California Students' Family Plans Research Paper
The Baby Boomer generation, those born between 1946 and 1965, in terms of numbers alone, have dominated society since the end of World War II. Millennials, born 1981 through 1996, equal their numbers now though, and Generation Z, those born 1997 and later outnumber both groups by 20 million according to Statistia. Because society has changed a great deal since the Baby Boomers were young, the potential for great generational gaps exist. This study was done to examine the differences between generational attitudes among those young people reaching adulthood now, which includes both Millennials and Generation Z. The 12 respondents to a questionnaire used for this study fall into population segments. Like their parents and grandparents of the Baby Boomer generation segment, they are changing society’s perspective on many issues including sexuality, marriage, divorce and religion. Despite the fact that respondents bridge the Millennial generation and Generation Z, they reflect the differences in attitudes toward these issues as the current literature demonstrates. Generational differences can be seen in the responses to the questionnaire and these generational differences while leading to a more progressive society also reveal that the divide in politics and society that exists should not be a surprise to those who study how culture and society change over the span of generations.
Literature Review
Millennials born toward the end of the twentieth century and Generation Z born since 1997 have changed American society. Kathleen Gerson who wrote The Unfinished Revolution cites “revolutionary shifts in the ways new generations grow to adulthood” (Gerson 4). Specifically, Gerson points out the fact that most mothers were in the workplace when Millennials and Generation Zers were children, more marriages ended in divorce and sexual relationships became much more flexible than they once were even during the 1970s when free love was popular. While this may not forecast a positive outlook for marriage for millennials and Generation Zers, Gerson says nine out of 10 young people hope to have children and have them in the context of a lifelong partnership (Gerson 10-11). Still, women no longer look for work in order to contribute to the family finances; they do contribute to their family’s finances, but they mainly go to college in order to be able to get a good job and support themselves rather than rely on a husband to support them (Gerson 11). This reflects the concept of gender equality becoming more mainstream, but also speaks to the reality that marriages often are not lifelong commitments anymore. Women want to be able to support themselves and their children as single mothers. On the other hand, as Gerson points out, those young people whose parents divorced are not afraid of marriage and want to find a person to whom they can be committed to for life (Gerson 108). These attitudes toward marriage, divorce, and work are reflected in polling numbers also.
Kim Parker, Nikki Graf and Ruth Igielnik of Pew Research say Generation Z is the most diverse and will be the most educated generation group ever. They also have the most liberal attitudes toward the emerging social trends such as greater acceptance of gender neutrality, same-sex relationships and marriage, and sexual flexibility (Parker, Graf and Igielnik). However, Dan Knopf of Quartz points out, “Generation Z’s views on gender non-conformity . . . make it most distinct from millennials” (Knopf). In other words, surveys of millennials and Generation Z show that they have similar views on many things, but gender non-conformity is where there is the most variance between the attitudes of the two groups.
There is no question that attitudes toward sex and gender issues have changed dramatically since the 1960s and 1970s when the Baby Boomers were reaching adulthood. That population segment started the loosening of attitudes toward sex, and the Millennials and Generation Zers have extended that flexibility to include lesbian, gay and bisexual relationships as well as transgendered people and other iterations of sexuality that now exist. Jean Twenge, Ryne Sherman and Brooke Wells of Archives of Sexual Behavior say that the study of the change in attitudes towards sexuality is interesting, but what is equally as interesting is what lies behind the change. These authors say that populations change in three ways: time period or cultural change that affects all people, generational or birth cohort changes or cultural changes that primarily affect young people, and age or developmental effects that cause change (Twenge, Sherman and Wells 1). Thinking about societal changes in these three ways can help to determine if the change is associated with a generation gap, not difference in the attitudes among generations or whether there is a dramatic difference between what young and old see as important for society (Twenge, Sherman and Wells 1-3). One could cite the latter type of differences for the political divide in the United States for example.
In terms of changes in attitudes surrounding sexuality, Tweng, Sherman and Wells cite a number of statistics. They say that the biggest changes occurred in the acceptance of same sex relationships. There was little acceptance, between 11 and 16 percent until 1993. Then acceptance nearly doubled to 22 percent. Since then, acceptance for same sex relationships has increased steadily reaching 44 percent in 2012. When broken down by generations, it is illustrates the point Twenge, Sherman, and Wells make about generational divides. “Among 18- to 29- year-olds, 21 % of Boomers in the early 1970s believed same sex sexual activity was ‘not wrong at all,’ compared to 26 % of Gen X’ers in the early 1990s and 56 % of Millennials in the 2010s” (Twenge, Sherman and Wells 5-6). The dramatic change in attitude came not in one generation, but in two.
Another area where changes in society have been dramatic and definitely generational is religion. Landon Schnabel and Sean Bock of Sociological Science suggest that the increasing number of young people who say they are non-religious may not be a rejection of religion altogether, but more of a rejection of the extreme attitudes some religions impose on those that follow them. “Strict religion with intense requirements and sectarian worldviews is particularly strong in the United States. In addition to stating that a moderate level of strictness strengthens commitment to religion . . . .Too much strictness and intensity can push away those more loosely tied to religion” (Schnabel and Bock 687). Because religion is still important in American society and politics, Schnabel and Bock warn that if the divide in religious belief becomes between religious extremists and secularism, that society could be in for the problems that Twenge, Sherman and Wells talk about.
Methods
The sample for this study was collected through questionnaires distributed to college students. The sample consisted of 12 students between the ages of 20 and 23, bridging the generational gap. People between the ages of 20 and 24 are the end of the Millennial generation and the beginning of Generation Z. Both mean and median age of all participants is 21. Their responses reflect the differences in attitude that one might expect two different generational groups to have. Subjects were asked a variety of questions about their sexuality, and their plans for the future regarding marriage and work, and their views on religion.
Results
The most frequent age in the sample was 20 with five respondents giving that age. Ages 22 and 21 were the next most frequent age range with three each, and there was also one 23 year old. The mean age is 21 and the median age is also 21 or 22, but since the number of younger respondents is greater, the lower of the two ages is more accurate. Of the 12 respondents, 9 are heterosexual and 3 were bisexual. Ten of the 12 were interested in marrying in the future and only 2 expressed a desire not to marry. The youngest age mentioned for marriage was 26 or 27, selected by 3 respondents. Three other respondents said in their 30s was a good time to marry. Two gave the generic answer of “late 20s,” one said after 27, one said 27 to 28, one said 28 and three said in their 30s seemed like optimal times for marriage for them.
Eight of the respondents had aspirations beyond a Bachelors degree. This may be because of the change in the idea that women should be able to support themselves without relying on a partner to support them. One interesting implication is the fact that people in the 20-23 age group reflected in this study do not see a Bachelors degree as the goal, but more of a stepping stone to the goal of a Masters degree or beyond (two of the respondents thought they would go on to get a Ph.D. or a degree as a medical doctor). Many of their parents—one presumes from the Baby Boomer generation—had only some or no college, but most had a Bachelors degree and a few had Masters degrees. This desire for higher levels of education demonstrates what Parker, Graf and Igielnik say about Generation Zers becoming the most well-educated population segment ever. It also supports Gerson who says younger women are now much more likely to see themselves as their main source of financial support rather than a partner.
Fidelity in marriage was valued greatly among respondents except for one respondent who said that because s/he is bisexual, s/he needed to be able to satisfy both aspects of his/her sexuality even in marriage. When asked about what it would take for the respondents to consider divorce, 3 said if they were unhappy, 2 said if they no longer “clicked,” 2 said if they caught their marriage partner cheating, 1 said abuse, 1 said that s/he did not know and the other 3 did not respond to the question. These responses reflect what Gerson contends that children of divorce are not necessarily afraid of attempting commitment themselves. The majority of respondents’ parents were still married (8); the remaining had divorced or separated parents (4). Perhaps because of the experience of those respondents whose parents had divorced, they were more determined to commit to a lifelong partnership which included children; however, those who answered the questions about what would constitute grounds for divorce had clearly thought about what sort of circumstances would be the one that ended their marriages.
Other questions asked on the surveys include religious affiliation. Most respondents were raised in a religious faith: 7 Catholics, 2 Christians, 1 Mormon, and 1 Muslim. The remaining respondent was raised non-religious. Seven of the respondents said they were non-religious despite being raised in a religion. The Mormon respondent confessed that s/he went to church every Sunday but only in order to make her mom happy. This reflects the growing trend of secularization that has swept American society, and as Schnabel and Bock say, may be a sign of an increasingly worrisome generational divide.
Discussion and Conclusion
Changes in attitude across generations is not surprising. Recent history shows that great societal changes came in the 1960s and 1970s when the Baby Boomers defied their parents and many societal mores to engage in “free love” and protested the politics of segregation, war and inequality. Today, Millennials and Generation Zers use the same methods as their Baby Boomer parents and grandparents did to protest other but similar political issues such as racial, gender and income inequality. They too will bring about change, but what has not really changed is the attitude toward marriage despite the fact that many Millennials and Generation Zers grew up in homes that had been separated by divorce. They are still hopeful of having lifelong committed relationships, but women no longer assume they will marry so that they will have a partner to support them. This reflects what Twenge, Sherman and Wells would call a time period or cultural change that affects all people.
What has changed among the generational groups is the attitude toward education and sexuality. Baby Boomers, especially women, often did not see the benefit of having a college education, but society has changed greatly and it is no longer feasible to think that it is possible to live comfortably on the income a job for unskilled and/or uneducated workers can bring. Another social issue that Baby Boomers saw differently is sexuality. Increasingly same sex relationships, bisexuality and transgendered people are gaining wider acceptance, and it is due to the younger generations seeing flexibility as beneficial to everyone because everyone then has more options when it comes to love. This is what Twenge, Sherman and Wells would call a generational or birth cohort changes--cultural changes that primarily affect young people, although more and more, older generations have come to be more accepting of these changes too.
Perhaps the change that may result in the biggest generational gap is that of young people not wanting to be religiously affiliated or seeing themselves as non-religious. These changes could lead to an American society that has two political views: that of religious extremists and that of secularism. These two ideologies do not play well together, and society could become even more divided politically and culturally than it already is. Gerson sums it up well when she says that adulthood in the twenty-first century is uncertain especially with the changing times and examples that Milennials and now Generation Z has had to rely upon (Gerson 116). However, it seems as if they are still optimistic about the possibilities for themselves and others in the future but they temper that optimism with some healthy cynicism too.
Works Cited
Gerson, Kathleen. The Unfinished Revolution : How a New Generation Is Reshaping Family, Work, and Gender in America. Oxford; New York: Oxford UP, 2011. E-book. 29 November 2019.
Knopf, Dan. "Generation Z’s views on gender are what set it apart in the US." 19 January 2019. Quartz. Web. 29 November 2019. < https://qz.com/1528752/generat... >.
Parker, Kim, Nikki Graf and Ruth Igielnik. "Generation Z Looks a Lot Like Millennials on Key Social and Political Issues." 17 January 2019. Pew Research. Web. 29 November 2019. < https://www.pewsocialtrends.or... >.
Schnabel, Landon and Sean Bock. "The persistent and exceptional intensity of American religion: A response to recent research." Sociological Science 4 (2017): 686-700. Google Scholar. 30 November 2019. < https://www.sociologicalscienc... >.
Statista. "Resident population in the United States in 2017, by generation." 2019. Statista. Web. 30 November 2019. < https://www.statista.com/stati... >.
Twenge, Jean M., Ryne A. Sherman and Brooke E. Wells. "Changes in American adults’ sexual behavior and attitudes, 1972–2012." Archives of Sexual Behavior 44.8 (2015): 1-13. Google Scholar. 30 November 2019. < https://www.researchgate.net/p... >.
