Generations are identified (from first birth year to last) by grouping cohorts of this length that share specific criteria. Strauss and Howe ( 1991, 1998) describe a social generation as the aggregate of all people born over-approximately-a span of twenty years. This comparison provides a basis for better understanding broader societal forces that shape the evolution of gay neighborhoods throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century along with observations about the perceived decline or plateau of gay neighborhoods.Ī generation encompasses a cohort of people born over a defined two-decade span. Through this refreshed understanding, we examine comparative cases that describe the biographies, general behaviors, and generational locus of four well-known gay men as a means to explore how individuals born in a particular birth generation may experience vastly different experiences in life due to the LGBTQ + generation with which they identify. Our aim is not to oversimplify or stereotype, but to construct a general guide to frame one potential perspective to better understand the homonormative experience in a heteronormative world. Throughout, we develop a broad overview of birth generations and LGBTQ + generations as a model for how generational theory might be applied specifically for LGBTQ+ individuals and LGBTQ+ generational cohorts, in that the experience for LGBTQ+ is arguably different and shaped by “ coming of age” more so than for heterosexual people. Just as the behaviors, attitudes, and values of each heteronormative generation are clearly defined, we argue that similar-but different- parallels can be claimed for LGBTQ + generational cohorts. In this chapter, we examine the generational saeculum of the past century and the relationship of each successive generation to the birth cohorts of the entire century. This “layering” or “dual-lens” through which people prescribe a generational label recognizes the multivariate attributes that shape generational behaviors and beliefs and overall worldview for LGBTQ + individuals. Instead, LGBTQ + individuals are dually influenced both by the heteronormative birth generation in which they are born and by the LGBTQ+ generation during which they “come of age,” which is related to “coming out” and forming a personal identity as an LGBTQ+ sexual minority. We argue in this chapter, however, that LGBTQ+ generations do not operate solely in concert with their “birth” generation. These prevailing opinions undoubtedly influence LGBTQ+ people.

Typically, behaviors and values of each successive heteronormative generation reflect broadly-held opinions and behaviors of that generational birth cohort, including attitudes and views regarding LGBTQ + people and lifestyle.

As societies advance from one generation to the next, one measure of progress made toward equal civil rights can be seen in the changes in the attitudes and perceptions of LGBTQ + people. LGBTQ+ individuals do not always “fit” into the paradigm of their birth generation in the same way that heterosexual individuals do. LGBTQ + people have been impacted by generational values and expectations and more recently have begun to engage generational identity differently than heterosexual peers. As societies and cultures progress through time, generations are one metric by which humans organize shared experiences throughout history. Through engagement with our beliefs, behaviors, and values, we understand the world around us-and other people-based on our experience through a generational cohort with which we identify.

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