"Basic" is a slang term in

American popular culture The culture of the United States of America is primarily of Western, and European origin, yet its influences includes the cultures of Asian American, African American, Latin American, and Native American peoples and their cultures. The U ...

used pejoratively to describe people who are perceived to prefer mainstream products, trends, and music. "Basic bitch" originated in hip hop culture and rose in popularity through

rap music Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

, songs, blogs, and videos from 2011 to 2014. Their male counterparts are usually termed " bros". Similar labels to "basic bitch" or "airhead" in other English-speaking countries include contemporary British "

Essex girl Essex girl, as a pejorative stereotype in the United Kingdom, applies to a woman viewed as promiscuous and unintelligent, characteristics jocularly attributed to women from the county of Essex. It is applied widely throughout the country and has g ...

s" and " Sloane Rangers", and Australian "haul girls" known for their love of shopping for designer gear, and uploading videos of their purchases on YouTube.

History

Origins

Before the 1980s, "airhead" was general American slang for a ditzy, clumsy or stupid person. With the rise of the

valley girl A valley girl is a socioeconomic, linguistic, and youth subcultural stereotype and stock character originating during the 1980s: any materialistic upper-middle-class young woman, associated with unique vocal and California dialect features, fr ...

and

preppy Preppy (also spelled preppie) or prep (all abbreviations of the word ''preparatory'') is a subculture in the United States associated with the alumni of old private Northeastern college preparatory schools. The terms are used to denote a perso ...

subculture however, the term was applied to

cheerleader Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

s and nouveau riche or middle class hangers-on who imitated the uptalk speech and clothing of the upper class popular girls. These airheads, material girls or gold diggers were stereotypically viewed by their classmates as unintelligent, gossipy bimbettes who were interested solely in spreading rumors about their rivals and entering relationships with the wealthy jocks.

1990s and 2000s

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. At the time, many wealthy white jocks and younger

preppies Preppy (also spelled preppie) or prep (all abbreviations of the word ''preparatory'') is a subculture in the United States associated with the alumni of old private education, private Northeastern United States, Northeastern college preparator ...

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 Sneakers (also called trainers, athletic shoes, tennis shoes, gym shoes, kicks, sport shoes, flats, running shoes, or runners) are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but which are now also widely used fo ...

, dark jeans, and

sweatpants Sweatpants are a casual variety of soft trousers intended for comfort or athletic purposes, although they are now worn in many different situations. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa they are known as ...

. Rich girls who dressed this way were known as ''

Queen Bees ''Queen Bees'' is an eight-episode competition series produced by Endemol USA. It aired on The N from July 11 to August 29, 2008. The show brings a group of teen "queen bees" together to live under one roof. Through a series of challenges designed ...

'' and their followers were known as ''plastics'', or ''airheads''. Members of this clique believed their designer clothing, as a manifestation of

conspicuous consumption In sociology and in economics, the term conspicuous consumption describes and explains the consumer practice of buying and using goods of a higher quality, price, or in greater quantity than practical. In 1899, the sociologist Thorstein Veblen co ...

, was key to being popular.

2010s

The term ''basic bitch'' was coined in 2009 by comedian Lil' Duval. 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 Game or The Games may refer to: Sports and games * The Game (dice game) (German: ''Das Spiel''), a dice game designed by Reinhold Wittig * The Game (mind game), a mind game, the objective of which is to avoid thinking about The Game itself * ...

, the singer warns others to avoid basic bitches because they are fake. 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.

Fashion and stereotypes

From the 1990s until the early 2010s, both boys and girls from the popular clique often combined budget

clothes with supposedly edgy elements of mainstream

hip hop fashion Hip hop fashion (also known as rap fashion) is a style of dress originating from Urban Black America and inner-city youth located in New York City, followed by Los Angeles, then other cities across the United States. All have contributed various ...

, in imitation of the outfits worn by

early adopter An early adopter or lighthouse customer is an early customer of a given company, product, or technology. The term originates from Everett M. Rogers' ''Diffusion of Innovations'' (1962). History Typically, early adopters are customers who, in ad ...

black rappers such as Kanye West. Miniskirts, Nike brand sneakers, bleached blonde hair, pastel colors like pale blue or

baby pink Pink colors are usually light or desaturated shades of reds, roses, and magentas which are created on computer and television screens using the RGB color model and in printing with the CMYK color model. As such, it is an arbitrary classificat ...

, expensive Aeropostale, Hollister Co or Abercrombie and Fitch clothes, designer clothes or accessories purchased by one's parents, grey

marl Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, clays, and silt. When hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. Marl makes up the lower part o ...

sweatpants, crop tops, white

Converse sneakers Chuck Taylor All-Stars or Converse All Stars (also referred to as "Converse", "Chuck Taylors", "Chucks", "Cons", "All Stars", and "Chucky Ts") is a model of casual shoe manufactured by Converse (a subsidiary of Nike, Inc. since 2003) that was i ...

, leggings, and

Ugg boots Ugg boots are a unisex style of sheepskin boot originating in Australia. The boots are typically made of twin-faced sheepskin with fleece on the inside, a tanned outer surface and a synthetic sole. The term "ugg boots" originated in Australia ...

remained common among American airheads, Aussie haul girls and Essex girls during the 2010s. Other items of clothing formerly fashionable in the 1990s, such as polo shirts with

popped collar An upturned collar (or popped collar) is an otherwise flat, protruding collar of either a shirt, Polo, jacket, or coat that has been turned upward. History Origins Before the early 20th century, most shirt collars were turned up in some manner. ...

s, 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, gossip, snobbery, narrowmindedness,

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...

, intolerance, flaunting their apparent wealth, backstabbing, shallowness, body shaming, slut shaming, contempt for the poor, and openly bullying other girls to maintain their own privileged position.

Interpretations and criticism

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 Materialism is a form of philosophical monism which holds matter to be the fundamental substance in nature, and all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. According to philosophical materiali ...

; in songs that use the term, popular luxury brands like Gucci and

Prada Prada S.p.A. (, ; ) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada. It specializes in leather handbags, travel accessories, shoes, ready-to-wear, and other fashion accessories. Prada licenses its name and branding t ...

are referenced to suggest that the people who wear them are buying, rather than earning, their fashionability and

social status Social status is the level of social value a person is considered to possess. More specifically, it refers to the relative level of respect, honour, assumed competence, and deference accorded to people, groups, and organizations in a society. Stat ...

. Decrying the basic bitch's love of bland, boring products like

and

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...

pumpkin spice latte The Pumpkin Spice Latte is a coffee drink made with a mix of traditional autumn spice flavors (cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove), steamed milk, espresso, and often sugar, topped with whipped cream and pumpkin pie spice. The beverage is most commonl ...

s is a rhetorical technique that allows the singer to appear cooler by comparison. 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 ngassumptions 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. 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''.

In the media

Since the 1980s, the airhead or popular clique have often been cast as the antagonists in high school and teen movies. Examples include ''

Valley Girl A valley girl is a socioeconomic, linguistic, and youth subcultural stereotype and stock character originating during the 1980s: any materialistic upper-middle-class young woman, associated with unique vocal and California dialect features, fr ...

'', '' The Clique'', '' Heathers'', '' Girl Fight'', '' A Cinderella Story'', ''

Odd Girl Out ''Odd Girl Out'' is a 2005 drama telefilm starring Alexa Vega, Lisa Vidal, Elizabeth Rice, Alicia Morton, Leah Pipes, Shari Dyon Perry, Joey Nappo, and Chad Biagini. First aired April 4, 2005 on Lifetime, the film is based on the book ''Odd Gir ...

'', '' Frenemies'', '' Pretty in Pink'', '' Mean Girls'', and '' Clueless''.