This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at FIU chapter.
If you’ve been on the internet for some time, you may have seen this viral comic strip detailing a reverse bimbo transformation. A blonde tanned “promiscuous” curvy woman is seen metamorphosing into an innocent-seeming pale dark-haired petite woman after picking up a book from the ground. The artist of the comic is known as Sortimid, who is frequently commissioned to draw these sorts of comics on DeviantArt for the erotic niche of bimbo transformations. In an interview with BuzzFeed, the artist tried to explain and show transparency to their community. Obviously, this comic strip quickly became a meme because of how ridiculously sexist it is and just recently resurfaced again. The fact that there continues to be a whole community, hidden by most, that heavily fetishizes the bimbo trope is exhausting to think.
Photo by Kelly Sikkema from Unsplash
If you are unfamiliar with the bimbo trope, she is a type of woman who is more than conventionally attractive, has a curvaceous figure, wears heavy makeup, wearing revealing clothing, is usually unintelligent, and was probably created by a 14-year-old boy who had never seen a woman. The bimbo trope is commonly intersected with the dumb blonde trope. For some reason that is unbeknownst to me, men find women who check all the boxes of absurd beauty standards while remaining dormant, a fantasy. Women are seen as valuable only for their looks so men can sit back and contribute little to nothing in a relationship.
MGM Distribution Co.
The Bimbo trope categorizes women who enjoy makeup and embrace their sexuality into a box that is kicked around by men and, sadly enough, other women. To the majority of society, bimbos need to be saved from their selves, as we see in the comic strip from earlier. However, one of my favorite movie characters that challenge the notion that women are one-dimensional is the iconic Elle Woods from “Legally Blonde.” With her being blonde, loving makeup and fashion, and knowing exactly what she wants, people’s first impression of her is that she is a dumb blonde bimbo. Throughout the movie, we see Elle combat against these stereotypes placed on her by others. Time and time again, Elle needs to prove herself when in reality, she shouldn’t have to.
People are intimidated by women who go against the status quo, and when they do, they are villainized for it. Women should not be shamed for who they are, how they present themselves, or how much or how little they know about a topic.
Lidia (She/Her) is a senior majoring in Digital Communications and Media. When she is not petting dogs on the sidewalk or re-watching Harry Potter, she is scribbling away on any surface she can find. Lidia is passionate about writing critical and culturally relevant content.
