Out-Doing the Outsiders

Contrary to what the individualistic mindset might offer, asserting our own self-worth does not require a high school cafeteria or locker-lined hallway. Nestling in next to Americans’ favorite insults is the all-too encompassing term: “basic bitch”.

Participants in Instagram trends, such as “Women Crush Wednesday”, offenders of the messy bun hairdo and those who open the smart phone app, Snapchat, out of habit are all participants in the normative behaviors of the basic bitch. Spiteful from its origin, the term was born and bred in the environment of the modern epidemic—social media.

 

You might have uncovered a basic bitch if he/she has a Starbucks beverage in hand.

In the NY Mag article, “What Do You Really Mean When You Say ‘Basic Bitch’?, Norene Malone asserts that this derogative is exclusively reserved for the female victim.

“She runs her gel-manicured hands up and down the spine of female-centric popular culture of the last 15 years, and is satisfied with what she feels. She doesn’t, apparently, long for more.”

A great variation from the static archetype of the apron-clad housewife with hot curlers in her hair, the basic bitch embodies sexism of a contemporary kind. Though the basic bitch is normalized outside of the home, the sexist lashes of being deemed “basic” keep her within identifiable confines. What’s worse, is that those being called basic often are unaware of their overt segregation. Pushed out of ear’s reach, these women aren’t even aware of their exile to the bottom of society. Then again, life might not feel so incomplete at the bottom of her second Pumpkin Spice Latte of the day.

You might have uncovered a basic bitch if she can readily tell you her favorite emoji(s).

Taking the bliss out of simplicity, “the basic bitch conforms to the most bland and uncreative stereotypes of late capitalist femininity”, as stated in The American Reader.

Despite popular thought, it must be said that the male sex is not a shield of immunity to the basic bitch jabs. Men, too, can publicly partake in commonplace actions and be publicly ridiculed all the same. Gay men and the interests they adopt, are often viewed as overlapping with the null interests that comprise basic status.

American culture as a capitalistic incubus is not newsflash worthy. The social capital gained in ostracizing one another is certainly a staple of the 20^th century, however. From racial labels and warfare to the more petty discrimination of basics and elitists, privilege is a sought after commodity that Americans cannot buy and hang in their closets of consumerism. Instead, privilege in the 21^st century is perpetuated by the self-entitlement that results when helping to draw the scales of hierarchies that separate the worthy and the outcasts.

In a very repetitive way, the solitude you felt when scanning the rows of empty cafeteria seats and being met with gazes of disdain in those teenage years has taken new forms in your adult life. Let’s just hope your adult life interests and actions aren’t deemed too mundane, or you’ll forever wear your Ugg boots in isolation.

---