Bubble Gum Popped - Querying the "Bimbo" stance

[brandygang]

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, recognizable "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.

A very interesting topic indeed. I've often thought about this myself, what sort of routes the Bimbo genre could be taken and where it could lead for storytelling purposes. Bimbos, in the context that this site is acclimated with are largely associated with the pornographic, fetishistic aspects, (and mostly transformational) that involve women becoming less intelligent and more sexualized. It's usually an attraction of power dynamics (Gaining dominance over a now submissive, sexy woman), or often sheer humiliation.

The intelligence and desires part is usually used for the aspect of sex, making a partner more submissive because they don't have the know or self-control to refuse.

The "Increased Beauty" part is to simply make them more desirable all the while.

The purpose of these two is quite simply, for erotic reasons. To arouse those involved, to allow masturbatory aide, or so on. Because of this, things like storytelling or catharsis are omitted, and as long as this purpose is central other elements, things that would distract from it aren't desired in the genre usually. There's an expectation to it, and an internal codified logic that's always followed to achieve the eroticism desired.

Now a deconstruction takes the existing elements that people look for, and plays them seriously and up to the point where it fails to live up to yet parody's the original premise/purpose, much like Swift's Modest Proposal. It's the narrative being sarcastic with it's genre so to speak.

Given this, a deconstruction could include things that aren't desirable with bimboficiation stories. Things that break the flow, disrupt the eroticism, or just make it so the story doesn't work. But to do this however, you have to mesh them with the elements that do, the one's that people want. (Beautifying, intelligence loss, submission/dominance, ect) If you bend it too far back where your not portraying bimbos anymore, the point is lost.


I wouldn't say I know of any parody that deconstructs Bimbos thoroughly as that, but there are some fictions that have an interesting stab at it.

I remember this one story I read awhile back, it was about a whole town becoming Step-fordian, brainwashing all their women into obedient, sexy and vapid bimbo-wives. Most 'victims' in these type of stories are work bosses or college teens, and the one responsible/gaining from it a jealous boyfriend/employer or someone who basically hasn't the morals not to go through with it. A lot of people don't consider how important they are, since they're often the point where power is demonstrated, the one readers are supposed to identify with.

In this story, the wives usually had husbands, kids, and lives shown, and their husbands weren't some down-on-their-luck cads that were aching to have sexy wives. The actual Bimbofication was done from the town leaders, under a veiled conspiracy. The husbands were in on it, but couldn't object out of fear what would happen to them. Seeing the destruction of the wives as people, to braindead, sexy playthings that didn't even care for their careers or families (or in some cases only as objects to give them pleasure) was kinda grating to get at.
Eventually one of the husbands tried to sneak his wife away, fearful for their lives but successful, and sent her to a rehabilitation group. The rest of the story followed her trying to get back her mind and some sense of what'd been done to her. It takes months, and they nearly cure her at the end but, the bimbo side of her aching for a fuck remains, and the rest of her cannot stand to live without her kids and loved ones, so she goes back to be reverted for them rather than just leave alone and herself.

Actually, the Step Ford Wives alone does a pretty good job revealing the ridiculousness of the cookie-cutter perfect wive ideal, but this is for bimbos so. I think there's a certain Margaret Atwood book that does a similar concept.