Via Scarletteen:

"Let’s talk about bimbos...

Because the outlines of the bimbo stereotype are so bold, and her character so outrageous, she makes perfect material for drag⁠ and other kinds of gender play and parody. Users on social media enjoy poking fun at the stereotype and use it to play with their own gender and sexuality....

But is all of this, like, okay? Is it useful or even good to use a problematic term as a way of addressing its history, with the harm it’s done? Spoiler alert: I think it is, but even if playing with gender stereotypes doesn’t provide solid enough ground for effective feminist action, I still think it’s a worthwhile and inevitable piece in gender exploration. Let’s talk about it.

...it overlaps heavily with the “born sexy yesterday” trope when she is child-like and dependant, the “trophy wife” stereotype when she is partnered, the “mean girl” trope when she is petty or unlikeable, and the “bombshell” trope when she knows she’s hot and flaunts it for the viewer.

Within this web of tropes and stereotypes lie messages of heterosexism, slut⁠ shaming, and the portrayal of women as vapid and catty.

Here lies the outline of the bimbo, refused to be filled in by eyes that see her as less-than. Instead, she is a caricature, assigned the role of sex object.

It’s no surprise, then, that because these expectations align with common feminist stances on pleasure, autonomy⁠, and freedom of presentation (ie, that we have a right to them), people have begun to reclaim the bimbo in an act of righteous defiance. You think I’m a bad person for doing what I want and dressing how I want? Fine. Then I’ll be a bimbo!

There is an important difference between purposeful performance and mandatory performance that we should remember when dealing with certain ideas of gender.

Dolly Parton, Gender, and Country Music,” talks about her public persona as a kind of performance art in which she “position[s] herself as a sexualized object in a knowing way, so she’s making fun of it and she’s in control of it.

That’s how she’s using a version of theatrical burlesque. She’s sort of a female-female impersonator. It’s a critical parody.”

...The tension between feminism and femininity is heavily present in bimbo discourse. I think it's important to see how the word “bimbo” has lost some of its bite, because it shows how our attitudes towards women, gender, and sexuality have changed over time."

https://www.scarleteen.com/read/culture/hot-girl-hangups-talking-through-tension-between-bimbos-and-feminism

Reposted from bimbo