I’m basic and proud of it. I’m here to highlight the negative connotation around the word “basic.” Does it really have to be so bad?
I enjoy life. I love Taylor Swift, pumpkin spice lattes, and rom-coms. It's a choice I make everyday, not to fit in, but to live life to the fullest, through my favorite things. Often being “basic” is an insult, but I believe it is more about popular interests, and let’s be honest: they’re popular for a reason!
When Taylor Swift started the music industry, releasing her debut album, fans weren’t critiqued for enjoying her work and her personality. But as she grew and became a staple in international culture, it soon became “basic” to support her, and she faced the harshest criticism of her life. But why the change? Because she was popular. Society supports the idea of originality rather than similarity, but we can’t truly expect each person to be “better” than the popular ideas and arts.
Culture is a shared experience. Popular interests bond people together, providing a topic of conversation, unspoken understanding, and an idea of culture which brings people into a community. For instance, think of the bond between girls screaming “Pink Pony Club" in the car together. It’s genuinely fun, and everybody now has a shared experience to look back on. Do people really want to sing a song no one else knows, and if they do, how long until it becomes so popular that it is now basic?
In a world where everyone wants to be original, connection is lost in the process. Popular interests and styles become common experiences and topics of conversation to bond people together. Whether it is through a popular artist or a sport people play, a community can be cultivated, leading to a sense of belonging and connection. Even the clothes you wear can set off a chain of events which is true community. This could be feeling valued by fitting in with the popular clothing, or perhaps just noticing someone else's style and realizing you can relate. If everyone is entirely different, what do we have to work with when cultivating new relationships and conversations?