The Y Generation Myth: young Israelis’ perceptions of gender and family life

Abstract

Our study seeks to compare attitudes towards family life and gender roles between Generation X and Generation Y, focusing on the ages of 18-29, a period regarded as that of emerging adulthood. Most of the academic scholarship on this issue focuses on Western and Anglo-American individuals, their values and perceptions. By contrast, our article explores questions of gender roles and family life among Generations X and Y in the Middle Eastern country of Israel, utilizing the perspectives of the Second Demographic Transition and the Stalled Gender Revolution. Using the 1994, 2002, and 2012 waves of the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) module on Family and Gender Roles, our findings indicate that Israeli Gen Y young adults tend to report more conservative perceptions regarding family and gender roles than their Gen X counterparts. This is generally explained by a higher level of religiosity among Israeli young adults from Gen Y.