This post was updated March 7 at 8:35 p.m.

Dear Editor:

Last Thursday, I noticed an Opinion column commenting on the pervasiveness of shallow brunch culture in LA. The author critiqued modern brunch restaurants as bland and their customers as artificial.

I am a brunch lover, and the piece’s portrayal of brunch grated on me.

Brunch is fun – the meal is a nice way to spend a few hours with friends on a weekend, partake in a delicious meal, and get off campus for a change. For many, it’s an opportunity to dress up and go out in a way that doesn’t involve staying up past 2 a.m.

This outing often involves documenting the excursion. There is nothing wrong with taking pictures of your food. Additionally, a restaurant does not have to be undramatic to be respectable. A “Live, Laugh, Brunch!” sign never hurt anyone.

Sometimes, brunch is just brunch.

More importantly, the article upholds an ingrained bias in society. Whether intentional or not, this point of view is inherently misogynistic. The social-media-and-booze addicts that are affiliated with brunch are stereotypically women. Women are constantly judged for enjoying things, whether it be sports, makeup, comic books or a $7 latte. They should be allowed to be frivolous without being critiqued.

Terms like “vapid” and “shallow” are frequently used to demean female students. By categorizing those who appreciate the LA brunch scene as self-important influencers, the author is disparaging a great number of women, both within the UCLA community and the city as a whole.

Brunch is not a meal invented for social media, either, as the author claims. Historians theorize that it was popularized in the 1930s as travelers began making transcontinental journeys and paused for a mid-morning meal in Chicago. Now, it is a staple of holidays like Mother’s Day or birthday celebrations.

If I may acquiesce to one point, it’s that the author of this article pointed out how brunch can – and should – be a place to come together and socialize with friends. Brunch is about connection and revelry without the fatigue of staying out past 2 a.m. Let us celebrate that, instead of tearing down those who are supposedly vapid.

I’m going to enjoy my mimosa and avocado toast – and I may even post a picture.

Sophia Adams is a fourth-year French and Linguistics student at UCLA.