{"id":308,"date":"2023-12-02T21:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-02T21:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wers.org\/wecb\/milkcrate\/2023-11-27-does-gen-z-secretly-wish-they-were-millennials\/"},"modified":"2023-12-02T21:30:00","modified_gmt":"2023-12-02T21:30:00","slug":"2023-11-27-does-gen-z-secretly-wish-they-were-millennials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/wecb\/milkcrate\/2023-11-27-does-gen-z-secretly-wish-they-were-millennials\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Gen Z secretly wish they were Millennials?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

By Farah Rincon<\/h1>\n

The “20-year rule,” as Vice’s Hanna Ewens<\/span><\/a> writes about, is a continuing cycle that is used to predict upcoming trends in pop culture, typically drawing inspiration from two decades ago and incorporating it into the present day. The rule has remained consistent over time, with the 2010s bringing back chokers, chunky loafers, cute ways to style flannels, and many other elements reminiscent of the 90s grunge look. We also see this in the early 2000s, with its obscenely bright makeup, over-the-top Mccbling jewelry, crimpy hair, and neon outfits being compared to the 80s fashion trends. While this rule is used mostly for fashion, I can\u2019t help but see it so strongly in general pop culture with its trends in music and popularized aesthetics that have resurfaced on social media. <\/p>\n

Now that we’ve gotten past this quick history lesson, I want to use this rule today, which leads me to say that in 2023, we’ll be looking to the early 2000s for inspiration, a surreal, wacky, and incredibly special period in time for which millennials are best known. Yet, for some reason, Gen Z has so strongly attached themselves with “Y2K” (2000s) aesthetics, reviving Timbaland’s club songs, low waisted jeans, baby pink, and even giving attention to idols like Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. While Gen Z was alive throughout this period, we were not necessarily grown enough to experience it. Perhaps there is an underlying jealousy towards millennials for attending middle and high school in the early 2000s, while we can only cling to nostalgia and foggy childhood memories. This brings me to the  question I keep asking: Does Gen Z secretly want to be millennials? <\/p>\n

I\u2019m well aware of Gen Z\u2019s undeniable hatred towards millennial culture. Every time I log onto TikTok, there it is: a stitch or duet from a Gen Z user commenting on cringe-worthy millennial content<\/span><\/a>, whether it\u2019s through ironically mocking them or being overtly negative to it. Like many of my Gen Z mutuals, I can\u2019t help but laugh and \u2018like\u2019 the TikTok in agreement, but a part of me wants to give millennials recognition for their contributions to trend cycles. After all, who do we have left to credit for aesthetic revivals like Indie Sleaze, Twee, and Y2K? Gen Z might have brought it back (and certainly made it better), but millennials are its founding fathers.<\/p>\n

If you still don\u2019t agree with our underlying jealousy of millennials, let us look at the musical influences and general trending topics within TikTok. More often than not, I see TikTok edits of early 2000s pop culture icons such as Megan Fox, Adriana Lima, and Sex and the City\u2019s Sarah Jessica Parker to Nelly Furtado\u2019s \u201cMan Eater.”<\/span><\/a> I see girls showing off their digital camera<\/span><\/a> pictures and Bayonetta glasses to the music of Indie Sleaze icons such as Crystal Castles; I even see G-Eazy\u2019s \u201cTumblr Girls\u201d<\/span><\/a> playing alongside influencers\u2019 outfits that are reminiscent of the Y2K Victoria Secret\u2019s Pink hoodies and yoga pants topped with a pair of UGGs. Millennial trends are the current life support of Gen Z; they surround us in every corner of the internet, and we absolutely love them.<\/p>\n

The millennial resurgence was bound to happen due to the predictability of the 20-year rule. It is no surprise. We are reliving our childhood dreams of envying and wanting to be like our older millennial sibling, cousin, family friend, or whoever reminds us of this time period. We are re-constructing millennial culture on our own terms.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Check out our zine, Gen Zine, both in person at our Dec. 4 ZINE LAUNCH or check it out on Issuu!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":309,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nDoes Gen Z secretly wish they were Millennials? - wecb<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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