Rejecting the boomer label

The "baby boom" label was applied to all Americans born between 1946 and 1962, because these dates bracket a period of unusually high birthrates. But a generation is not simply an age bracket: History, attitudes, behavior, and self-identification are also a factor. And when you think about Americans born in the 5 or 6 years following, say, 1959, it's impossible to lump them in with the boomers. (NB: I was born in the late '60s, so I'm not talking about my own generation. I'm defending the generational integrity of my immediate elders.) "Generation Obama vs. The Boomers" Boston Globe Back when boomers were more elitist, if you didn't march on Washington, party at Woodstock, or join a commune, you simply weren't considered part of the glorious flower child zeitgeist. Obviously a good dose of old-fashioned humility has left them scrambling to expand their ranks by classifying Generation Jones (whose members they once derided) as fellow boomers.