What Is Wrong With Basic Bitches?
Image Courtesy: Instagram
Language is arbitrary and slides throughout time. “Basic” once meant foundational or essential, but it has changed into a cultural nickname for simplicity, conformity, or an embrace of mainstream trends and pleasures. It is now an insult, mostly used in reference to girls and women. A basic style is one centered on comfort, popular trends, and simplicity.
Henry David Thoreau once said, "Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify." Virginia Wolf said, “"The beauty of the world... lies in the very simplicity." Yet, a simple style is not exactly praised. What exactly do people have against the coined “basic bitch”- the girl in yoga pants hauling a tote bag?
Is the problem that the “basic” style is ubiquitous? It can’t be. A woman who desires to individualize herself is considered a “pick-me”, so in that logic, the woman who has no issues with being “just like other girls” should be socially accepted.
However, she isn’t. When I was getting a tattoo of a butterfly on my arm I was warned against it because “every girl has a butterfly.” Somehow, the collective archetype for girls is one of grave insult. If I am at all, too closely resembling that archetype, it deserves ridicule. Ever since I got the tattoo, I run into conversations with girls who want to show me their butterflies and talk about them. I find that commonality to be simple and unpretentious—proof that some things resonate for a reason.
If individuality is perceived on a basis of visible appearance, we reduce identity to aesthetics and distort our perception of a person’s true character.
The argument that a basic bitch is not expressing herself perpetuates the idea that a woman is meant to constantly perform her personality. It ignores the fact that a person’s self-expression can be subtle, private, or fluid, instead reinforcing that only those who deviate from mainstream trends or make bold, external declarations are truly "themselves”."
Image Courtesy: Instagram
Lana Del Rey, a mainstream artist known for her poetic blues, has claimed the style of plain blue jeans and a t-shirt. She typically wears more “basic” style clothes and has even sold out a tank top at Walmart after posting in it. If we were to judge her from her style alone, we might arrive at the conclusion that she is shallow and lacking depth. That assumption, of course, would be entirely incorrect because of her wistfully mournful philosophy on life that is evident in her poetry and music.
Just because a lot of girls like something, doesn’t mean you have to hate it, or hate them for it. Expression is not rigid, and should not be policed or bribed or mocked. I’ve tested being a basic bitch stylistically over this past month and I can honestly conclude that a lot of the trends are popular for a reason. Comfortability creates confidence. Individualism is deeper than aesthetics.
Strike Out,
Indigo Carter
Editor: Maya Kayyal
Saint Augustine
Indigo Carter is the Creative Writing Copy Editor for Strike Magazine. She loves Hello Kitty and reading books about fairies. You can find her at indigocarterr@gmail.com or on Instagram @prettypretty.princesss.
