Talk:Basic (slang)

Origins of the term 'Basic'

"Basic" was used as a person descriptor in 1992 on the show The Wonder Years, Season 5, Episode 6 (Episode "Triangle"), at time index 11:57.

"Basic" was also used as a person descriptor in 1994 on the show Reboot, Season 1, Episode 10 (v1.10, "The Great Brain Robbery"), at time index 12:10.

Recommendation for deletion

I don't think we need to turn wikipedia into Urban Dictionary. Gtwy (talk) 02:26, 24 December 2014 (UTC)

Unlike Urban Dictionary entries, this article cites reliable sources. It's not the best article on Wikipedia, but it's a good start on an encyclopedic entry. I'm not aware of any principled reason why it should be deleted. Melchoir (talk) 05:34, 24 December 2014 (UTC)

While it is true that Urban Dictionary does not have citations and this article does, they don't make an article worth keeping in themselves. Merely being more reliable than the Urban Dictionary is a low bar to pass. I agree that this article should be deleted, but not just because this article is has more in common with Urban Dictionary, my main issue with it is that it is non-notable. --Keithonearth (talk) 18:50, 24 December 2014 (UTC)

I have to disagree with that too. There are plenty of references to attest notability, and more on the way... Melchoir (talk) 19:22, 24 December 2014 (UTC)

I think if Melchoir considers this a notable subject, then we should leave it for a bit so someone can improve it. However, there are a number of issues with it currently, as per WP:WINAD. Most importantly:

* This article should be about basic bitches (the people) and not about the term, what it means, and how it is used.

* better secondary sources need to be included. This means articles, news stories, etc., that are about basic bitches (the people) and don't simply just use the term "basic bitch".

* original research needs to be removed. This means you can't put into the Wiki page anything that doesn't appear in your sources.

Please make sure you read WP:WINAD and the MOS section on neologisms. Arthree (talk) 19:24, 24 December 2014 (UTC)

This is a great little article and I just love it. The term is new to me and I learned a lot. The video is excellent and a joy to watch. As a feminist myself, and the mother of two more feminists and a grandmother of three more (including two boys), and a friend of many (again including males), I find nothing in the least critical of women in this term or in this article, though I did edit the article to show that a couple of criticisms of the term belong to a couple of people (of little note, IMO) and not to "feminists" in general. Gandydancer (talk) 17:46, 29 December 2014 (UTC)

Arthree, I think you have it a bit backwards with respect to WP:WINAD. A dictionary entry on this subject would describe all the possible meanings of "basic bitch". This article also focuses on the history and significance of people using the term "basic bitch", not just the meaning of the term or who it refers to. This is covered by WINAD here: "In some cases, a word or phrase itself may be an encyclopedic subject. [...] such articles must go beyond what would be found in a dictionary entry (definition, pronunciation, etymology, use information, etc.), and include information on the social or historical significance of the term." The sources used in the article do just that; they don't just explain the usage of the term (dictionary) but also elaborate on the relevance and impact the term has had on a particular culture in a particular moment in history (encyclopedia). Accedie^{talk to me} 21:16, 11 January 2015 (UTC)

What is "late capitalist femininity?" How would the author of that phrase even know that capitalism is in it's late stages? That's a Marxist assertion with few facts to back it. Conversely, there is a good case to be made that Marxism is "late." It reminds me of the joke: "God is dead" -Nietzsche. "NIetzsche is dead" -God. Wikipedia doesn't need post modernist claptrap. Let's just stick to the facts. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.173.178.129 (talk) 02:19, 25 May 2015 (UTC)

Similar names

From the description, a "basic bitch" sounds very similar to an airhead, Essex girl or one of those fake preps from the early 2000s who thinks designer clothing and wealth are the key to popularity

Plain bad

This article is of a very poor quality. It contains a good portion of OR and switches back and fort between describing a phenomenon and a term. It says how "Basic bitches" are from American popular culture and then asserts that they often wear Australian boots. It asserts many things that can be linked to a great many people yet it describes a fairly new American-only term? It frankly makes no sense, and verifiability does not guarantee inclusion. Bataaf van Oranje (talk) 13:29, 24 February 2016 (UTC)

I think it should be renamed to something like Fake preppy or airhead (subculture). Although the name is new, the description is identical to that of the shallow, mainstream rich girls of the 1990s who covered themselves in designer labels and judged people who looked different.

Merge proposal

As there have been no objections since last month, I have changed the title of Basic Bitch to Airhead, which is slightly less sexist and recentist. It may be worth considering a merge of this article with Essex girl and Trixie (slang), similar materialistic and mainstream middle class subcultures dating back to the 80s.

Re-propose for deletion

This article is poorly written, of questionable relevance, and arguably contains various biases. It does not meet the standards of content for Wikipedia. As others have stated, this is a great article for Urban Dictionary. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.136.156.159 (talk) 06:25, 1 June 2016 (UTC)

Keep. The airheads or populars are an actual high school subculture that has existed in America for years. They are the conformists and middle class wannabe preps who are generally mean to the girls who don't fit in.— Preceding unsigned comment added by Osama57 (talk • contribs) 03:42, 20 June 2016‎

Move or Delete. I agree that one can see a continuity between 'airhead' and 'basic bitch', and that information about this categorization of people *in context* is arguably encyclopedic in nature. However, the article as it stands is (perhaps unknowingly) making a claim that it does not substantiate. A 'subculture' is a distinct concept, the various definitions of which one can look up on the Wikipedia. This is not a subculture. 0x69494411 16:35, 20 June 2016 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sixtyninefourtyninefourtyfoureleven (talk • contribs)

We do have an article on subculture with a history of the concept. "As early as 1950, David Riesman distinguished between a majority, "which passively accepted commercially provided styles and meanings, and a 'subculture' which actively sought a minority style ... and interpreted it in accordance with subversive values". In his 1979 book Subculture: The Meaning of Style, Dick Hebdige argued that a subculture is a subversion to normalcy. He wrote that subcultures can be perceived as negative due to their nature of criticism to the dominant societal standard. Hebdige argued that subcultures bring together like-minded individuals who feel neglected by societal standards and allow them to develop a sense of identity."

So how do these "Airheads" relate to the culture of the majority? What make them an identifiable minority? Dimadick (talk) 17:31, 20 June 2016 (UTC)

Their age, Dimadick. Teenagers in American high schools make up a minority of the world's population, and the Airheads form the conformist majority of this minority. Peace and love - Ossie.

Not a subculture???

If Airhead is not a teenage subculture, what is it? A clique? Slang? A stereotype? Perhaps it could be renamed to something better reflecting its relationship to the conformist majority similar to its 1950s predecessors the Squares and Socs?

How about Airhead (pejorative)? It would avoid the misogynistic connotations of Basic and the complications of defining a teenage minority subculture.

Or Airhead (slur), perhaps?

Name change

Does anyone else think this page should be retitled "basic", and "airhead" should re direct here? Everyone I know just says basic. Basic is the most prevalent word used to describe this page, "airhead" is only mentioned once in the references, and that's just the dictionary definition. "Basic" is mentioned 13 times.

21 June — Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.171.164.61 (talk) 16:52, 20 June 2016 (UTC)

Airhead is the original name for the subculture during the 90s and 2000s, before Basic Bitch was coined in 2011. I have thought about changing the name to something like Basic (subculture), Mean Girls, Rich Bitch, Brat, Borg, Clones, or Plastic subculture, but other wikipedia users will probably say these terms are subjective or derogatory and will delete or change the redirects as they previously did with popular clique. Airhead is the only name that doesn't have these issues. Peace and love - Ossie.

Remove CollegeHumor reference from intro

There is seemingly no reason to include a video made about the term at the height of its popularity in the introductory paragraph. There is no evidence that the CollegeHumor video contributed to the rise of the term, nor is it it's most notable use, especially if the trend is described as 2011 to 2014, with the video debuting in late 2014. Reference to the video in later sections is fine.

107.0.14.66 (talk) 18:11, 20 June 2016 (UTC)

Recommendation for the deletion of the picture of Ugg boots and commentary

The commentary, " Ugg boots, often referenced in songs and cultural trend articles as a brand of footwear loved by so-called "basic women"." is not cited, what songs and cultural trends are making connections with the Ugg brand and airheads? The use of the words "basic women" is vague, bias, and may come off offensive. Besides that, the commentary is poorly written and may possibly be in poor taste, I recommend that picture as well as the commentary be deleted. Mwild22 (talk) 07:15, 22 June 2016 (UTC)

Moving back to Airhead (slang)

That's what it's listed as on the disambiguation page and I don't see why it was changed. Slang is a more accurate descriptor. TheDracologist (talk) 00:50, 19 March 2017 (UTC)

Nevermind, I can't do that. Can someone who can please do it? TheDracologist (talk) 00:55, 19 March 2017 (UTC)

Fine with me. Does anyone else agree?

yes 71.198.104.218 (talk) 01:23, 11 October 2018 (UTC)

So broad as to be meaningless

While I can't deny that 'airhead', 'basic', etc are real slang terms, this article seems to be trying to cover too much, to the extent that it's useless. As far as I can tell, the subject of this stereotype is young women who are popular or who like popular things. That's so broad it's effectively meaningless. Hipster (contemporary subculture) has similar problems, but at least that article does focus on a particular subset of young people rather than young women in general. Robofish (talk) 00:42, 24 February 2020 (UTC)

• @Robofish: I just stumbled across this article. They are trying to describe two separate things. An airhead (clueless, ditzy, stupid) is totally separate from a basic bitch. I've been around for long enough to know both definitions. It appears the article started out as basic bitch and was moved to airhead by someone who doesn't know the definition of one of these terms. The article doesn't work as is. I really don't see the purpose of airhead having its own article; there is nothing much there (and it's obvious what it means), whereas basic bitch has been referenced so much in music (and articles explaining what it means). —Мандичка^YO 😜 20:43, 25 May 2020 (UTC)

They are indeed separate terms. Complete agreement there! Although I would think "airhead" could be a viable article. But I'm not an expert on sourcing/references etc. My edits are mostly grammar/syntax. YellowAries2010 (talk) 16:51, 24 November 2020 (UTC)

Requested move 26 May 2020

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The result of the move request was: Moved. King of ♥ ♦ ♣ ♠ 04:24, 2 June 2020 (UTC)

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Airhead (subculture) → Basic (slang) – The vast majority of this article is about the slang term Basic, which is not at all synonymous with Airhead (except they're both commonly used to insult lame women). I don't see a point to creating a separate article about Airheads as that term doesn't seem unique or important enough on its own, being one of a number of terms to describe idiots, whereas Basic is very specific and thus has been written about for this reason. —Мандичка^YO 😜 01:28, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

• Support, that's what this article and its sources are currently about. The "subculture" part of the current title is also a stretch... – Thjarkur (talk) 19:02, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

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The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

"Airhead" is older than that

This is original research and as such not in itself justification for changing the article, but the term "airhead" was current when I was in high school in the 70s. The article states that it was coined in the late 80s, which is ten years off, minimum. It's also worth noting that in those days "airhead" could be applied to either gender, though the typical target was a girl, and originally bore little or no judgement; it just meant absent-minded, non-intellectual, or scatterbrained. (Similar to "bimbo", but significantly less abusive. In my day it was often used affectionately, as when a classmate's mother laughingly referred to her as an "airhead" in conversation with me and other friends.)

From there it's a short hop to "mindlessly follows the herd", which must be what ultimately happened to this term. Anyway, it's significantly older than this entry claims. Laodah 04:21, 30 September 2020 (UTC)

Origins of 'Basic bitch'

A portion of this YouTube video disputes the claim that Roland Powell (stage name Lil Duval) coined the term 'basic bitch,' and there is a case to question the veracity of it. The BuzzFeed News article backing up the claim that it originated in 2009 does not make the claim, rather it references a 2009 YouTube video of Powell to explain the term. (Shanspeare, of the first link, disputes that this is Powell, and says it is Spoken Reasons.) In addition, The Cut doesn't make the claim that Powell coined it, nor it say that the Urban Dictionary entry makes this claim either. The Time article does not mention Powell at all. Despite the failed verification, I'm hesitant to remove the sentence, because the entire section relies on it. I don't have confidence that the remainder of the section is accurate. SWinxy (talk) 23:15, 3 January 2023 (UTC)