The term ‘basic bitch’ has recently entered our lexicon shaming
‘boring’ girls who like Taylor Swift, Instagram-ed flowers and Pumpkin Spiced
Lattes. It is used to describe a sheep, a simple girl without her own ideas
that likes what everyone else likes and stands firmly in the average category.
The term ‘basic bitch’ itself, with no meaning applied, sounds pretty horrible.
It is used in context like, “Hey, look at that basic bitch at the Farmer’s
Market” and “Her favourite movie is The
Notebook, how basic”. She is described as being essentially and classically
boring for reasons listed on The Cut
such as wearing infinity scarves and peplum tops (together, or separately, I
don’t know) and reposting or displaying inspirational quotes from Marilyn
Monroe and the like.
But really, who the hell cares? Is it really so bad for a
girl to Instagram her morning coffee whilst subtly showing off her fresh
manicure? And what’s so wrong with loving Sex
and the City? Let them wear their love heart necklaces and enjoy the music that
plays on mainstream radio. It’s not hurting anyone.
These days, being an individual is cool, it’s encouraged.
It’s the in thing to be yourself, break away from the crowd and do your own
thing. Let your freak flag fly. It’s wonderful, it really is. But is it really
unfair to be critical of unassuming women because they are not a completely
separate entity with separate interests and separate style and separate tastes.
What’s so wrong with liking Taylor Swift anyway? Sure, she’s mainstream but
mainstream becomes mainstream because lots of people like it. Lots of people
like it because it’s probably good. Not that many people are sheep nowadays and
if a chick wants to listen to 'Shake it Off', so be it. It does not mean she’s simple or any less individual or intelligent or exceptional than someone who listens
to an indie street band they “discovered”. It just means they enjoy catchy,
feel good music. Is that really that bad?
My issue with the term ‘basic bitch’ is that is mainly women
devaluing other women based on the simple cheesy pleasant things that they
enjoy doing. Just as the women using this term don’t want to be pigeonholed
into a stereotype for their interests, neither do the ‘basic bitches’. So what
if they enjoy mainstream food or clothing? Jumping on the macaroon bandwagon
doesn’t mean someone is ‘basic’ nor a ‘bitch’, all it means is that they have a
penchant for cute and yummy French desserts. It doesn’t mean they are a blind
follower of the crowd with no originality or personality.
Just like in The Incredibles,
if everyone was super, no one would be. The ‘basic bitches’ of the world offer
a contrast to those ‘unbasic bitches’, allowing the differentiation to occur
and make the overtly unique appear so. If you are an incredible individual,
thank, not hate the basic bitch, and stop calling her that. In my experience,
the people using these terms appear to be strong feminist advocates, however,
calling a fellow women a basic bitch with a mocking cruelness that it seems to
come with, sets this whole feminism thing back, don’t you think?
So just as you want to be left to do your thing and be you,
let your fellow female do her thing and be her,
even if it so happens to be the same thing as a thousand others.
Disclaimer: This is based off my experience with the term alone, it does not mean everyone who uses the term does so negatively.
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