Autumn has officially graced the United States. Leaves blanket the ground, the air is crisp, and pumpkins dot the fields. Light-hearted debates over the quality of candy corn are springing up on Twitter. Less playful, however, are the complaints appearing about pumpkin spice and the women that like it.
Women associated with pumpkin spice are dismissed as basic and dull. They're ridiculed as if all of their opinions are subsequently null and void. While some people complain about pumpkin spice being overrated without extending their frustration to women, men aren't attacked in association with the flavor whatsoever, unless perhaps they admit to liking something so 'girly'.
It's Autumn! Who doesn't like pumpkins? Pumpkin pie is a Thanksgiving staple. And why are we attaching gender stigma to a seasonal flavor?
Even if those complaining don't realize, they're not upset about pumpkin spice. It's never been about pumpkin spice. Anything that women seem to like, anything that's deemed feminine, receives scorn, as do the women associated with it, even if the association is falsely projected onto them.
No matter what woman like, someone's always waiting to launch an attack. You like 'feminine' things like skirts, scarves, Taylor Swift, or now, pumpkin spice? What a basic, annoying, white girl. How embarrassing. You like comic books, superhero movies, video games, or anything society has labeled as masculine? There's no way you're a genuine fan. Prove it by submitting to a thorough interrogation about the source material. Oh, you actually know about the thing? You probably just picked it up from your boyfriend.
Unfortunately, some women have internalized these misogynistic critiques and police other women for having harmless hobbies or opinions. Worse still, many men and women use these interests as stereotypes to diminish women to nothing but the scorn that comes with them, even when, again, said label and scorn are entirely unwarranted.
This reply from one woman to another undermines the legitimate worry, anger, and fear several women are experiencing in the wake of Ruth Bader Ginsberg's death. Many women are concerned about losing rights, particularly regarding their bodily autonomy, in this political vacuum.
Not only is @FoundersGirl making light of a momentous situation and the death of an incredible woman and political figure, she's also reducing any woman that might express apprehension over RBG's absence to a silly, boring girl who should not be taken seriously. Such rhetoric, despite being an ad hominem fallacy—attacking a person as opposed to their ideas—has lasting and harmful consequences.
Women are exhausted. We want to be treated like people, and we want to enjoy harmless things like pumpkin spice lattes without ridicule or fear of our entire personality being dismissed. Is that really so much to ask?