Back to Basics

In the past year, the word “basic” has morphed from being items every girl should have in her wardrobe to the easiest way of throwing shade.

According to Urban Dictionary, basic is now defined as:

Only interested in things mainstream, popular, and trending.

Someone who is boring, bland or uninteresting.

A word to describe anyone who is not up to your group’s standards in any category. Everything they do is just sub-standard quality and falls short to the quality level of your group.

With this month’s issue being themed around going back to basics, the whole thing has sparked a lot of discussion in our office. Personally, I don’t get why the popular is so frowned upon – if almost everyone is against it, doesn’t that make being non-basic basic by proxy? And doesn’t that make these alleged basics actually cool?

In the interest of full disclosure, I must confess that many of the “Basic B*tch Starter Pack” memes on Instagram consists of lots of my favourite things – millennial pink swatches (pretty! flattering!), rosé (delicious AND pretty!), and The Bachelor.

What’s wrong with any of those? Why the hate? I wonder if it stems from a backlash against the fact that we seem to always be categorised under aggravatingly generic titles like “millennials” – this actually covers 17 years and, in the case of some “millennials”, is literally a lifetime of difference. Associate Editor Karen delves deeper into these Internet-coined terms on p62, wondering if perhaps we’re going to look back on the word “squad” and cringe, the way other generations have on what we now classify as politically incorrect terms.

In the meantime, if being basic means I can openly enjoy a Starbucks seasonal beverage, I’m happy to keep swimming in the mainstream…

Top 5 podcasts that will make your commute 47% more worthwhile

1. Girl Boss This is like having a mentor in your pocket. Sophia Amoruso, the lady who coined the phrase herself, interviews interesting ladies of all career paths to find out about their journey and get their advice. Don’t be put off by the first five to 10 minutes, which is just her chatting with her friend and can be a bit weird.

2. Stuff You Should Know Appear smarter on just about any topic – from what it’s like to die, to how food tasters work and why crack cocaine spread in America in the ’80s – thanks to this podcast. Your dinner party chat just went up 20 points.

3. Freakonomics A little like Stuff You Should Know, Freakonomics will leave you feeling wellschooled on a topic. The difference is it takes an economic look at some major trends, diving into research in a very digestible way.

4. This American Life This one’s for you, introverts. It’s like getting to chat with interesting people... without actually having to talk to them.

5. My Dad Wrote a Porno As the name suggests, a young guy is bestowed the most unsettling gift of all time by his father, who wrote under the pen name Rocky Flintstone. He reviews it with two of his friends. Be prepared to actually LOL on your train and get weird stares.

Photography Nyen.