Bimbo

A bimbo is a term that emerged in the English language in the late 20th century as a popular term for a stupid and pliable woman. As it derives from Italian language words of male gender, it first emerged into English (probably through the United Kingdom Italianate underworld slang known as Polari) referring to stupid men; though it now is understood to connote a woman unless one says "male bimbo." Some still prefer the explicitly female variant bimbette, which has also entered The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Others distinguish between the words to use "bimbette" to mean a woman either younger or stupider than a "bimbo". The word "bimbo" is sometimes interpreted as the backronym "body impressive, brain optional".

Related Topics:
English language - 20th century - Italian language - United Kingdom - Underworld - Slang - Polari - The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language - Backronym - '''b'''ody - '''b'''rain

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The archetype of a bimbo with sex appeal is much used as a stock character in comedies with sexual humor, an example being Christina Applegate's character Kelly Bundy in Married... with Children. Alicia Silverstone's character Cher Horowitz in Clueless is more accurately described as a Valley girl, a similar archetype with more elements of laughably unusual priorities and behaviors than are strictly derived from the "bimbo" themes of comical stupidity and sex appeal. An older comedy archetype of perhaps more direct resemblance is the dumb blonde, for example the giggling naive characters often portrayed by sultry actresses such as Marilyn Monroe.

Related Topics:
Stock character - Comedies - Christina Applegate - Kelly Bundy - Married... with Children - Alicia Silverstone - Clueless - Valley girl - Dumb blonde - Marilyn Monroe

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The sacrifice of a woman's intelligence in the furtherance of her own or another's lust is an element of some erotica, especially that of the mind control fetish genre. Stories tell of an intelligent woman becoming a bimbo or bimbette by various realistic or unrealistic means, a process known by the coinages "bimbification" or "bimboization". The former website bimboslutz.com was dedicated to stories of this type.

Related Topics:
Lust - Erotica - Mind control

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Of course there is far more amusement in an intelligent woman's willing behavior as if she were stupid, whether in the course of sexual roleplay or in mainstream comedy, than in the behavior of a woman who is really intellectually limited. Humor deriving from blonde women's (or male jocks') stupidity has been accused of sexism.

Related Topics:
Sexual roleplay - Sexism

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