iD Magazine announced 2021, “The year of the bimbo.” As the #GirlBoss era comes to a halt, a rise of newly liberated individuals comes to the forefront of pop culture, the bimbos. It’s time to discard preconceived notions of what a bimbo of the bygone era was because Gen Z bimbos are radical leftist feminists from whom we can all learn a lot.
The Rise Of The Bimbo Empowerment Era
The millennial #GirlBoss era taught women that they could achieve anything they want at home and in the work setting as long as they lean in and show their male colleagues that they have intellect and resilience. The recent backlash against the girl boss culture is due to the insinuation that to be taken seriously in corporate settings, women have to adopt more stereotypical “masculine” traits to be respected in male-dominated settings.
The girl boss trope taught women and young girls that you can be feminine but not overly feminine, you should be assertive but never angry, and these qualities will gain you respect in the workplace. You would never want to be seen as an overly emotional female in front of your male colleagues because how would they ever take you seriously?
Moreover, the girl boss movement was missing a critical component: respecting women’s individuality and celebrating women’s diverse backgrounds. As Vicky Spratt, journalist and documentary filmmaker, wrote, “girl boss is a sexist Trojan horse. It appears to raise women, to carve out space for us in a working world still too crowded with men. But in reality, it denies us agency, diminishes us, and denigrates our authority.”
While the #GirlBoss movement was well-intentioned, it quickly became a marketing scheme to support capitalistic motives and was tone-deaf to trans women and women of color. In response to the toxicity of girl boss culture, a new era of liberated individuals comes to the forefront of the zeitgeist, the Gen Z bimbo!
What is Bimbofication?
The term bimbo was originally an Italian word used to describe a man who acted childish or foolish. By the later 20th century, the word bimbo was used primarily by heterosexual men as a derogatory term to describe a woman who was over-endowed in looks and under-endowed in intellect.
The media often portrayed the bimbo as a hot woman with blonde hair and a ditzy personality. Archetypes of the bimbo personification were often well-endowed blonde actresses such as Marylin Monroe, Paris Hilton, and Pamala Anderson, who were all highly successful individuals but were often reduced by men to sex objects in order to demine their overall worth.
Today’s Gen Z bimbo is using the once derogatory word as a means of empowerment and to build a sense of community. Chrissy Chlapecka, @chrissychlapecka on TikTok, is one of the most visible self-identified bimbos and uses her social media platform to spread the word of what the Gen Z bimbo really stands for.
Chlapecka states, “the bimbo is a radical leftist who is pro-choice, pro-BLM, pro-LGBTQ+, and pro-sex work, and she, he, or they likes to look pretty while doing it” she also adds that the modern-day bimbo “wants to celebrate and appreciate their own hyper-femininity, which they express in their own special way.” The Gen Z bimbo is about looking hot for themselves and not for the male gaze, all while pushing back on societal norms.
Another prominent self-identified Bimbo on TikTok @maeultra, states that she finds identifying as a bimbo as powerful as she continues to explain, “It feels powerful and liberating to know that I’m constantly challenging gender and societal norms with hotness. Nothing makes misogynists angrier than women choosing to be hot, appearing dumb and yet being incredibly self-aware.”
In short, bimbofication is about intersectional feminism and feeling emboldened, whereas society has taught us that we should feel ashamed. It’s about owning one’s sex appeal and no longer minimizing yourself to appeal to social standards written for us by misogynistic men. Bimbofication allows individuals to define their own self-worth, fight the patriarchy, and look hot while doing it.
Bimbofication For All
The word bimbo no longer applies to just a white, blonde-haired heterosexual female. Bimbo is about a state of mind that is accessible to all bimbos, himbos, and thembos. TikTok user Griffin Maxwell Brooks @griffinmaxwellbrooks states “ “The bxmbo has no gender, no class, no race or ability. The only requirement for bxmbofication is that you embrace and reclaim your body in the name of independence.”
Bimbos apply to all sexual orientations, body types, races, and genders. A central component of bimbofication is no discrimination, community building, and self-love.
The Beauty of Bimbofication
Bimboism, unlike the elitism of the #GirlBoss culture, is about no longer having to find external validation for your intellect or climb the theoretical corporate ladder built on misogyny and racism. @Fauxrich explains, “a bimbo is not a protest against intelligence; it’s kind of a protest against academia and how elitist and classist it is.” The modern-era bimbo is socially aware and understands the impacts of racism, sexism, and classism.
The bimbo of today is about radical acceptance and building a positive community of individuals who are tired of having to prove themselves to misogynistic people. The motto of the bimbo is, why prove yourself when you can unapologetically love yourself?
While this might sound counterintuitive, the Gen Z Bimbo is taking ownership over a once derogatory term used primarily by cis-gender heterosexual men to reduce a women to a sex object based solely on her appearance meanwhile demeaning her worth, values, and intellect. The Gen Z bimbo, himbo, and thembo know their worth and won’t let the patriarchy decide that for them.
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