414317.png 1440w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/DPGWMuq1d/1600x1199/gen-x-memes-14-1574866414317.png 1600w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/DPGWMuq1d/2160x1619/gen-x-memes-14-1574866414317.png 2160w)
Perhaps Gen X's blasé attitude to the generation wars has something to do with being called "Slackers" for a full decade.
AKA the Crucible.
Yikesaroni.
Pass the popcorn.
Aside from this whole "Karen generation" blip, Gen X continues to be largely overlooked, and that fact — as well as their silent delight in it — is possibly one of the most Generation X things to happen to the class of 1965 to 1980.
Pay no attention to the man behind the venetian blinds.
Back in the '90s, Gen X bore the same kind of criticism Boomers tend to heap on Millennials and Gen Z now. It's not necessarily that they want to watch a cage match. It's just they're so relieved it's someone else being called slackers and downers for a change.
See?
Although this chart doesn't list the generation names, the approximate age ranges are all there... except for a big gap between the ages of 34 and 54 where apparently no humans were born? Poor Gen X (and some elder Millennials) apparently don't have political beliefs worth examining.
Don't you forget about me...
![gen x memes](https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/nWmHnkrf6/480x339/gen-x-memes-11-1574187584241.jpg 480w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/nWmHnkrf6/640x452/gen-x-memes-11-1574187584241.jpg 640w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/nWmHnkrf6/768x543/gen-x-memes-11-1574187584241.jpg 768w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/nWmHnkrf6/1024x723/gen-x-memes-11-1574187584241.jpg 1024w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/nWmHnkrf6/1280x904/gen-x-memes-11-1574187584241.jpg 1280w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/nWmHnkrf6/1440x1017/gen-x-memes-11-1574187584241.jpg 1440w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/nWmHnkrf6/1600x1130/gen-x-memes-11-1574187584241.jpg 1600w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/nWmHnkrf6/2160x1525/gen-x-memes-11-1574187584241.jpg 2160w)
If Millennials are the "burnout generation," I guess Gen X is truly the invisible generation. I'm starting to feel inspired to write a science fiction novel where everyone born from 1966 to 1980 inhabits a totally different dimension.
There are perks to being invisible...
Being overlooked can be an advantage when you just want to sit in the corner and be immature. Gen X spent all of the 90s being told they were immature slackers, and in their 40s, a lot of them are really leaning into that description, because what does it matter?
"No one cares what we think anyway..."
This GIF of Janeane Garofolo mocking her classmates at the high school reunion is basically a whole Gen X mood and definitely captures how a lot of this generation caught in the middle feels about the "OK boomer" wars.
Your thighs are burning.
If you went through this kind of torment as a kid just to have fun, then you knew you'd have to crawl through glass to enjoy anything, really.
Too late and yet too early.
![gen x memes](https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/H_-CM915S/480x270/gen-x-memes-13-1574866299450.jpg 480w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/H_-CM915S/640x360/gen-x-memes-13-1574866299450.jpg 640w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/H_-CM915S/768x432/gen-x-memes-13-1574866299450.jpg 768w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/H_-CM915S/1024x576/gen-x-memes-13-1574866299450.jpg 1024w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/H_-CM915S/1280x720/gen-x-memes-13-1574866299450.jpg 1280w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/H_-CM915S/1440x810/gen-x-memes-13-1574866299450.jpg 1440w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/H_-CM915S/1600x900/gen-x-memes-13-1574866299450.jpg 1600w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/H_-CM915S/2160x1215/gen-x-memes-13-1574866299450.jpg 2160w)
Romance — or getting lucky — was never easy for Generation X. They were the generation most impacted by the AIDS epidemic when it comes to anxiety about casual sex. Whereas Boomers had the free love of the late '60s, Gen X was about safe sex, which usually meant less sex. And even when having safe casual sex, singles in the '90s had to meet people the old-fashioned way or, if they did meet online, they felt shame over it. Now online dating is the norm.
When Gen X replaces the Boomers.
![gen x memes](https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/LjaKbtbfe/399x500/gen-x-memes-16-1574866333282.jpg 399w)
This is probably an optimistic view — because the truth is there are "Boomers" in every generation, and many of them tend to find their way into powerful positions. Let's call this a best case scenario, though.
Pretty much just hit the nail on the head.
Well, this does too.
Who can vouch for this bold claim?
The Nihilism Generation
![gen x memes](https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/zFce7qAVN/480x361/gen-x-memes-15-1574866323109.jpg 480w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/zFce7qAVN/640x481/gen-x-memes-15-1574866323109.jpg 640w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/zFce7qAVN/768x577/gen-x-memes-15-1574866323109.jpg 768w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/zFce7qAVN/1024x769/gen-x-memes-15-1574866323109.jpg 1024w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/zFce7qAVN/1280x961/gen-x-memes-15-1574866323109.jpg 1280w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/zFce7qAVN/1440x1082/gen-x-memes-15-1574866323109.jpg 1440w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/zFce7qAVN/1600x1202/gen-x-memes-15-1574866323109.jpg 1600w, https://media.dreamdive.us/brand-img/zFce7qAVN/2160x1622/gen-x-memes-15-1574866323109.jpg 2160w)
There is no generation more over it than Gen X. They are ready for the apocalypse, but don't expect them to, like, help or anything!