I have a bone to pick with our generation (including myself, because I am guilty of this too!). Please, can we stop this horrible categorization of women with the use of the word 'basic'. I guess it was funny for a while, making fun of people for just going with the status quo. Yet, if you really think about it, the only time people ever put others down it is in order to immaturely attempt to raise themselves up.

It has to end.

Again, I am so guilty of this too, that is why this is not a plea to just a certain group of people, but to everyone.

Let's start out first with defining what everyone seems to think a 'basic b*tch' or 'basic girl' is exactly.

First, I talked to my friends and considered my own idea of what 'basic' really is and what we came up with follows:

-Must have the daily dose of three standard drinks from Starbucks (Frappuccinos encouraged, cappuccinos accepted)

-Must stick to the strict dress code of yoga pants (Lulu's ONLY), puffy vests, UGG boots (Birkenstock now acceptable) and straight hair

-Must be active on Instagram and Twitter, use of inspirational quotes is REQUIRED

Okay, so it sounds like most everyone I asked had the same idea of what a 'basic girl' looks like, but I needed a definition of what a 'basic girl' is or acts like. So, with caution, I took to the internet and what I found was truly disturbing. Here are just some of the phrases I read used to define 'basic':

-No personality

-Upholds the status quo

-Typical

-Boring and unoriginal

-Extra regular female

Side note: I went to Urban Dictionary in the hopes that I could find a definition to quickly cite to explain what everyone thinks of when defining someone as 'basic'. Soon I realized after sifting through the many offensive and crude definitions I wouldn't find one that I felt comfortable letting my article give attention to. I think it should be said that if I couldn't find ONE appropriate definition it is obvious that there is a real problem to attend to.

So there you have it. A 'basic girl' is a Starbucks toting, legging wearing, social media-using, boring, extra regular female.

Yeah, that's not offensive at all.

Here's the thing, it is absolutely, one hundred percent, not okay to call another human being boring and unoriginal because of their Starbucks order (or just the fact that they went to Starbucks! My Grandpa goes to Starbucks, come on people). Or think of someone as typical and extra regular because they shop at a certain store or wear their hair a specific way.

It's called trends! That's what happens as time goes on. Trends come and they go. Some, granted, are better than others and some should maybe disappear with the year they belonged to. Yet, a trend is not something new. Just ask your parents what everyone wore back in the eighties, they will list off a pretty definite list of items. So why is it that now we can so easily put people down because of their preference for the current trend?

Not just people, either. Women. Yes, I have heard a guy being referred to as 'basic' (once...maybe twice). For the most part though, it is women who are the constant target for this simple word with an incredibly rude connotation.

Why is this?

It's a way of shoving women in a box and putting them down for it. Frankly, I've had enough. I go to Starbucks almost every day, because I enjoy the cinnamon dolce latte. I wear yoga pants and leggings because they are comfortable and sometimes I don't want to put jeans on. I post quotes with my Instagram photos because I am an aspiring writer and have always found quotes to be fascinating. I will fight you if you ever try to take away my Birkenstocks because they are actually the most comfortable shoes I have ever owned in my life.

That's supposed to make me typical, boring, unoriginal...regular.

Basic.

I reject that. And I reject it for all my fellow women out there who have been deemed 'basic' because of something they like, that someone else just so happens to like as well.

I refuse to bend over backwards to try and make myself original for you. Or more interesting. If you asked me, I humbly say I am already an interesting person. With big hopes and dreams and some pretty good stories to tell you. Some people wouldn't know that though because they are too busy shoving me in that 'basic' box again.

So I ask you, please stop calling her basic.

If you're going to so disrespectfully put someone down, at least come up with something more original.