Bimbo feminism is detrimental to the movement

Sara Matthews, Contributing Writer

When you think of a bimbo, you probably imagine a conventionally attractive, hyper-feminine, air-headed young woman. Maybe she’s even blonde or wearing a super short skirt.

The Oxford Dictionary defines a bimbo as “an attractive but unintelligent or frivolous young woman.”

The derogatory term, coined in the early 20th century, is part of a plethora of words that men have used to demean, belittle and humiliate women. The approach that this word takes, which equates femininity to stupidity, is a tired trope. Even that couldn’t stop the new attempts at reclaiming the word. 

“Bimbo feminism,” or “bimbocore,” has been an ongoing trend in liberal feminist circles, especially on social media. In addition to redefining what the word means, women are saying that it’s okay to be a bimbo. Many have called the trend an act of modern feminism. 

I am in full support of women embracing their femininity. However, the problem arises when femininity is embraced through an adherence to patriarchal stereotypes. 

Bimbocore has moved to TikTok, where all semblance of empowerment has gone out the window in favor of phrases like “girl logic” and “girl math.”

The girl math trend, which has recently exploded in popularity, showcases the process that women stereotypically use to justify irresponsible spending. 

TikTok user @nikitadumptruck has garnered over 757,000 followers making videos explaining topics like the economy, finance and world affairs just “for the girls.” In her bio, she calls herself a “professor at bimbo university.”

Nikita suggests that mildly difficult concepts need to be watered down for women to understand them. She shields the sexist and patronizing nature of her videos using the cover of bimbo feminism, and nobody bats an eye.

It’s sad that we haven’t moved past stereotyping women as intellectually deficient. It’s even sadder that it’s women who are making themselves the butt of the joke. 

Normally, I would have rolled my eyes and moved on. I would have taken it as another annoying trend. However, what rendered me speechless was seeing people encourage the absurd notion that the trend was in any way empowering or feminist. 

Misogyny and anti-intellectualism have always worked hand in hand. Historically, society has always been afraid of a well-educated woman. Even today, women’s education is being attacked. The Taliban’s ban on women’s education in 2021 has left almost 80% of Afghan girls out of school, according to the New Arab.

Women didn’t start a feminist movement out of boredom. The reality is that in many parts of the world, women aren’t treated with respect. Unfortunately, in a lot of countries, feminism isn’t taken seriously by the general public. 

As feminists, instead of calling ourselves bimbos and setting the movement back 50 years, why don’t we try to work towards a world where women are actually treated with respect no matter what they look like? 

Bimbo feminism is yet another way western liberal feminists make feminism seem more digestible and attractive. But for what? I wish that feminism could be sexy and fun, but the reality is that it isn’t. 

The reality is that we won’t be able to just “girlboss” ourselves out of a patriarchal society, and while bimbo feminists claim that they are subverting patriarchal narratives, they are really just perpetuating them. 

Bimbocore is an ideology born out of patriarchal stereotypes, therefore it will never be a feminist one, no matter how cute and pink it is.