We’re heading into fall, the peak season for a variety of “basic” interests, and the time has come to embrace it. I love yoga pants and pumpkin spice lattes. This fall, I’m going to wear those yoga pants with pride and drink those lattes with gusto and not feel bad about it, because I can.
I’m about to get deep here, so stay with me. I support and embrace basic bitchery not only because I love Norts, but also because I firmly believe that putting women down for liking “girly” things isn’t helpful to anyone and in fact hurts the cause of women’s equality instead of helping it. Honestly, what’s wrong with liking mainstream things like Uggs and music that plays on the Top 100 radio station? Stuff only becomes mainstream because a lot of people like that stuff, and there’s no shame in admitting you like what a lot of other people also like.
So if you, like me, love watching marathons of “Say Yes to the Dress” and “Cupcake Wars,” I say that’s awesome. If you hate dresses and you’d rather gag yourself with a spoon than watch five minutes of “Say Yes to the Dress,” that’s great, too! I think women should do more supporting and less judging, because if all of us collectively decide that we won’t criticize other ladies’ interests (as long as they’re not harming anybody else), then maybe guys will start to get the hint that a phrase like “basic bitch” doesn’t have to be derogatory.
In reality, the stigma around being a basic bitch is all part of a larger issue. Every time a girl tells a guy that they hate basic things and that they’re not like other girls, they are in effect letting him know that they think they’re better than women who are “basic,” which means it’s okay for him to put down women who are basic. And that is some pretty heavy stuff. Still with me?
That is why I’m not ashamed of being a basic bitch, why I’ve decided to embrace the term and take it back from people who think that liking pumpkin spice lattes and leggings somehow makes you stupid or shallow. It doesn’t make you any of those things. Liking girly/basic stuff doesn’t mean you’re dumb, and not liking girly stuff doesn’t make you better than girls who do.
With that being said, basic bitches, unite! Non-basic bitches, you’re invited, too! We have to stand up for each other if we want to make a difference. Isn’t sisterhood the reason we even joined a sorority in the first place? So let’s really live that sisterhood and try to only hate on other women for actual reasons, like for being terrible people, instead of hating on them for being into something you personally don’t get. Together we can change the negative perception of traditionally feminine interests, and we can wear some really comfy yoga pants as we do (or not!)..