"Basic" is a

slang A slang is a vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in everyday conversation but avoided in formal writing and speech. It also often refers to the language exclusively used by the members of pa ...

term in American popular culture, used pejoratively to describe culturally unoriginal people, particularly young women, who are perceived to prefer products, trends, and music that will make them look

upper class Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status. Usually, these are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper cla ...

even though they are not. "Basic bitch" originated in

hip hop culture Hip-hop culture is an art movement that emerged in New York City, in the borough of The Bronx; Primarily within the black community. Hip Hop as an art form and culture has been heavily influenced by both male and female artists. It is charac ...

and rose in popularity through rap music, songs, blogs, and videos from 2011 to 2014. The male counterpart can often be put under the " bro" label. 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

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History

Origins

Before the 1980s, "airhead" was general American slang for a ditzy, clumsy or stupid person. With the rise of the valley girl and preppy subculture however, the term was applied to cheerleaders 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

"Basic" was used as a person descriptor in 1992 on the show The Wonder Years, Season 5, Episode 6 (Episode "Triangle"), at time index 11:57. "Basic" was also used as a person descriptor in 1994 on the show Reboot, Season 1, Episode 10 (v1.10, "The Great Brain Robbery"), at time index 12:10. 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 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 (American English, US) or trainers (British English, UK), also known by a #Names, wide variety of other names, are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but are also widely used for everyday casual ...

, dark jeans, and sweatpants. Rich girls who dressed this way were known as '' Queen Bees'' 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 c ...

, was key to being popular. 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 Micheal Ray StevensonMicheal Ray Stevenson

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.

2010s

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 Dropout, incorporated as CH Media and formerly known as CollegeHumor, is an Internet comedy company based in Los Angeles that produces content for release on its streaming service Dropout (streaming platform), Dropout as well as YouTube. Dropou ...

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 preppy 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 Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

. Miniskirts, Nike brand sneakers, pastel colors like pale blue or baby pink, expensive Aeropostale,

Hollister Co Hollister Co., often advertised as Hollister or HCo., is a retail brand owned by Abercrombie & Fitch Co, selling apparel, accessories, and fragrances. Goods are available in-store and through the company's online store. Hollister says it was fo ...

or Abercrombie and Fitch clothes, designer clothes or accessories purchased by one's parents, grey marl sweatpants, crop tops, white Converse sneakers, leggings, and Ugg boots 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 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, gossip, snobbery, narrowmindedness,

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

, 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 monism, philosophical monism according to which matter is the fundamental Substance theory, substance in nature, and all things, including mind, mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. Acco ...

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

Gucci Guccio Gucci S.p.A., doing business as Gucci ( , ), is an Italian Luxury goods, luxury fashion house based in Florence. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and ...

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

social status Social status is the relative level of social value a person is considered to possess. Such social value includes respect, honour, honor, assumed competence, and deference. On one hand, social scientists view status as a "reward" for group members ...

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

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational List of coffeehouse chains, chain of coffeehouses and Starbucks Reserve, roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gor ...

pumpkin spice lattes is a rhetorical technique that allows the singer to appear cooler by comparison. In an article in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' 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'', '' The Clique'', '' Heathers'', '' Girl Fight'', '' A Cinderella Story'', '' Odd Girl Out'', '' Frenemies'', '' Pretty in Pink'', '' Mean Girls'', and '' Clueless''. 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 other 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.