We love Starbucks. We love any and every kind of boot. We really love leggings. We don’t really love the fact that simply because we like delicious warm coffee, stylish and comfortable footwear and would much rather wear sleek and slimming leggings constitutes us as “basic white girls.”
I wonder, does it racially make sense to lump all girls who abide by these trends and call them “basic white girls?” Is it gender relevant to call boys who like these same things “basic white girls?” But then I think about the context in which we use this stereotype. You see, so often people are using it as an insult to classify girls who like similar things into the category of “basic white girl.” Naturally, we need to identify people as something, we need to put them in a certain category because it helps us figure out who they are. We also naturally compare people to ourselves and to other people, finding things that lump us together. I hate to break it to those who think that by deeming someone as a “basic white girl” does not mean you can identify with them, assume things about them or think that you know them.
If you’re going to assume something about a "basic white girl", assume she’s smart, assume she knows what’s up in the fashion world, assume she knows that she’s basic and doesn’t need you to tell her because she’s proud of her leggings and recently downloaded Justin Bieber album.
Instead of thinking of being a “basic white girl” as a negative thing, we should take it as a compliment. Under the stereotype of being a “basic white girl,” we are trendy, we are comfortable and we are always caffeinated. I don’t know about you, but I don’t see any of these things as something to be insulted by.
On top of these obvious advantages of being a “basic white girl,” we also have the best phones, we’re really good at editing pictures and we have excellent taste in movies – Pitch Perfect and Mean Girls, anyone? It’s interesting that because we’re white and so called basic that it’s such a joke and stereotype for us to also like similar movies, have the same high-tech phones and have the most liked pictures on Instagram.
When we take the phrase of “basic white girl” as a compliment, we see the true beauty in what it means to be one of our kind. You see, many of us are “basic white girls” at some time or another, which we should be flattered by, not embarrassed for. We get every 12 drinks at Starbucks for free (holla, except we pay five dollars per drink to get there, oops), we know the best and most inspirational quotes so we give the best advice and we are always, always down for a wine night. We’re pretty much the bestest friends anyone could ever ask for in the entire world.
To all the basic white girls, go ahead and love yourselves first, tell the haters you #canteven and enjoy your psl in peace.
