Your bloomin' lot: an empirical study of the popular baby boomer stereotype

This research focused on people born during the post-World War II baby boom period. Research questions tested were: [1.] Does a popular stereotype exist regarding baby boomers? ; [2.] What features characterise the stereotype? ; and [3.] To what extent does the stereotype apply to a sample of Australian women born during the post-War baby boom period? This Thesis was underpinned by the contention that if a popular stereotype did exist, it would relate to a minority of baby boomers. This study involved: [1.] Development of key criteria which characterised the popular baby boomer stereotype (Chapter 4); [2.] Testing stereotypic repertoires against scholarly expertise and a sample of baby boomer women (Chapters 5 and 6); and [3.] Describing the characteristics and behaviours of women who did and did not meet the popular stereotype, and exploring issues of social identity through narrative analysis (Chapter 7). Evidence from this research into baby boomers suggests that the popular stereotype may apply only to a minority. A great number and variety of differences existed, which need to be acknowledged.