All the people born and living around the same time, or the act of producing something like energy or ideas.
From Latin *generatio* meaning “begetting, producing,” from *generare* “to produce.” It first meant the act of bringing offspring into the world, then came to mean the group of people born in that period. The idea later extended to ‘generations’ of technology and products.
When we talk about ‘Gen Z’ or ‘the next generation of smartphones,’ we’re using the same old idea: a wave of new arrivals. The time between generations in families (roughly 25–30 years) invisibly shapes history, politics, and trends — each wave reacts to the world they inherit.
Discussions of "generations" have sometimes generalized about gender roles within age cohorts (e.g., expectations for women’s domestic roles in certain eras). These narratives can obscure diversity of experience within and across genders.
When talking about generations, avoid assuming uniform gender roles or expectations; specify social, economic, or legal contexts that shaped different genders’ experiences.
In historical accounts of generations, include how women and gender minorities shaped and challenged norms in each era.
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