Basic Bitch

About

“Basic Bitch” is a pejorative term used to describe an individual who displays cliche, conformist or otherwise predictable character traits. The antithesis of a basic bitch is referred to as a “bad bitch.”

Origin

The exact origin of the term “basic bitch” is unknown. The earliest known use of the term online was submitted to Urban Dictionary^[2] on July 10th, 2009 by user Meeks901, who definined it as a woman with a dull personality.

Spread

On August 3rd, 2009, YouTuber SpokenReasons uploaded a video by comedian Roland Powell, who listed several examples of behaviors that make a woman a “basic bitch” (shown below).

On November 14th, 2011, the celebrity gossip Livejournal^[4] blog Oh No They Didn’t published an article titled “Basic Bitches 101,” which provided a list of celebrities classified as basic bitches. On June 14th, 2011, rapper Kreayshawn released the track “Gucci Gucci,” in which she refers to women who wear expensive handbags as “basic bitches.”

“Gucci Gucci, Louis Louis, Fendi Fendi, Prada
Them basic bitches wear that shit so I don’t even bother”

On July 22nd, 2011, a Facebook page^[1] titled “I make bad bitches look like basic bitches” was launched. On June 26th, 2012, YouTuber lohanthony uploaded footage of himself swinging his leg around while repeating the phrase “calling all the basic bitches” (shown below, left). On July 26th, 2012, YouTuber ThisIsACommentary uploaded a video titled “How to Detect a Basic Bitch,” which listed examples of stereotypical behaviors associated with basic bitches (shown below, right). In the first two years, the videos received more than 2.2 million and 1.2 million views respectively.

On October 4th, 2013, the pop culture blog Mass Appeal^[3] published an article titled “Are You Dating a Basic Bitch?” On April 2nd, 2014, CollegeHumor released a comedy sketch titled “How to Tell if You’re a Basic Bitch,” in which a woman is diagnosed by a doctor as being “basic” (shown below). Within three weeks, the video gathered upwards of 2.8 million views and 2,800 comments.

On April 10th, Vice^[6] published an article titled “The Basic Bitches Guide to Coachella 2014,” mocking the stereotypical behavior of attendees at the annual Coachella music festival. On April 16th, BuzzFeed^[5] published a quiz inspired by the CollegeHumor sketch titled “How Basic Are You?”

Notable Examples

Search Interest

External References