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GenX Women are Sick of This Shit!Author: Megan Bennett & Lesley Meier
GenX Women are Sick of This Shit is a nostalgic nod to the humans of GenX in the Midwest. Each episode, co-hosts Megan Bennett and Lesley Meier, have an ADHD driven conversation about GenX history and pop culture using their own lives and experiences growing up in Indianapolis as the backdrop. The podcast is a creative project inspired by the Facebook group 'GenX Women are Sick of This Shit', created by Megan Bennett in 2023. "Five Minutes of Fame" stories and "Dear GenX Women" letters are sent in by listeners and members of the Facebook group and are shared with consent. The original Facebook group is a mosh pit of menopausal women talking about all things GenX culture and life in the 70s, 80s and 90s as well as being a GenXer today. GenX Women are Sick of This Shit is part of Latchkey Kids Media, LLC where we make things we like because we want to. Copyright 2025, Latchkey Kids Media, LLC Language: en-us Genres: History, Society & Culture Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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From Victorian Party Tricks To Disco To Derby: How Roller Rinks Shaped Gen X
Episode 21
Saturday, 22 November, 2025
Want to weigh in? Send us a text!A dark afternoon, a good cider, and one glittering memory: the roller rink. We follow that spark into a full ride through roller skating’s wild history and why it mattered so much to Gen X. From a violin-playing inventor crashing into a mirror to James Plimpton’s quad revolution, we connect the dots between Victorian spectacle, postwar neon boxes, and the utilitarian warehouses that became our weekend temples.We talk about what those rinks gave us as kids: a semi-supervised freedom loop, a place to test courage on turns, and our first real music community. The DJ calls. The panic of couple skate. The pride when Another One Bites the Dust hit and you didn’t wipe out. Then we pull back the curtain on the deeper story—rinks as battlegrounds and sanctuaries. Black skaters staged skate-ins, built iconic styles like JB and Philly backwards, and turned rinks into essential venues for funk, disco, and early hip hop. Flippers in West Hollywood mixed drag, punk, and pop royalty; roller derby revived the punk-feminist spirit with women taking up blistering speed and space.We track the shift to rollerblades, the tug of cable TV and video games, and why so many rinks closed or morphed into birthday factories. And just when it felt like the music faded, the pandemic sent wheels flying again: pastel quads on boardwalks, jam lines in parking lots, adult skate nights with old-school grooves. The recipe still works—smooth floor, lights overhead, music that moves your feet, and a little bravery to let go of the wall.Got a rink story, your anthem, or a legendary wipeout? We want to hear it. Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with the friend who always yelled “reverse skate.” Your turn: what song instantly drops you back onto that maple floor?Support the showGet your hands on our MERCH!!! DONATION SCHEDULE! We donate $1 per item sold with a minimum of $200 to each organization! Jan-Feb 2025 - Center for Reproductive Rights March-April - Planned Parenthood May-June 2025 - Indy Pride July-August 2025 - WFYI September-October - ACLU November-December 2025 - Second Helpings Love the pod? Love us? Love GenX? Let us know! SUPPORT THE POD HERE! Want to continue the conversation? Sign up for our newsletter! HERE Tell us your own 5 Minutes of Fame story or call it in at 1-888-GEN-XPOD Send us your Dear GenX Women letters! Join us for Meet-Ups and Expert led Discussions JOIN US in L.Y.L.A.S a GenX Women's Social ClubL.Y.L.A.S (Love You Like a Sis) is our paid membership platform where you can have real-life conversations while supporting this podcast and the work we do in the Facebook group. Follow us on ...
