Quote:
Originally Posted by Alchemical Night
Hi there,
It's been a while since last raising a subject here, and on the Process more widely - a fact in no small part ascribed to RL and other such demands on my time. Still, that has given a little time for thought and allowance for a certain curiosity to rise to the surface.
To elaborate on the title of my post - as is a habit, I'll admit - I would like to propose two queries to the community at large, and most particularly to those who have a liking for the "Bimbo" in either representation or tendency, as seen most memorably on the site's well known "Bimbo/Mind Control" thread, and to a lesser extent in the "More general/increased beauty" thread too.
My ideas are not particularly ground breaking, though it occurred to me to circulate this curiosity, as I cannot recall seeing these, too much, around or in most recent media discussed.
1) Could it be said the popular, recognisable "Bimbo" archetype has ever been deconstructed in relevant media, or that related to our forum?
2) Has it ever been that the "Bimbo" archetype, as either a outcome or perhaps a phase, has been subverted?
All and any insight is appreciated as, though this subject is very familiar to me, I have not particularly engaged with it with the investment that others have, in the past ^^;.
Thanks,
Alchemical Night.
|
The concept of the "bimbo" is one that is fairly vague in what it means.
It has a lot of parallels with the Increased Beauty concept, but they are by no means the same. The IB concept is mostly, if not purely, a change in physical appearance towards the socially accepted concept of beauty (for women, slim waist, large firm breasts, smooth complexion, full lips, etc.) The bimbo concept is a mental change. If not a change in intelligence, at the very least a change in attitude. IB may have a change in attitude due to increased confidence, but bimbo implies that there has been a direct effect on the mentality of the person.
While bimbo does not have to mean stupid, it is usually associated with it. The blonde "bimbo" may actually be intelligent, but has an airy bubbly personality.
1) There are no specific instances I can think of where the media has deconstructed the bimbo archetype as stated above, though I would not be surprised if they existed.
2) Subversions of the bimbo archetype can be found in popular culture here and there, usually as a humorous way of playing with audience expectations. An example may include Trillian from Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy, who is in actuality a brilliant mathematician and astrophysicist, but plays up the fawning companion of Zaphod. An entire movie series is devoted to the subversion of what is a perceived bimbo, with the Legally Blonde movies. In those we have a character who is blonde, perky, party-going, willing to be sexy, and interested in fashion and other things people tend to associate with being vapid or shallow. The character, however, is intelligent, caring, committed, and deeper than expected.
What is vague though is what defines "bimbo". While some think it is intelligence related, I think it is more related to subservience and dependence. The bimbo archetype is usually helpless in some regard, either lacking common sense or common knowledge (such as how to use a payphone or cook toast). It is basically a form of male power fantasy, where the man has complete sovereignty over a woman by means of her sexual or intellectual dependence on the man.
What subverts this concept would be capability. Basically, a proper subversion would include a character who is perceived as a bimbo archetype, dependent on a "sugar daddy" or their "charms" to get by, and instead turns out to be surprisingly capable, either in general or in a specific fashion. This happens often enough since like I said, it can be played up for humor, or to make a point about not judging on appearances.
Deconstruction is a much different beast. It generally means creating a whole story where the troubles and concepts we have about a "bimbo" would be brought to bear. It would involve long and sad situations where the "bimbo" in question faces depression, anxiety, and abuse due to her position as the object of the dominant party. Alternatively, it could also have the "bimbo" lose the comforts of their provider and have to face the grim realities of fending for themselves.
The closest example of the latter I could think of is the webcomic Shotgun Shuffle, where the initial main character is a large busted blonde girl living with her parents, who is eventually thrown out without any form of provision. While she does still use her charms to her advantage at some points, the real world is not too nice to her and she eventually has to take a job she hates at a fast food joint, where she faces working hard for the first time in her life.
This is hardly a full deconstruction of the concept, especially since the girl is not exactly a bimbo so much as just a lazy person (initially), but it is similar to how I expect a deconstruction would be.