I saw this sketch back when it first aired and it got me thinking. What’s so bad about being basic? I admit to being guilty of using the word right up until I realized that maybe I wasn’t as bougie as I thought. Yes, I’ve had better, but on a day to day basis I genuinely enjoy Starbucks coffee. I watched the entire run of “New Girl” starring Zooey Deschanel and though most of it was pretty funny. I have to avoid Target unless I have a defined shopping list or I’ll end up with a cart full of (fun, but) unnecessary goodies. And while I don’t particularly enjoy pumpkin spiced lattes, I love almost everything else about the season they represent. I, too, am basic.
ba·sic/ˈbāsik
Oxford English Dictionary
adjective
1. forming an essential foundation or starting point; fundamental. “Certain basic rules must be obeyed”
I spent a good chunk of my childhood wanting to be That Girl. Once I got older and realized how much work being a “bad bitch” really is, I didn’t want that lifestyle even though I spent a few years wishing I did. That archetype is celebrated as the feminine ideal, while “basic bitches” make up the majority of your stay at home wives and soccer moms. The stereotype is that they don’t do anything but go to yoga/pilates/barre class, go to mimosa lunches, shop, and take care of their families. I don’t know about you but that sounds like my kind of fun!
Nobody ever said basic chicks were unhappy.
– Me
I’ve turned into a basic suburban wife and it’s everything I ever dreamed of. But I like getting up on Saturday mornings, drinking coffee and making breakfast while my husband mows the lawn. I like leaving work to go to a quiet home on a quiet street. I don’t even mind cleaning up as much as I used to because for the first time, I own my residence. I may not be living the most exciting life but I am truly the happiest I’ve ever been.
All things considered, I live a pretty conventional life. I went to college, straight on to law school, married my college sweetheart, moved cross country for his career and bought a house. It worked out for me but the traditional patterns of adulthood are just that, traditional. They aren’t the best path or the only path to adulting. In fact, soul singer Chrisette Michelle makes a great case for why she needs to live the nomadic single life for now and possibly forever. And it’s great that she knows herself well enough not to force her life into a shape that suffocates her.
I’m a modern woman and my career is important to me. I love the legal profession and the never-ending opportunities for learning that it provides. But at the end of the day, legal work is enough excitement for me. I thrive in domesticity and I’m content with the choices that brought me here. I wish everyone the same peace and happiness, however it may come about.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with being “basic.” I was never a woman who strived to be a bad bitch. I remember my mom always trying to push certain things on me and I hated it. I was a tomboy. I played sports, in and out of school, and I was pretty rough. I didn’t wear dresses nor did I strive to keep up with the latest fashion. I wore combat boots and cargo pants much into my high school years. It was only then that my style became more versatile. I’m still not really much of a girly girl, but the thought doesn’t really repulse me like it use to. My life is simple. I work, come home, take care of my family, play video games and read. I’d say I’m pretty damned basic. But my home is my sanctuary. I love cleaning, cooking, and just overall taking care of my home.
Agreed! Sometimes it’s the simple things in life that bring the most joy.