The Neglected Middle Child : Generation X

To my current and future readers of Poised Politics,

As we begin August 2026, I think it is time we talked about a generation that, in my opinion, does not get nearly enough attention: Generation X.

We talk constantly about Baby Boomers. We talk about Millennials. We increasingly talk about Gen Z.

But what about the generation in between?

Generation X has often been described as the “neglected middle child” of society. They are too young to be part of the Baby Boomer story, but too old to fit neatly into the conversations we now have about Millennials and Gen Z.

And I think there is something quite interesting about that.

Perhaps Gen X is overlooked not because they have had an easy time, but because they have become very good at getting on with things.

That is what I want to explore in this article.

I want to look at the childhoods of Generation X, the social changes they grew up with, the pressures they face today and, most importantly, the women of this generation who often carry an enormous amount of responsibility without receiving much recognition for it.

So, thank you, Gen X.

The generation that just got on with it

Generation X grew up during a period of huge social change.

They saw changing family structures, changing attitudes towards women, economic uncertainty, technological change and a completely different social world developing around them.

Perhaps this explains some of the characteristics we now associate with Gen X: independence, pragmatism, scepticism and self reliance.

They learned to cope and adapt.

And, perhaps most importantly, they learned not to expect someone else to fix things for them.

At first glance, these seem like entirely positive qualities, which they are.

But I think there is a downside to them that we rarely talk about. If you are always the person who copes, people eventually stop asking whether you are coping at all.

That is the heart of the problem.

Gen X does not necessarily demand the same political attention as other generations. They are not always the loudest voice in the room. They are often busy working, raising families and looking after their parents.

So they just keep going.

And because they keep going, we assume they are fine.

I don't think we should.

Being caught in the middle

Generation X has increasingly found itself in what sociologists call the “sandwich generation.”

The idea is fairly simple, their parents are living longer, while their own children are often financially dependent for longer. Therefore Gen X can find itself responsible for two generations at once.

Their ageing parents may need help with healthcare, finances, transport or everyday tasks. At the same time, their children may need financial support with university, housing, childcare or simply the rising cost of living.

And somewhere in the middle is the Gen X parent trying to make everything work.

It is almost like being physically squeezed between two generations.

There is the financial pressure, of course.

But I think we sometimes forget about the less visible pressure.

Who makes the appointments?

Who remembers everyone's birthdays?

Who cooks?

Who cleans?

Who checks that an elderly parent has taken their medication?

Who looks after the children?

Who organises the family?

Who is everyone expected to call when something goes wrong?

Very often, it is a woman.

The Gen X woman

This is where I think the conversation about Generation X becomes particularly important.

According to figures cited by Starling Bank in 2023, women spend around 36 hours a week doing household tasks, nine hours more than men.

Thirty-six hours. I find that number quite difficult to get my head around so to put it into perspective that is almost another full-time working week.

And yet we don't normally describe it as work.

We call it “looking after the house” or “helping with the children” and “taking care of the family”.

But if someone else were hired to do all of those things, we would recognise immediately that it was labour.

We would have to pay them and that is a strange contradiction.

A woman can work a paid job all day, come home and spend several more hours cooking, cleaning and organising the household, while also caring for children and ageing parents.

And for many Gen X women, it is work happening on top of work.

There is also the emotional side of it.

Women are often expected to be the person everyone talks to. The person who listens. The person who notices when something is wrong. The person who remembers what everyone needs.

It is difficult to measure that kind of labour.

But that does not make it less real.

The problem with being resilient

This is why I keep coming back to the idea of resilience.

We often talk about Gen X as being resilient, independent and pragmatic. But perhaps we need to ask ourselves what happens when resilience becomes an expectation.

If someone is struggling but constantly manages to cope, we tend to assume they do not need help.

If someone does not complain, we assume they are happy.

And I think Gen X may have fallen into exactly that trap.

They grew up in a world that encouraged them to be independent so they became independent.

They grew up learning to adapt , so they adapted.

They learned to distrust institutions and authority.

So they stopped expecting those institutions to solve their problems.

And now we look at them and say:

“They seem to be doing alright.”

But perhaps that is the problem.

We need to stop assuming they are fine

I am not arguing that Generation X has had it harder than every generation before or after it.

Every generation has its own struggles, and comparing suffering between generations can sometimes miss the point. What I am arguing is that we have become so accustomed to Gen X coping that we have stopped noticing what they are actually carrying.

And this is particularly true of women. The woman works while caring for her children yet she is also the daughter caring for an ageing parent.

The person keeping the household financially afloat.

The person doing the cooking, cleaning and organising.

The person everyone comes to when they have a problem.

Often, it is the same person and she is also expected to keep going.

That is why I think we need to rethink the way we talk about Generation X. Maybe they are the neglected middle child because they have spent their entire lives being expected to cope.

And perhaps there is something deeply political about that.

Because if a generation is constantly told that its greatest strength is its resilience, eventually resilience can become an excuse for not giving that generation any support.

Gen X has spent much of its life looking after other people.

Their parents.

Their children.

Their families.

Their workplaces.

Their communities.

So perhaps it is time we asked a different question.

Who is looking after Gen X?

And perhaps, more importantly:

Who is looking after the women who have spent their lives looking after everyone else?

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