‘Basic’ rights: Starbucks, Instagram and UGG boots do not define a person

If you’ve ventured into a Starbucks in the past month, there’s a good chance you’ve heard the phrase “basic” thrown around.

The term “basic” is used to describe a woman who wears skinny jeans tucked into mid-calf boots, paired with a North Face jacket. When you say “Tiffany Blue,” she knows exactly which shade you’re referring to. She owns at least one Vera Bradley item in her lifetime and has multiple Instagram photos of herself holding a pumpkin spice latte. 

Despite what pop-culture may tell you, there’s nothing wrong with any of that. 

“Basic” women are getting a lot of undeserved hate for liking the things that they do — from men and women alike. Just because they don’t have Brand New lyrics tattooed on their forearms or take pictures with vintage Polaroid cameras doesn’t automatically make them vapid and simple. 

Instead of othering people and looking down on them with our noses stuck firmly in the air, we need to be respectful of other people’s interests and identities, including that of the stereotypical “basic” woman.

The term “basic” has its roots in a 1985 R&B song called “Meeting in the Ladies Room” by Klymaax. The culprit line goes, “I’d hate to come down to their level and become a BW/ A basic woman, but if they don’t stop it’s gonna get scandalous,” in reference to a woman hitting on another woman’s man. The phrase gained popularity in 2010 with the release of Kreayshawn’s song “Gucci Gucci,” where she raps, “Gucci Gucci, Louis Louis, Fendi Fendi, Prada/ Basic b*tches wear that sh*t, so I don’t even bother.”

In contemporary usage, the phrase means that one is unoriginal and not cool. Urban Dictionary defines the term as “a girl who thinks she’s awesome when she really isn’t” and “one who has no personality; dull and irrelevant.”

The term “basic” is problematic because it is used to segregate and demean. If you jokingly call your friends “basic,” and they’re OK with it, that’s fine. But it often isn’t used in that way — usually, you’re not a part of the joke. Instead, you’re the butt of it.

In “Mean Girls,” and in many interviews since then, actress and comedian Tina Fey has repeatedly talked about how girl-on-girl hate is terrible. Calling women “basic” is just another facet of this — it pits women against one another.

That’s not to excuse hatred from men, though — they should be respectful and understanding as well. But somehow it’s worse coming from other women because we’ve all been shamed in one form or another by men, whether it’s for body size, skin color, not looking feminine enough, or for being too sexual or not sexual enough. Men hate on women all the time, so it’s sad when women join in the name-calling and devalue one another — which is why the term “basic” is so toxic.

Girl-on-girl hatred stems from the tendency among women to want to distance themselves from each other. Women are forced to occupy a short spectrum — if a man tells a woman she isn’t “like other girls,” she is supposed to take it as a compliment because, apparently, it’s undesirable to be like other women. But if that same woman becomes too masculine, then she is too “other,” as is often the case among transgender individuals and other minority groups.

For instance, in movies such as “Garden State” and popular books such as “Looking for Alaska” by John Green, we’re introduced to the “manic pixie dream girl,” a trope for female characters that film critic Nathan Rabin defines as “that bubbly, shallow cinematic creature that exists … to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures.”

The term “basic” is in direct contrast with the manic pixie dream girl trope that has been used in popular media as of late — it tells women that if they aren’t unique and magical, and if they dare to like Starbucks lattes, then they’re basic and boring.

Of course, deflating the “basic” woman moniker is by far not the most important issue facing feminists, and “basic” women — who are predominantly white and wealthy, judging by all the stereotypical accessories they can afford — certainly do not face the same sort of institutional oppression that women of color and impoverished women do.

There’s been a lot of talk in Internet communities recently about inclusive feminism, about how feminism needs to go beyond solely benefiting straight white women — and being “basic” is primarily an issue among white women. Yet, for inclusive feminism to work, all races, religions, classes and sexualities need to be represented.

We need to talk about the problems of banning niqabs in public space, of wearing a bindi or a Native American headdress as part of a costume, of Nicki Minaj being known more for her butt than for being an advocate of staying in school And, yes, we should also talk about how demeaning it can be to call someone “basic.”

This isn’t the most important discussion regarding feminism, but at a school where 78 percent of the students are white, it’s a conversation we should be having.

We need to stop tearing each other down with “funny” slights and be supportive instead. If you want to reclaim the term “basic,” go for it, but don’t assume that everyone is as eager to embrace it as you are.

Email Channing at clk87@pitt.edu