I don’t like pumpkin spice lattes, I don’t wear North Face jackets, I have only ever worn one single pair of Uggs, but I do have a white iPhone, yet I am not a “basic white girl,” and neither are you.
If you like all of the items listed above, then good for you! You know what you like and you stick to it, but as PSL season rears its ugly head again, so does the idea of a “basic white girl.” I have always contested this statement since it first emerged. How can you take any girl who likes one (or more) popular item and categorize her in a way that is meant to be funny, but just sounds demeaning?
How is this demeaning, you might ask. Well, I’ll tell you. Being a “basic white girl” is said with a negative connotation already. When I hear this term, I immediately think of a girl who cannot think for herself and just follows a trend. The basic white girl is stereotyped as just a silly teenager who can fit the mold created just because they like something. A majority of girls don’t actually like all of these items. Sorry, but it is the truth. But when this kind of persona type is created, it can make girls think that this is what they have to like or enjoy in order to fit a certain mold. It is not body shaming or anything like that; it is creating a sort of status that, unfortunately, some girls find funny to fit.
Like many girls my age, I follow trends; I try to stay up to date on what is or isn’t in style. If 20 other girls have a basic item like the Free People sweater or white Converse, chances are I might too. It happens when you go to college and a certain style is popular on your campus. That doesn’t make us basic; it makes us normal, like everyone else in the world who follows a popular trend in their area.
This idea of a “basic white girl” needs to come to an end. It is outdated, tiring, and just plain-old annoying. Maybe it's time we start a trend that celebrates the little things that make us different.
I don’t like pumpkin spice lattes; I like my coffee black. I don’t wear a North Face, except for when I don’t want to drag my parka around the bar in the winter, and I wear a giant parka. I don’t wear Uggs; I wear my Bean boots. I do, however, have a white iPhone, because that’s what the store had at the time. I am not a “basic white girl.” I am me.
