Basic bitch. homogenized mediocrity
WTF is a Basic Bitch?
The stereotype basic bitch has its characteristics such as black leggings, fleece, pumpkin spice lattes, and any mainstream fashion trend at the time. What is the real danger of being basic? The term basic points to some heavy-hitting subjects including identity, conformity, and privilege. As with any slippery slope in social impact, it’s far too late before we notice what is going on.
Basic Bitch is a term that started in a rap song pointing out women with fake purses. Since it has morphed into a pejorative word thrown at white women living out white girl feminine modern convenience. It has no generational boundaries, your grandma can be basic too. The term pulls significance from the socioeconomic background rather than race, gender, or religion. It brings into play consumerism.
Consumerism within America is a massive building block if not the foundation of how we form our identity. Did you buy or make your coffee this morning? If you bought it: did you bring your mug, use a paper cup, or sit and have coffee in a shop? Where did you go for your coffee, the local coffee roaster, or the chain that makes your fluffy coffee? This is a simple cup of coffee and we can already begin to categorize a person based on these decisions above.
You are who you hangout with… IRL and Online.
We start noticing trends based on how we buy things. Of course, all of this would not be possible without social media. Historically, we have had social upheaval within our shared media sources. Ancient times had graffiti on stone, in the 1800s it was what in the art galleries commissioned by the rich, and Postmodern has prints and photography. As time went on we used all of them at once within a platform moving so fast it overwhelms almost every human exposed to it at one time or another. What we share and take in on social media has a profound impact on us as a species. Alongside the number of visual stimuli, we take in its ability to monetize and categorize.
130 million Instagram users tap on shopping posts each month. When clicking that shopping post did you think about how it was carefully curated for you? Science says that we are not just the five people we surround ourselves with the most but further, their friend’s friends, and so on. This influences our consumerism and builds trends. If you start doing some research about basic bitches may be the most alarming trend surrounding the label is the lack of worldly knowledge with great reliance on our most used yet least trusted sense – sight.
When you ask a basic bitch if she’s basic – most will admit yes, but they won’t be able to tell you why. These days stereotypes are no longer just based on race, religion, nationality, or gender. Stereotypes in current America are based on socioeconomic reality. In other words privilege. The ability to check out the hipster thrift or record store, an art museum or get a vertically sourced fair trade cup of coffee is not available for everyone. The second part of this privilege scarcity goes into conformity. If you are the weird kid in rural America you can relate to this sentence. It is far easier to wear a black Northface jacket than a yellow high collared wool jacket that might be more fashionable.
Being an individual is not always looked at as a great thing. This is the danger of the stereotype of basic. Basic will always take the path of least resistance, avoid those that are not like them, and continue to perpetuate the idea, “If we are not all alike, we can not be friends nor understand each other’s lifestyle.”
Privilege bringing it full circle.
Bringing privilege, consumerism, and conformity together the basic bitch avoids progressive society. Ask someone you think is basic if they buy bottled water or a reusable bottle before a hike. Nine out ten are going to buy bottled water with the response of “I recycle.” I recycle, I ware sunscreen, I drive electric. Trends run the “basic” world. The danger factor lies within the naivety, conformity, and complete disregard of what is going on if it is not on-trend.
If basic bitches live like an ostrich with their heads in the sand, how can we help them?
Everyone has a basic bitch inside them, it finds its way to light in the path of least resistance, economic availability, and conformity.
