If you’ve ever paid attention, you might have noticed that some people are very protective of the 90s experience and don’t like that Gen Z or younger generations are trying to adopt cultural ideas from that time. Katie Swyers from The Eyeopener explains that this sentiment comes from folks who were kids in that decade so they remember what it was like, and enjoy being in their own little club.
The reason why this is such an exclusive experience is that there are certain memories like frosted tips, Myspace, and playing on Game Boys that only folks who were children during that time remember. It might be harder for anyone actually born during that decade to recall the experience or relate to what happened.
Many people who grew up then brand the 90s as one of the best decades because everything seemed simpler. According to Elle India, this kind of nostalgia seems to color people’s point of view and make them forget that things weren’t always fair and equal back then.
During that time, men held 99% of CEO positions at Fortune 500 companies and often earned 30% more than women. Queer folks and people of color were also misunderstood and discriminated against, until pop culture and media started sharing more of their experiences with the world.
The 90s might have been a magical time of technological discovery and innovation, but the status quo was vastly different. It was tough to be a gay person in the 90s, and when Ellen DeGeneres came out on her sitcom in 1997, the show was shut down. Over time, this experience became more normalized and celebrated.
People of color were also not given as many opportunities, and black artists were given smaller marketing budgets than white pop or rock artists. Even Beyoncé faced discrimination, as hardly any designers wanted to dress her, so her mother, Tina Knowles, had to do it herself.
A shocking part about the 90s that we often tend to forget is how normalized it was to fat-shame regular bodies. Tabloids were rife with articles about actresses and famous women who had put on a tiny bit of weight, and reporters always rushed to catch them in unflattering positions.
This kind of diet culture created a toxic mindset among young children who, from an early age, started to count calories and deny themselves just to look like the picture-perfect celebrities they were seeing. Although that lifestyle changed a lot over the decades, it seems to be coming back into fashion, with so many folks taking Ozempic or other GLP medication.
Like any other decade, the 90s were a time of enjoyment, but they also had their ups and downs. Still, the folks who grew up then learned a lot of skills and absorbed values that can still benefit kids today. According to professionals, one of the most important virtues 90s kids learned early on was patience.
Since the Internet took time to load, getting things delivered wasn’t common, and parents expected their children to finish chores before playtime; everyone needed to be patient to get what they wanted. This slower pace really helped young people stay more in the moment and less concerned with what’s next.
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In the 90s, everyone became obsessed with caring for the environment and went out of their way to look after the planet. Even calling someone a litterbug then was a major insult. Children were also taught that they needed to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
This idea of protecting the environment was so strong that when everyone found out the ozone layer was being depleted by chlorofluorocarbons, people did their best to stop using things that produced them, which made a massive difference.
