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Basic (slang)

April 18, 2024

For the term for a young urban white woman originating in Chicago, see Trixie (slang).

Basic is a slang term in American popular culture used pejoratively to describe people who are perceived to prefer mainstream products, trends, and music.[1] "Basic bitch" originated in hip hop culture and rose in popularity through rap music, songs, blogs, and videos from 2011 to 2014.[2][3] Their male counterparts are usually termed "bros".[4][5][6] Similar labels to "basic bitch" or "airhead" in other English-speaking countries include contemporary British "Essex girls" and "Sloane Rangers", and Australian "haul girls" known for their love of shopping for designer gear, and uploading videos of their purchases on YouTube.[7][8][9]

History edit

Origins edit

Before the 1980s, "airhead" was general American slang for a ditzy, clumsy or stupid person.[10] With the rise of the valley girl[11] and preppy subculture however, the term was applied to cheerleaders[12] and nouveau riche or middle class hangers-on who imitated the uptalk speech[13] and clothing of the upper class popular girls. These airheads, material girls or gold diggers were stereotypically viewed by their classmates as unintelligent, gossipy[14] bimbettes who were interested solely in spreading rumors about their rivals and entering relationships with the wealthy jocks.[15]

1990s and 2000s edit

During the late 1990s and early 2000s, airheads began to be regarded as a distinct, middle class subculture in many suburban American high schools, although appearance-wise they initially differed little from the traditionalist upper class preps.[16] At the time, many wealthy white jocks and younger preppies had begun imitating urban fashion trends, eschewing the semi-formal conservative look of the 1980s and 1990s in favor of gold bling, expensive designer clothes, sneakers, dark jeans, and sweatpants.[17] Rich girls who dressed this way were known as Queen Bees and their followers were known as plastics, or airheads.[18] Members of this clique believed their designer clothing, as a manifestation of conspicuous consumption, was key to being popular.[19]

2010s edit

The term basic bitch was coined in 2009[20] by comedian Lil' Duval.[21][3] Over the next two years, it appeared in several American rap songs. In the songs "Hard in the Paint" by Tyga and "I'm not a Human Being" by Lil Wayne, the singers insist that they are not basic bitches, while in the song "Basic Bitch" by the Game, the singer warns others to avoid basic bitches because they are fake.[21]

In 2011, rapper Kreayshawn debuted her song "Gucci Gucci", which included the chorus: "Gucci Gucci, Louis Louis, Fendi Fendi, Prada ... basic bitches wear that shit so I don't even bother." In 2014 CollegeHumor released a parody video of a wife being diagnosed by a doctor as a "basic bitch", to the horror of her husband.[22][2][3]

Fashion and stereotypes edit

 
Ugg boots, often referenced in songs and articles about cultural trends as a brand of footwear loved by so-called "basic" women

From the 1990s[23] until the early 2010s, both boys and girls from the popular clique often combined budget preppy[24] clothes with supposedly edgy elements of mainstream hip hop fashion, in imitation of the outfits worn by early adopter black rappers such as Kanye West.[25][26][27] Miniskirts, Nike brand sneakers,[28] pastel colors like pale blue or baby pink, expensive Aeropostale, Hollister Co[29] or Abercrombie and Fitch clothes,[30] designer clothes or accessories purchased by one's parents,[19] grey marl sweatpants, crop tops, white Converse sneakers,[31] leggings,[32] and Ugg boots remained common among American airheads, Aussie haul girls[7] and Essex girls during the 2010s. Other items of clothing formerly fashionable in the 1990s, such as polo shirts with popped collars, have gone out of style. Common amongst this subculture is a love of brunch (often with Prosecco) and sweet, modern cocktails such as porn star martinis.

Popular girls in Britain, Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Canada are often accused of meanness,[33] gossip, snobbery, narrowmindedness, homophobia, intolerance,[34] flaunting their apparent wealth, backstabbing, shallowness, body shaming,[35] slut shaming, contempt for the poor,[36] and openly bullying other girls to maintain their own privileged position.[37]

Interpretations and criticism edit

Referring to an object or a person as "basic" has a variety of connotations. When used to refer to people, it can mean a criticism of shallow materialism;[38] in songs that use the term, popular luxury brands like Gucci and Prada are referenced to suggest that the people who wear them are buying, rather than earning, their fashionability and social status.[39] Decrying the basic bitch's love of bland, boring products like Ugg boots and Starbucks pumpkin spice lattes is a rhetorical technique that allows the singer to appear cooler by comparison.[40]

In an article in The Guardian titled "Why I'm proud to be a 'basic bitch", British journalist Daisy Buchanan criticizes the cultural trend of using "basic bitch" as an insult, pointing out that those who label other women as basic bitches are "dismissing all cultural feminine signifiers" and "mak[ing] assumptions about a woman's interests and habits based on her sex". The implication of this claim is that material possessions and consumption are, in fact, markers of femininity.[41] Widespread usage of the term to mock the behavior and interests of girlfriends or wives "conforms to the most bland and uncreative stereotypes of late capitalist femininity" and suggests a misogynistic attitude toward all women, according to Michael Reid Roberts in an article in The American Reader.[40]

In the media edit

Since the 1980s, the airhead or popular clique have often been cast as the antagonists in high school and teen movies.[42] Examples include Valley Girl, The Clique, Heathers, Girl Fight, A Cinderella Story, Odd Girl Out, Frenemies, Pretty in Pink, Mean Girls, and Clueless.[43]

The sitcom The Good Place (2016-2020), which takes place in a fictional afterlife, famously popularized the phrase when the main character Eleanor Shellstrop (played by Kristen Bell) comically told her boyfriend "Face it Chidi: ya basic!" In a later season, the character Michael (played by Ted Danson) uses the same epithet against two another characters. The show then satirized the then-common confusion about the term as Michael then finds himself having to explain what "basic" means ("It's devastating. You're devastated right now.") when the other two are completely unaware of the term.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "The United States of Basic Bitches: A Map and Field Guide". Jezebel. 30 June 2014.
  2. ^ a b Schreiber, Abby (October 16, 2014). "Why are 'basic bitches' taking over the zeitgeist right now?". Paper. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c Alter, Charlotte (April 30, 2014). "How Conformity Became a Crime". Time. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
  4. ^ "50 Signs You're Dating a Basic Bro". Phoenix New Times. 10 December 2014.
  5. ^ "Most Basic Bros in Sports". Bleacher Report. 10 December 2014.
  6. ^ "23 Phrases That Let You Know You're Talking To A Basic Bro". MTV. 10 December 2014.
  7. ^ a b "A spotter's guide to the emerging tribes of Sydney". 7 June 2014.
  8. ^ "19 Ways To Instantly Spot A Basic Bitch In Dublin". lovindublin.com.
  9. ^ Petridis, Alexis (20 March 2014). "Youth subcultures: what are they now?". The Guardian – via www.theguardian.com.
  10. ^ Ayto, John; Simpson, John (11 February 2010). Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-923205-5 – via Google Books.
  11. ^ ""Valley Girl" and identity creation".
  12. ^ Stephenson, Hailey, ed. (14 November 2011). "Cheerleaders: is the media to blame for stereotypes?".
  13. ^ "We all speak like Valley girls now - NBC News". NBC News. 10 December 2013.
  14. ^ "Valley Girl". 29 April 1983 – via IMDb.
  15. ^ "In The 80s - Glossary of Eighties Terms".
  16. ^ Allis, Sam (16 July 2009). "Let me school you about preppies". Boston.com – via The Boston Globe.
  17. ^ . Web.archive.org (10 January 2010).
  18. ^ "The Meanest High School Girls in Movies". 18 October 2013.
  19. ^ a b Choron, Sandra; Choron, Harry (24 October 2002). the Book of Lists for Teens. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt – via Internet Archive.
  20. ^ Petersen, Anne Helen (October 20, 2014). "What We're Really Afraid Of When We Call Someone "Basic"". BuzzFeed News.
  21. ^ a b Lange, Maggie (April 10, 2014). "The 'Basic Bitch': Who Is She?". NYMag.com. Retrieved September 15, 2014.
  22. ^ Alex Abad-Santos (April 22, 2014). ""Basic": a beginner's guide to everyone's favorite new insult". Vox.com. Retrieved September 15, 2014.
  23. ^ "It's Baggy, It's Preppy, It's Hip-hop, It's What's In".
  24. ^ "Why Abercrombie & Fitch Isn't 'Cool' Anymore". Business Insider.
  25. ^ Runell, Marcella; Diaz, Martha (1 January 2007). The Hip-Hop Education Guidebook Volume 1. Lulu.com. ISBN 9780615142623 – via Google Books.
  26. ^ "Son of Muffy: Preppy Style Returns, Extra Dry and With a Twist". The New York Times. 19 December 2000.
  27. ^ Bucholtz, Mary (23 December 2010). White Kids: Language, Race, and Styles of Youth Identity. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781139495097 – via Google Books.
  28. ^ . Archived from the original on 2016-04-17. Retrieved 2016-04-02.
  29. ^ Dishman, Lydia (25 February 2015). "Why teens stopped shopping at Abercrombie & Fitch and Wet Seal". The Guardian.
  30. ^ Wattrick, Jeff. "The Only Thing Worse Than Abercrombie & Fitch Is This Anti-Abercrombie & Fitch Movement".
  31. ^ "Watch: SNL Writer Reclaims the Term 'Basic Bitch' From the Mouths of Women-Hating Women". Alternet.org. April 5, 2016.
  32. ^ Bickham, Liana Satenstein, Jorden (19 September 2014). "7 Basic Fall Looks to Embrace Your Inner #Basic".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  33. ^ Carter, Nicola (16 May 2013). "Has Abercrombie & Fitch's CEO really made a 'Big, fat, marketing mistake'?". The Guardian.
  34. ^ "The Truth About Basic Bitches: They Could Ruin Your Life". 12 April 2014.
  35. ^ "Gossip, one-upmanship and cruel jokes: I was the school Mean Girl". The Telegraph. 30 March 2016.
  36. ^ "A comprehensive manual on becoming an EX4 basic betch". 21 October 2015.
  37. ^ Brown, Lyn Mikel (1 March 2005). Girlfighting: Betrayal and Rejection Among Girls. NYU Press. ISBN 9780814799512 – via Google Books.
  38. ^ Noreen Malone (October 2014). "What do you really mean by 'basic bitch'?". New York Magazine. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  39. ^ Peters, Lucia (11 September 2014). "How to Spot the Basic Bitch". Bustle.
  40. ^ a b Michael Reid Roberts. "The Life and Death of American Slang, Part II: Bae and Basic Bitch". The American Reader. Retrieved September 15, 2014.
  41. ^ Daisy Buchanan (April 14, 2014). "Why I'm proud to be a 'basic bitch'". The Guardian. Retrieved September 15, 2014.
  42. ^ Pellot, Emerald (14 July 2014). "The 15 Most Basic Bitch Movies In History Ranked".
  43. ^ "Nostalgic News: Clueless released 20 years ago today". 18 July 2015.

Further reading edit

  • Malone, Noreen (October 14, 2014). "What Do You Really Mean When You Say 'Basic Bitch'?". NYMag.com.
  • Gould, Emily (October 30, 2014). "Regrets of my "basic bitch" Halloween costume". Salon.com.
  • Gay, Jason (April 21, 2014). "Emma Stone: Funny, Fashionable, 4 New Films". Vogue.
  • Henderson, J. Maureen (December 8, 2014). "The B Word: Why We Should Embrace Being 'Basic' Instead Of Scorning It". Forbes.

April 18, 2024
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For the term for a young urban white woman originating in Chicago see Trixie slang Basic is a slang term in American popular culture used pejoratively to describe people who are perceived to prefer mainstream products trends and music 1 Basic bitch originated in hip hop culture and rose in popularity through rap music songs blogs and videos from 2011 to 2014 2 3 Their male counterparts are usually termed bros 4 5 6 Similar labels to basic bitch or airhead in other English speaking countries include contemporary British Essex girls and Sloane Rangers and Australian haul girls known for their love of shopping for designer gear and uploading videos of their purchases on YouTube 7 8 9 Contents 1 History 1 1 Origins 1 2 1990s and 2000s 1 3 2010s 2 Fashion and stereotypes 3 Interpretations and criticism 4 In the media 5 See also 6 References 7 Further readingHistory editOrigins edit Before the 1980s airhead was general American slang for a ditzy clumsy or stupid person 10 With the rise of the valley girl 11 and preppy subculture however the term was applied to cheerleaders 12 and nouveau riche or middle class hangers on who imitated the uptalk speech 13 and clothing of the upper class popular girls These airheads material girls or gold diggers were stereotypically viewed by their classmates as unintelligent gossipy 14 bimbettes who were interested solely in spreading rumors about their rivals and entering relationships with the wealthy jocks 15 1990s and 2000s edit During the late 1990s and early 2000s airheads began to be regarded as a distinct middle class subculture in many suburban American high schools although appearance wise they initially differed little from the traditionalist upper class preps 16 At the time many wealthy white jocks and younger preppies had begun imitating urban fashion trends eschewing the semi formal conservative look of the 1980s and 1990s in favor of gold bling expensive designer clothes sneakers dark jeans and sweatpants 17 Rich girls who dressed this way were known as Queen Bees and their followers were known as plastics or airheads 18 Members of this clique believed their designer clothing as a manifestation of conspicuous consumption was key to being popular 19 2010s edit This section s factual accuracy is disputed Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please help to ensure that disputed statements are reliably sourced January 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message The term basic bitch was coined in 2009 20 by comedian Lil Duval 21 3 Over the next two years it appeared in several American rap songs In the songs Hard in the Paint by Tyga and I m not a Human Being by Lil Wayne the singers insist that they are not basic bitches while in the song Basic Bitch by the Game the singer warns others to avoid basic bitches because they are fake 21 In 2011 rapper Kreayshawn debuted her song Gucci Gucci which included the chorus Gucci Gucci Louis Louis Fendi Fendi Prada basic bitches wear that shit so I don t even bother In 2014 CollegeHumor released a parody video of a wife being diagnosed by a doctor as a basic bitch to the horror of her husband 22 2 3 Fashion and stereotypes edit nbsp Ugg boots often referenced in songs and articles about cultural trends as a brand of footwear loved by so called basic womenFrom the 1990s 23 until the early 2010s both boys and girls from the popular clique often combined budget preppy 24 clothes with supposedly edgy elements of mainstream hip hop fashion in imitation of the outfits worn by early adopter black rappers such as Kanye West 25 26 27 Miniskirts Nike brand sneakers 28 pastel colors like pale blue or baby pink expensive Aeropostale Hollister Co 29 or Abercrombie and Fitch clothes 30 designer clothes or accessories purchased by one s parents 19 grey marl sweatpants crop tops white Converse sneakers 31 leggings 32 and Ugg boots remained common among American airheads Aussie haul girls 7 and Essex girls during the 2010s Other items of clothing formerly fashionable in the 1990s such as polo shirts with popped collars have gone out of style Common amongst this subculture is a love of brunch often with Prosecco and sweet modern cocktails such as porn star martinis Popular girls in Britain Australia New Zealand the United States and Canada are often accused of meanness 33 gossip snobbery narrowmindedness homophobia intolerance 34 flaunting their apparent wealth backstabbing shallowness body shaming 35 slut shaming contempt for the poor 36 and openly bullying other girls to maintain their own privileged position 37 Interpretations and criticism editReferring to an object or a person as basic has a variety of connotations When used to refer to people it can mean a criticism of shallow materialism 38 in songs that use the term popular luxury brands like Gucci and Prada are referenced to suggest that the people who wear them are buying rather than earning their fashionability and social status 39 Decrying the basic bitch s love of bland boring products like Ugg boots and Starbucks pumpkin spice lattes is a rhetorical technique that allows the singer to appear cooler by comparison 40 In an article in The Guardian titled Why I m proud to be a basic bitch British journalist Daisy Buchanan criticizes the cultural trend of using basic bitch as an insult pointing out that those who label other women as basic bitches are dismissing all cultural feminine signifiers and mak ing assumptions about a woman s interests and habits based on her sex The implication of this claim is that material possessions and consumption are in fact markers of femininity 41 Widespread usage of the term to mock the behavior and interests of girlfriends or wives conforms to the most bland and uncreative stereotypes of late capitalist femininity and suggests a misogynistic attitude toward all women according to Michael Reid Roberts in an article in The American Reader 40 In the media editSince the 1980s the airhead or popular clique have often been cast as the antagonists in high school and teen movies 42 Examples include Valley Girl The Clique Heathers Girl Fight A Cinderella Story Odd Girl Out Frenemies Pretty in Pink Mean Girls and Clueless 43 The sitcom The Good Place 2016 2020 which takes place in a fictional afterlife famously popularized the phrase when the main character Eleanor Shellstrop played by Kristen Bell comically told her boyfriend Face it Chidi ya basic In a later season the character Michael played by Ted Danson uses the same epithet against two another characters The show then satirized the then common confusion about the term as Michael then finds himself having to explain what basic means It s devastating You re devastated right now when the other two are completely unaware of the term See also editHimbo Normcore Becky slang References edit The United States of Basic Bitches A Map and Field Guide Jezebel 30 June 2014 a b Schreiber Abby October 16 2014 Why are basic bitches taking over the zeitgeist right now Paper Retrieved December 24 2014 a b c Alter Charlotte April 30 2014 How Conformity Became a Crime Time Retrieved December 24 2014 50 Signs You re Dating a Basic Bro Phoenix New Times 10 December 2014 Most Basic Bros in Sports Bleacher Report 10 December 2014 23 Phrases That Let You Know You re Talking To A Basic Bro MTV 10 December 2014 a b A spotter s guide to the emerging tribes of Sydney 7 June 2014 19 Ways To Instantly Spot A Basic Bitch In Dublin lovindublin com Petridis Alexis 20 March 2014 Youth subcultures what are they now The Guardian via www theguardian com Ayto John Simpson John 11 February 2010 Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang OUP Oxford ISBN 978 0 19 923205 5 via Google Books Valley Girl and identity creation Stephenson Hailey ed 14 November 2011 Cheerleaders is the media to blame for stereotypes We all speak like Valley girls now NBC News NBC News 10 December 2013 Valley Girl 29 April 1983 via IMDb In The 80s Glossary of Eighties Terms Allis Sam 16 July 2009 Let me school you about preppies Boston com via The Boston Globe Last White Superstar Web archive org 10 January 2010 The Meanest High School Girls in Movies 18 October 2013 a b Choron Sandra Choron Harry 24 October 2002 the Book of Lists for Teens Houghton Mifflin Harcourt via Internet Archive Petersen Anne Helen October 20 2014 What We re Really Afraid Of When We Call Someone Basic BuzzFeed News a b Lange Maggie April 10 2014 The Basic Bitch Who Is She NYMag com Retrieved September 15 2014 Alex Abad Santos April 22 2014 Basic a beginner s guide to everyone s favorite new insult Vox com Retrieved September 15 2014 It s Baggy It s Preppy It s Hip hop It s What s In Why Abercrombie amp Fitch Isn t Cool Anymore Business Insider Runell Marcella Diaz Martha 1 January 2007 The Hip Hop Education Guidebook Volume 1 Lulu com ISBN 9780615142623 via Google Books Son of Muffy Preppy Style Returns Extra Dry and With a Twist The New York Times 19 December 2000 Bucholtz Mary 23 December 2010 White Kids Language Race and Styles of Youth Identity Cambridge University Press ISBN 9781139495097 via Google Books 26 signs you re the absolute queen of basic bitches Archived from the original on 2016 04 17 Retrieved 2016 04 02 Dishman Lydia 25 February 2015 Why teens stopped shopping at Abercrombie amp Fitch and Wet Seal The Guardian Wattrick Jeff The Only Thing Worse Than Abercrombie amp Fitch Is This Anti Abercrombie amp Fitch Movement Watch SNL Writer Reclaims the Term Basic Bitch From the Mouths of Women Hating Women Alternet org April 5 2016 Bickham Liana Satenstein Jorden 19 September 2014 7 Basic Fall Looks to Embrace Your Inner Basic a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Carter Nicola 16 May 2013 Has Abercrombie amp Fitch s CEO really made a Big fat marketing mistake The Guardian The Truth About Basic Bitches They Could Ruin Your Life 12 April 2014 Gossip one upmanship and cruel jokes I was the school Mean Girl The Telegraph 30 March 2016 A comprehensive manual on becoming an EX4 basic betch 21 October 2015 Brown Lyn Mikel 1 March 2005 Girlfighting Betrayal and Rejection Among Girls NYU Press ISBN 9780814799512 via Google Books Noreen Malone October 2014 What do you really mean by basic bitch New York Magazine Retrieved September 22 2022 Peters Lucia 11 September 2014 How to Spot the Basic Bitch Bustle a b Michael Reid Roberts The Life and Death of American Slang Part II Bae and Basic Bitch The American Reader Retrieved September 15 2014 Daisy Buchanan April 14 2014 Why I m proud to be a basic bitch The Guardian Retrieved September 15 2014 Pellot Emerald 14 July 2014 The 15 Most Basic Bitch Movies In History Ranked Nostalgic News Clueless released 20 years ago today 18 July 2015 Further reading editMalone Noreen October 14 2014 What Do You Really Mean When You Say Basic Bitch NYMag com Gould Emily October 30 2014 Regrets of my basic bitch Halloween costume Salon com Gay Jason April 21 2014 Emma Stone Funny Fashionable 4 New Films Vogue Henderson J Maureen December 8 2014 The B Word Why We Should Embrace Being Basic Instead Of Scorning It Forbes Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Basic slang amp oldid 1213730248, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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