“Basic.” We’ve all heard it. It’s a term used to describe a certain kind of girl, and this girl is synonymous with common, boring and unoriginal. She’s known for liking whatever is popular: beyonce, pumpkin spice lattes, bath and body works candles, soy milk, yoga.
We’ve come to associate girls who like these things with this term, “basic”, which is really extremely negative. By doing this, we as women are agreeing with the idea that what women do and like and wear is up for discussion and control by popular culture. It further communicates the idea that women should only be certain things, and if she steps outside of those limitations, she gets laughed at for being too much.
It’s a form of hatred towards women because it creates a narrative that you shouldn’t want to be “basic” and if you are, you are somehow unintelligent or don’t have your own personality. But what if you happen to like these things? What if yoga calms you, and what if you just love the taste of soy?
The real problem with this is that it creates a negative view within ourselves of other girls who do these things, and through this we perpetuate hatred towards other women. Really being basic is just liking things, and there’s actually nothing wrong with that at all.
Guess what? You get to like what you like, and it in no way makes you boring, or invalid, or unimportant. It just means you like stuff. So all those haters can get over it. Be empowered and be you, even if that is “basic”.