I was going to apologize for the explicit title of this post, but then I thought, “Why should I?” The term “Bad Bitch” is in numerous songs that we sing. We refer to women as “Bad Bitches” all the time, and we even use it to caption our social media pictures. So, no apology here. For those of you who have never heard the term before and are clueless as to what it means, the top definition on the Urban Dictionary defines a bad bitch as totally mentally gifted and usually also fine as hell. In other words, a bad bitch is an intelligent, beautiful woman. That sounds good, but I wonder, “Is that really what Webbie was talking about in his song, or was he actually referring to the half-naked video vixens that we continuously compare ourselves to?”

On to the next part of this title, “Starter Kit.” Once again, I turn to Urban Dictionary for assistance in explaining this new social media trend. Starter Kits or Starter Packs are memes that contain certain objects, characteristics, or actions that make up a particular type of person. Although there are various forms of the Bad Bitch Starter Kit on the internet, I decided to use an illustration from artist, Peniel Enchill that seems to sum it up quite well.

According to what is promoted in the media, this is what an intelligent, beautiful woman or “bad bitch” is made up of. You can see that left out of this starter kit are characteristics such as natural beauty, a charming personality, raw talent and a college degree, because who needs that when you have all of this; dramatic makeup, Brazilian hair, waist trainers, butt injections, etc. If we don’t put all of this effort into how we look and flaunt it on social media, we’re considered “basic”. The images of successful and beautiful women that are endorsed by the media have us believing that remaining true to ourselves, being modest and obtaining higher education is a waste of time. Now-a-days, we define success by the number of likes or followers we have on Instagram. If you’re just a beautiful, intelligent college graduate, you may have anywhere from 100 to 5,000 followers. However, add on the Bad Bitch Starter Kit and you can go from 0 to 1,000,000 real quick.

Don’t be fooled. The Bad Bitch Starter Kit may increase your follower count and maybe even boost your self-esteem, but it does not define your success. So what if your body doesn’t look like Amber Rose’s or if your hair and makeup aren’t as flawless as Miracle Watts’? That doesn’t make you any less of a beautiful, intelligent woman. Your natural beauty means something. Your personality means something. The fact that you actually have talent and an education MEANS SOMETHING.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with making yourself up to “fleek” and/or modeling but don’t let it define or handicap you. Realize that you have much more to offer the world. We, as women, need to stop looking for affirmation from the media, but instead look in the mirror. Life is not really a bad bitch contest and nobody will ever come in first place, so stop competing. Let go of the starter kit mentality and start loving yourself for who you really are. You are enough.