"There was once a time when being a millennial was the worst thing you could be in the eyes of Gen Z. Millennials were ridiculed for their love of avocados and BuzzFeed listicles and their fascination with figuring out which house they’d belong to at a fictional wizarding school. You might remember this time because it was literally last week. But in a shocking twist, Gen Z’s relentless roasting of millennials has been set aside. Skinny jeans and side parts are back, and so are millennials as Gen Z finally embraces the millennial cringe.
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If you’re a millennial reading this, rolling your eyes and thinking, “How can millennials be ‘back’? They were never out in the first place,” and cursing the internet for another dumb trend, I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Millennials have been the butt of Gen Z’s jokes for years. But thanks to a viral TikTok from my personal favorite millennial, Tinx, we are finally realizing that millennials kind of had it right all along. Not only are our criticisms of the older generation unfair, but Gen Z should also strive for millennials’ level of unbotheredness.
The main jab Gen Z throws at millennials is that they’re “cringe.” And honestly, I’m tired of living in a world where the slightest misstep gets you labeled as cringe. Gen Z’s obsession with “cringe” only reveals their complete fixation on what others think of them. If you like something, it shouldn’t matter if it’s considered cringy. Depending on your audience, everyone has something they find cringe-worthy. I know the CrossFit gym bros think it’s cringe when I show up to my pilates class in a matching set, acting like I’m an Olympic athlete when it ends. And that’s okay! I think they’re cringe, too! Millennials have freed themselves from the shackles of other people’s thoughts and opinions. Gen Z should take notes, not make fun of their side parts.
“Buying Jellycat stuffed animals, wearing bows, and saying, ‘I’m a 23-year-old teenage girl,’ isn’t any different from complaining about ‘adulting.'”
Didn’t we all just celebrate Timothée Chalamet’s refreshingly earnest SAG Awards speech? Being honest about your goals, interests, and who you want to be—even if it means rejecting current trends—is exactly what millennials have been doing for years. Timmy probably gets it because he’s a millennial, too. Authenticity, even when served alongside the laughing emoji and an Instagram photo of the girls sipping bottomless mimosas at brunch, is the true spirit of millennials. We’re all ready to admit that we care and just be ourselves, regardless of how we’re perceived, so it makes sense that Gen Z has started to appreciate millennials’ commitment to their aesthetic. It’s been a long time coming, but better late than never.
Another part of the millennial brand that Gen Z loves to hate and label as….you guessed it… cringe, is their refusal to grow up. Yes, there comes a time when your Harry Potter obsession should probably cool down a bit, but weren’t we just doing the same thing last year with our obsession with girlhood? Buying Jellycat stuffed animals, wearing bows, and saying, “I’m a 23-year-old teenage girl,” isn’t any different from complaining about “adulting.” We just have the blind confidence that every generation has when they’re young. Millennials and Gen Z have more in common than they think. We both grew up in the age of social media, feel nostalgic for the simpler days of our childhood, are living through our second Trump presidency as young adults, and will probably never own a house. We should bond over these shared traumas, not compete in a nonexistent “best generation” contest.
“Millennials have freed themselves from the shackles of other people’s thoughts and opinions. Gen Z should take notes, not make fun of their side parts.”
Of course, you can’t mention the millennial-Gen Z rivalry without mentioning how Gen Z loves to tear apart millennial style. And, Gen Z, we’re not winning this one either. Millennials may have largely committed to a style aesthetic featuring skinny jeans, booties, and a t-shirt with a French tuck for the past decade. But at least they don’t throw out a new micro-aesthetic every week with absurd names. The generation that coined the terms “office siren” and “mob wife aesthetic’ seriously has no room to talk.
We all laughed at their business casual going-out outfits with a statement necklace, and here we are, dressed as “old money clean girls” at the club, looking like we’re headed straight into the office after. You might have to pry a millennial’s high-waisted jeans out of their hands, but at least they’re wearing what they actually want. Unlike Gen Z, they aren’t reinventing themselves every month to win approval from strangers on the internet based on a random viral TikTok.
Generation-on-generation bashing is nothing new. Women over 60 are fighting off “Karen” allegations daily, and Gen Alpha will one day have to answer for making the phrase “skibidi toilet rizz” perfectly acceptable in everyday language (still trying to figure out what that means). Maybe Gen Z’s newfound appreciation for millennials is inspired by the realization that, one day, our cultural touchstones will be picked apart by the generation after us (if they try to make Harry Styles cringe one day, I’m done for). Maybe the constant performative pressure of making your life look picture-perfect online has finally gotten to us, and we’re here for the cringe. Or maybe, like all trends, millennials are just back in style. Either way, as a Gen Zer, I’m here for the resurgence. Millennials, you were right all along to ignore the internet noise and do what’s true to you, so on behalf of Gen Z, I’m sorry.
Lauren Blue, Assistant Editor
As an Assistant Editor for The Everygirl, Lauren ideates and writes content for every facet of our readers’ lives. Her articles span the topics of must-read books, movies, home tours, travel itineraries—and everything in between. When she isn’t testing the latest TikTok trend, she can be found scouring Goodreads for new releases to feature on the site.