Chelsea Swan

I love pink and glitter and sparkles. I love girly and the hair and the makeup and the outfits. I love to play perform, to create myself new each day, to have personas. How can they see with sequins in their eyes and all that.

I grew up on Paris Hilton. The created persona of an incredible entrepreneur. She manipulated the world with pink clothes and blond hair. Those who do not understand the performance of femininity fell for the idea that because of those things she was not intelligent.

It reminds me of when a man got angry and ranted at me because he had liked Lana Del Rey but found out that she was someone different before, that she did not just occur in the world as a lolita-esq cocqett. He was angry he had been tricked out of his money and into liking her and that the her he liked was not real, it was an act. I mean the shock that a performer was performing. He must feel so hard done by in relationships when women turn out to be real people.

I remember the toxic ideas of the girl boss, killing herself to make it and have it all, and the toxic ideal of the academic woman who rejects her femininity to fit the aesthetic of a serious woman.

Historically the term bimbo belittles women to assert male authority. Aesthetic qualities associated with the traditional bimbo image, gratify the male gaze. Light blonde hair is a symbol of purity, innocence and most significantly, virtue. Under a sexualised male gaze, these are equated to virginity, and considered favourable qualities by many men.

Bimbofication has been rising over the last few years and entails wearing whatever the fuck you want, saying what you feel, and ramping up the feminine aesthetic. Weirdly, this stuff super angers men. I think because men are taught that feminine is shameful and disgusting from a young age, anyone who revels in femininity should be despised.

The bimbo has no gender, no class, no race or ability. The only requirement for bimbofication is that you embrace and reclaim your body in the name of independence. All that matters is that you are both physically and mentally hot and sexy, on your own terms. It is about no longer minimising yourself for the sake of other people, reclaiming your identity. Of course, we should celebrate taking pride in our appearances, if that’s something that brings us joy, let alone power and purpose.