Pumpkin spice: sexism’s vice

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If you’re a teen girl who likes to drink frothy, autumn-flavored coffee and wear Uggs to Vala’s Pumpkin Patch, watch out. You’re under attack.

Girls who enjoy pumpkin spice lattes are mocked primarily on social media, but IRL too. The most popular derogatory adjective towards female pumpkin spice guzzlers: basic. This trend of belittling teen girls for their interests is paralleled with their intense affection for One Direction, Sephora, PINK, and homecoming. Pumpkin spice lattes, boybands, makeup, and other stereotypically “girly” things are only hated by society because girls like them.

There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with buying coffee from a coffee shop; what’s “wrong” is the fact that girls like it. Much of what we like as women comes down to being low maintenance. If coffee that tastes like Halloweentown makes you happy all day, so be it! The flavoring has nothing to do with personality and it doesn’t make you shallow.

Men complain about pumpkin spice lattes more often than women actually mention them. As a matter of fact, men talk about football, burgers, and cars all year round! People only talk about pumpkin spice for a couple months before it fizzles back out to the Election and college football. Fellas: if the women around you would rather you buy them a $5 coffee from Starbuck’s than a $20 bouquet of flowers, wake up and smell those roses. It benefits you!