“Basic bitch.”

It’s a common colloquialism referring to plain, uninteresting white girls who are into all things mainstream. Common favorites of the basic bitch are Starbucks’ pumpkin spice lattes, UGG boots, Bath and Body Works, manicures, E! News and the fall season.

An example of something a basic bitch would say is, “Britnay (spelled unconventionally because she is unique–obviously), let’s get low-fat pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks before we go get mani-pedis and then we can hit up that sale at Bath and Body Works.”

Being basic isn’t always limited to vapid white

girls. The term basic can apply to any ethnicity or gender. If a guy wears an athletic t-shirt, basketball shorts, Nikes and black Nike socks, that is considered basic, too. Basic Bitch Avenue is a multi- way street, ya’ll.

But are Starbucks and Nikes really basic? I don’t think so. I challenge the idea of the basic bitch with this: when a certain item or store is commonly liked by people across America it is not basic, it’s a shared hu- man experience. Common trends across America are part of our culture and should be celebrated, not replaced with a false sense of individuality.

Why do we demean the very things that bring us together? Why do we shit on people for being a part of cultural norms?

Because we’re assholes, that’s why.

People like to place themselves above others. As humans, we do this by both promoting ourselves and demoting others. The hip new way of alienating our peers is to consider yourself alternative or hipster, while you consider the rest of the world to be basic.

But why does being basic have to be a bad thing? Being a basic bitch is only bad because society is cur- rently telling us it is. Don’t let society dictate who you are or what you want to do.

My advice to you is this: be whoever you want to be. Don’t listen to anyone who judges you, just listen to Miley Cyrus: “Forget the haters ‘cause some- body loves ya.”