In Defense of "Basic" Girls

​Starbucks. Chipotle. Selfies. Instagram. Uggs. Yoga pants. All of these have one thing in common. They're trends. They're trends that society has associated with and turned into a sterotype. The victim: "basic" girls. ​

"You're so basic," a friends says to you as you take a selfie with your Starbucks drink.  I too, have used this term, in reference to both myself and others.  It seemed harmless, at first.  Stereotypes are not new to our society.   They exist for every individual, race, gender, sexuality, age,  culture, etc.  You name it, there's probably a standard assumption about that group.  They all do this or that, they all look and act this or that way. But, being the rational human beings that we are, we know and understand that that is not the case.  Not every person in their respective lives follows an agenda for their identity.  That's not how life works, that's not how we as individuals work. Stereotypes come in when we refuse to go further than general evidence.  When we look at one particular group and analyze them and label that as the foreground.  That is when stereotypes form and that is when we choose to merely look at the surface.

"Basic," a phrase I have found myself saying on occasion, no harm intended, jokingly.  Until one day I recognized the cynicism behind it. Although it wasn't intended to be anything more than a friend teasing another, I began to reflect on the term.  Why is it, that we as a society, take anything and everything harmless and turn it into something negative? There is nothing wrong with partaking in "basic" activities. This is what's wrong with society. We get bored so we find something to bash. We find something as innocent as eating at a good fast food restaurant and turn it into something we should be embarrassed to be seen doing.

This is why we need feminism.  We try to eliminate the already existing disrespectful stereotypes and in the meantime we create more. Why are we discriminating against a certain group of people because they want to follow the latest trends? What they do is not harmful to themselves or society.  How they choose to live and spend their time affects you in no way directly.  So why is there such a negative connotation surrounding those who choose to participate? What is so wrong that we have to roll our eyes and judge? If she wants to drink a pumpkin spice latte, let her drink the damn latte! It's comical actually because 99% of the people who use the term own a pair of Uggs, have a favorite drink at Starbucks and take selfies in public. We're all human. We all want to know what's popular and we all want to pretend like we don't care. The fact that the we still do this beyond high school makes this whole thing even more ironic.  

Let the "basic" girls do their thing while you do your thing and leave it at that. No harm, no foul.

                               Never forget the essence of your spark!