The “Chicken Nugget” Generation — and What It Actually Means

In a few meetings now, people have referred to our audience as “chicken nuggets.”

It’s usually said casually, sometimes with a smile, and always with the assumption that we know what they mean:
English-speaking Omanis. Private school backgrounds. Often mixed-ethnicity. The ones who grew up watching Disney Channel, not Oman TV. The ones who are “not quite local enough,” and “not quite foreign enough.”

It’s a funny label — and it’s not necessarily wrong.
But it does open up a conversation that’s worth having.

At Omani Archive, a lot of our audience is that in-between group. But what we’ve noticed is that this in-betweenness often comes from linguistic and cultural necessity, not privilege. Many of these youth come from homes where one parent speaks Arabic, the other speaks Swahili, or Balushi, or Urdu — and English becomes the shared language in the middle. Not because they’re trying to be “western,” but because it’s what works.

They’re not confused.
They’re just balancing more than one identity.

And what’s interesting is how this group often becomes the bridge.
They’re curious. They’re looking to reconnect. They want to know the “why” behind traditions, the “how” behind rituals, the stories behind places they’ve driven past for years but never explored.

Omani Archive has become a space where these youth feel comfortable asking, learning, and sharing — alongside those who’ve always felt rooted in the culture.

We never set out to create a platform for “chicken nuggets.”
But maybe what’s happening is bigger than a label.

Maybe this generation — fluent in multiple languages, references, and cultures — is exactly what Oman needs.
Not as a rebellion against tradition, but as a reminder that identity can stretch and still be strong.

Written by: Nadeen Al Towaiya