#bimtheory

[bimtheory]

Trying to watch Marilyn Monroe films again because I feel like it's impossible to write a book about bimbos and not mention Marilyn, but it's proving to be difficult.

I'm trying my best, but I just can't figure out what people find special about her. And it's so hard to find any sort of truth. There are so many made up quotes and misconceptions just to further this narrative of Marilyn as the ultimate victim, people treat her like a martyr. If she's not being discussed and treated as a sex symbol she's being used as a symbol for tragedy, and would Marilyn even want that?

In a 1962 interview published by Life Magazine a day before her death, she had this to say:

"I don’t mind being burdened with being glamorous and sexual. But what goes with it can be a burden. Like the man was going to show me around but the woman said, “Off the premises.” I feel that beauty and femininity are ageless and can’t be contrived, and glamour, although the manufacturers won’t like this, cannot be manufactured. Not real glamour, it’s based on femininity. I think that sexuality is only attractive when it’s natural and spontaneous. This is where alot of them miss the boat. And then something I’d just like to spout off on. We are all born sexual creatures, thank God, but it’s a pity so many people despise and crush this natural gift. Art, real art, comes from it, everything. I never quite understood it, this sex symbol. I always thought symbols were those things you clash together! That’s the trouble, a sex symbol becomes a thing. I just hate to be a thing. But if I’m going to be a symbol of something I’d rather have it sex than some other things they’ve got symbols of! These girls who try to be me, I guess the studios put them up to it, or they get the ideas themselves. But gee, they haven’t got it. You can make alot of gags about it like they haven’t got the foreground or else they haven’t the background. But I mean the middle, where you live."

And, later in the interview:

"It might be a kind of relief to be finished. It’s sort of like, I don’t know, what kind of a yard dash you’re running, but then you’re at the finish line and you sort of see you’ve made it! But you never have. You have to start all over again. But I believe you’re always as good as your potential. I now live in my work and in a few relationships with the few people I can really count on. Fame will go by and, so long, I’ve had you fame. If it goes by, I’ve always known it was fickle. So at least it’s something I experienced, but that’s not where I live."

None of this is paraphrased. And, personally, it sounds to me like she rather be remembered for being a sexy actress than whatever this is:

But a lot of people who claim to be Marilyn Monroe fans or even just mention her don't seem to care about or have any actual interest in her. Unfortunately, I think Andrew Dominik may have been right in that (most) people are not watching her films. I have friends that won't even touch movies from before 1980, let alone the 50s. And watching the clip of her performing Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend on YouTube is not watching one of her movies.

Marilyn is invoked when people want to a sort of classy sexuality, or beautiful "feminine" tragedy, which is bullshit.

But anyway, like I was saying, I don't get the appeal. And it's hard to find any writing approaching her honestly and critically instead of constant "she was a perfect angel that could do no wrong"-tier glazing. I don't mean to be rude; I have nothing against her, and her life did seem tragic in some respects, but it always feels like the praise outweighs the reality of the material. Like people felt bad having been so judgmental about her after the circumstances of her death that they overshot trying to make up for it and Marilyn became indicative of the tragedy and mistreatment of every woman, a myth that has been passed down for generations at this point.

I don't know. That's just how it seems to me. I read people talk about how great of an actress she really was, but I don't see it, and people conveniently always forget to explain how she was a good actress or what made her so great, just "she trained at The Actor's Studio!", a lot of actors did.

[understandingbimbos]

I am not pro-plastic; however, I cannot condemn cosmetic surgery either. I enjoy the effect of it, I run a bimbo blog, that's no secret.

But cosmetic surgery, like all surgery, comes at a risk -- in the "bimbo" community alone many women have died trying to max themselves out physically -- and I can't condone the reality and possibility of a fatal outcome for something so frivolous. Cosmetic surgery is not foolproof or all-encompassing either. I'm no doctor, I haven't studied this, but I follow enough of these women online (as I'm sure many of you do) to know that these procedures require routine maintenance, upkeep; not to mention instances where further surgery is required to makeup for unforeseen complications, including unsatisfactory results.

I think you get the picture. And if you don't, watch Death Becomes Her.

That's my main objection. No matter how sexually satisfying I often find the results the risks far outweigh the benefits, in my opinion.

Another common and also very real objection, usually intermingled with this one, is the internalized desire to adhere to a male ideal of sexualization; self-objectification.

I take issue with this objection for cosmetic surgery, not because I disagree with it or think women should feel a desire to be desired, my issue is more implicit than that; the underlying expectation that one must be satisfied with or even comfortable in their natural body. Sexual freedom begins not only with physical self-possession but physical self-conviction. Not just confidence and control in one's self but assuredness, unwavering belief in one's self.

Of course, insecurity isn't the fault of the individual, and running off to get plastic surgery probably shouldn't be someone's first instinct of but I do think it's not an entirely invalid option depending on certain circumstances. Sometimes cosmetic surgery can make a monumental difference for an individual and be not only worth it, but freeing. As for whether cosmetic surgery should ever be considered worth it or freeing... well, no, but that's a much larger issue.

[bimtheory]

I've recently done something I never thought I would, I've gotten in anime. I think the innocent girl next door bimbo act is a style that works best for gaining power while not being perceived as a threat. I'm studying it more and learning how to adopt it in my daily life and interactions. I love your perspective and ideas so I wanted to ask your thoughts on this and on the innocent girl next door act.

I have to be honest, I'm not overly familiar with the "girl next door" archetype because, to me, the girl next door is everything a bimbo isn't. But that's really just a preference, bimbos aren't that cut and dry. Just yesterday I was considering making a post about the basic bimbo types because I tried watching Jersey Shore and it made me realize that when we talk about intelligence, well, lack of intelligence -- there are pretty consistent forms it comes in. People get REALLY hung up on the intelligence loss aspect of bimbofication and claim "bimbos don't need to be dumb" but its all about one's personal perception of what "dumb" is. Chances are whatever alternative they suggest in place of intelligence loss is something that can also be read as "dumb".

Excuse me for going off on a tangent here but I'm going to continue. I also almost made this point on the main blog several months ago using My Little Pony characters as examples but I kept debating the... ethics? of that. Anyway, I'm gonna do it now.

Let's begin with Twilight Sparkle (These will be very loose examples btw). You may think "how could a character who's whole thing is being an egghead bookworm represent a lack of intelligence?" Very easily actually. A character like Twilight's stupidity would come in the form of the Absent-Minded Professor archetype. Basically, picture a bimbo who's very competent or intelligent but also a total klutz. We can have a bimbo character who's technically smart but express a sense and perception of stupidity by making them clumsy, oblivious, and socially unaware.

Then you have Fluttershy, who would probably fall more into the innocent girl next door type as you've described. A Fluttershy type bimbo would be perceived as unintelligent through being docile, passive, meek, (I personally prefer these words to just "submissive") or gullible. But she could still technically be smart.

Rarity... kind of goes without saying. A "lack of intelligence" would be expressed through perceived superficiality, an interest in glamorous and feminine things. This is literally the plot of Legally Blonde. Rarity and Elle are girly and glamorous but also kind and intelligent. Of course you could also make this type of bimbo much more vapid and uncaring, even cruel, and get the more trophy wife-gold digger social media influencer type of bimbo. Again, there are A LOT of different bimbo types. Moving on.

Pinkie Pie. Pinkie would represent probably the most common and popular type of bimbo. Silly, giggly, bubbly, hedonistic. Of course, this doesn't mean the character would actually have to be "dumb" in a technical sense, and Pinkie definitely isn't.

Now... Rainbow Dash. With her and AJ being the tomboys of the group there's bound to be a bit of overlap but I'd argue the perception of stupidity tied to RD would be that of a meathead jock. You don't see bimbos like this often, if ever, but it'd be the type of bimbo that's very brash. While a Pinkie type bimbo would probably exhibit eager playfulness an RD-style bimbo might be more aggressive in her pursuits. Her "stupidity" would be expressed through recklessness, cockiness, and probably like crass vulgarity.

And finally, Applejack. While I mentioned there being overlap between her and an RD-style bimbo it may be more accurate to say an Applejack style bimbo would have more in common with the Fluttershy-style in that the Apple-bimbo would appear stupid via a lack of pretension. Sort of the "Farmer's Daughter" type, there's a traditional aspect to it. The Applejack style bimbo would be marked by simplicity above all, the most likely to settle down and be a housewife. There's also possibly the connotation of being and ignorance stemming from small-town seclusion, refusal to change, or a refusal to question things. Consider the episodes:

Applebuck Season

Look Before You Sleep

Bridle Gossip

Over a Barrel

Made in Manehattan

Applejack's Day Off

The Cart Before the Ponies

Honest Apple

Sincerest apologies for the very long detour, anon. Like I was saying, I'm not familiar enough with the "Girl Next Door" archetype to truly comment, maybe not familiar enough with anime either because it took me forever to come up with even one example -- Orihime Inoue from Bleach, and I can't think of anyone else. But it does seem like something to consider and definitely look more into, if you're comfortable sending another message I'd love to know specifically what anime you've been watching and what characters you had in mind. Also curious as to how you plan on employing these tactics IRL. It does strike me, now that I'm winding down, that by "gaining power" you may be referring to like Emmet Till shit, performing innocence and vulnerability to get men be very protective of you.

[understandingbimbos]

Not really a formal post, I'd just like to say planning a book is very hard. And not having anybody to talk to or ask for help is stifling. I wish I could make real progress already.

Currently the focus of my studies has been feminist theory and it's opened my mind to a lot of possible avenues of discussion, but it's also so dense... and the deeper I get into both feminist theory and feminist film theory I wonder how the hell I'll be able to fit everything into one book. I have no idea how to divvy up the subjects or create a sensible throughline. I'm not even sure what my thesis or argument is anymore. Everything is kind of mixed up. I'm stressed and haven't been getting sleep.

My main thoughts at this time are:

Bimbos are the ultimate synthesis of pornography

"Bimbo" is a celebration, and burlesque, of femininity

And once I start writing the book there's so much I'll have to go over, even before I actually get to the fetish. Rosalie Duthe, maybe Clara Bow, Anita Loos, Jean Harlow, Mae West, possibly Lana Turner, Betty Grable, Jayne Mansfield, Marilyn Monroe, Brigitte Bardot, Raquel Welch, Sharon Tate, BARBIE, Ann-Margaret, Jill St. John... and that's before I even hit the 70s. There's SO much that goes into bimbos. I've been highlighting so much... and idk why I should even bother when Mina Le's already done a surprisingly thorough overview.

Anyway, I'll share some of my highlights. I recently read the original Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and its portrayal of a bimbo is incredibly for something that was written nearly 100 years ago.

In the movie, Marilyn's Lorelei is a gold digger that plays dumb because it's "what men want". Book Lorelei is an actual dummy, and a much more fun character. What's interesting is that she's a lot more "proper" character compared to her brunette friend. She's sort of like a modern Instagram trophy wife in that way; a bimbo aspiring towards class, despite an inherently unclassy nature she seems not to recognize. Despite how proper she wants to appear she has a serious lack of interest in anything even remotely serious, naturally preferring scandal and titillation. It's a very well-written book.

[understandingbimbos]

Mary Magdalene update -- April 25th, 2023.

Mary posts about Ashten's death.

[understandingbimbos]

Made a new tumblr account.

As some of you may know, this is a sideblog. And I really regret having made this a sideblog. I finally got fed up of not being able to reply/follow people back from here so I finally bit the bullet and just made a new account @bimtheory!

Not sure exactly what I'm gonna do with it yet though, whether I should try to migrate over to that account or just use it as a backup. Feels kind of stupid to make a brand new primary blog just to use it as a back up though... idk. And now there's also the twitter to worry about. I'm just gonna try to do my best, in all aspects, but really I just want to be able to focus on writing the book, there's a lot of work to do.

[understandingbimbos]

Potential Patreon description. Thoughts? Would you subscribe to this?

It's not published yet but its currently titled "BimTheory" as opposed to "Understanding Bimbos". Do you prefer one over the other? If I go with the former I may change the title of this blog to "BimTheory" for "synergy".