There’s No Such Thing as “Basic”
Do you take a ton of selfies? Does your wardrobe primarily consist of Forever 21, Hollister, and Ugg boots? Do you like seasonal coffee drinks? Do you have a home filled with mason jars and cursive signs that say “Live, Laugh, Love”? Do you listen to Top 40 music? Do you like reality TV? Are you…gasp…a woman? Well, congratulations! According to WikiHow, you’re Basic!
You’ve likely heard the term used before in this particular context––this girl is so basic, she only drinks pumpkin spice lattes and listens to soulless pop music––but if not, it pretty much means someone, usually a woman, who tends to like mainstream things. She’s unoriginal. She’s vanilla. She likes what everyone likes. She’s…Basic. But it's just a harmless slang word, right? It isn’t that deep. Who cares? Well, since we’re entering the season of pumpkin spice, a trademark stereotype of what being Basic entails, I figured it would be interesting to riff on what it really means to be Basic.
It means…drumroll, please…to like what you like! At least, that’s what I believe.
Why are people categorizing things other people––again, not always but mostly women––enjoy as something scoff-worthy and lame? Why does it always seem there’s someone in an Instagram comments section ready to make fun of a woman listening to a certain artist and wearing a certain brand of clothing in a certain kind of bedroom? Can’t people just do what they want in peace? Are you really harming someone by enjoying something mainstream?
Now, I’ve never really considered myself Basic, besides listening to Taylor Swift (oh boy, there’s a lot I can, and will, say about that). By that, I mean that most of my interests don’t lean towards what is stereotypically considered as such. Although…what is considered Basic? Is it just being interested in anything the majority of people online have something to say about or own? If so, maybe I am basic for liking Spongebob, or liking the Beatles, or owning a musical instrument, or owning a dog. All those things are considered mainstream, right? Except they’re not considered traditionally feminine things. That’s the important difference.
There’s certainly something to be said for liking stereotypically Basic things to be linked to overconsumption––the term often refers to buying material things that are purchased again and again. Maybe we shouldn’t be hinging our personalities on buying goods from companies that care about nothing but cash. However, that brings up another topic of discussion relating to this subject. So often, people who love Basic things are considered to have no distinguishable personality apart from their capitalism-rooted interests and delights. They’re bland, because again, they like what’s popular. Obviously that’s not true. Everyone has a personality and unique experiences that make them who they are. Who they listen to or what they drink has nothing to do with their inherent selves, and to suggest so is plain ignorant. We don’t say men who like football cards or beer or pickup trucks have no distinguishable personality, we say they’re men. Masculine men. Anyone picking up a double standard here?
It’s also important to address the demographics of who is considered Basic. Typically, the image that pops into most people’s minds when thinking of a Basic person is a white, thin, usually blonde woman. People of color are often not considered mass consumers of these products or “lifestyle”, as some consider it, light-hearted or not. While I don’t believe anything is truly Basic, I do believe that if anything is, everyone should be allowed to claim it as their interest or style.
For a mainstream-mainstream example of something considered textbook Basic, let’s go back to Taylor. I’m not going to write a whole essay about what she means to people and society––that’s what other talented Ribbon writers are for. I’m mentioning her because her music is so often brought up when the word Basic is, especially these days where her cultural impact is kind of impossible to escape. She’s popular: check. Her audience primarily consists of women and girls: check. She has a lot of loyal fans that often make her a constant presence in their own lives, whether it’s through her music, merch, or Eras Tour tickets: check. Did I mention her fanbase is mostly women and girls? She’s a symbol of everything stereotypically Basic, which means that Swifties are so often called such. But how, exactly, is breaking records basic? How is going on the highest-grossing tour of all time basic? If all that is considered basic, sign me up!
You may be thinking: who cares? It’s all light-hearted name-calling that doesn’t mean anything. It’s all in good humor. And if that really was the case, of course! There’d be no need to have an article about this. However, that’s not always the case. At its worst, classifying things as Basic can be a way to make fun of women for their interests and style. It can be flat-out sexist.
If you’re going to use the word Basic to poke fun at others but not in a serious way, go ahead. It’s just a word, and words are what we make them. If you’re going to use it to degrade others, don’t. Just don’t. But if you’re going to use the word to describe yourself, do it proudly! Declare it to the world! It seems to me we always forget that popular things are popular for a reason.
