#USSlang: ‘Basic bitch’

Today we’ll talk about a slang word that has gotten popular lately, esp. online: “Basic Bitch.”

A ‘basic bitch’ is an insult commonly targeted at young women.

It means a woman who is fulfilling all the stereotype of the most common girl. She loves the mall, she reads lifestyle magazine, she listens to Taylor Swift, she does Instagram – basically all the things every woman seems to be doing. Most of all, she is also happy about doing it. She doesn’t wish to be different or be out of the box.

‘Basic bitch’ is basically a way to say someone is boring, predictable, or had failed to surprise us. Or as urban Indonesians often say, ‘anaknya biasa banget’ or ‘orangnya ya gitu-gitu aja’ or ‘selera kebanyakan/umum.’

Example:

A: “What do you think of John’s new girlfriend?”
B: “Nah, she’s very basic.”

According to Urban Dictionary, ‘basic bitch’ started out as a slang word used in African-American communities. Its original meaning was ‘a girl who was too easy,’ or ‘a girl who would sleep or date with anyone.’ But language develops and now it is used to refer to ‘a stereotypical white woman.’

Some feminists criticise the use of the word because of their demeaning nature against women. (Demeaning = merendahkan.)

Here’s an interesting piece written by a girl who proudly refers to herself as basic: In defense of being ‘basic ‘

People ridiculing others for preferring one specific flavor of coffee on a given day are the ones with a problem.

After all, it’s always better to stay true to yourself no matter what others think of it. It’s much better than being cool or different but fake. Being a basic is simply the opposite of being a hipster; you’re not aiming to be different or anti-mainstream.

There’s even a Buzzfeed quiz to check ‘How Basic Are You‘

Sources: Urban Dictionary, VICE, Red&Black

Compiled by @animenur for @EnglishTips4U on Sunday, November 16, 2014