It’s just a tall white cup with a label, slipped in a sleeve of cardboard for my own safety from the hot liquid inside. Cream and sugar mixed with the contents of some far away country. Beans from Africa, or Brazil, or maybe somewhere random like New Mexico create this warm brown liquid that becomes such a staple in the everyday life of Americans. “No, you can’t talk to me unless I’ve had my coffee.” Right? That’s such a common quote within our culture. But what happens when you stick a label on it? Especially the one with the green, two-tailed siren? And what happens when a specific type of person tends to buy that label?
Caffeine: it’s amazing the power it has and the addictive qualities that people seem to ignore. But what people don’t seem to ignore, is the type. Starbucks, is such a common household name all over the world. Hundreds of stores in hundreds of towns, and yet, it’s associated with one type of person, the “Basic Bitch.”
This label drives me insane. Two words that generalize my personality, and my attitude, apparently. But these aren’t words that describe me at all. I am not basic. I am unique and I pride myself on being that way. I like to think I’m a nice person, a loyal friend, and a good daughter and it upsets me that something so small, such as the type of coffee I like to drink in the morning can put me in a generalized category that is not only degrading for women everywhere, but offensive to those who strive not to be a “Basic Bitch.” What is it about my coffee that makes you label someone you don’t even know?
It’s hard for me to understand that because I order a “Green Tea Latte with Peppermint Syrup” that I become a lesser version of myself to those around me. I don’t understand how my “Salted Caramel Mocha,” or the oh so famous “Pumpkin Spice Latte” labels me in a category other than just your typical coffee drinker. And these judgements all happen because of the green label they see printed on the front of my coffee cup, a disposable object that is only part of my life for 30 minutes during the day.
To all those who stood in line with me this morning, I appreciate you. We stand together waiting on the fuel that gets us through the day. It’s just coffee and I don’t understand how it can dictate the type of person we are. Just because I spent $5.30 on a medium cup of coffee doesn’t make me a “Basic Bitch.” It just means that I enjoy good coffee and would prefer not to spend .99 on shitty cup of joe from Sheetz.