The Bimbo Renaissance

The Weaponized Performance of Hyperfemininity

“Bimbo feminism” has seen a meteoric rise in recent years, exemplified by last summer’s Barbiemania, but it’s part of a much larger, very visible effort to reconcile feminism and femininity. And so my first project of 2024 is a *very* deep dive into bimbo culture, tracing its evolution in the media parallel to public attitudes about feminism, and contextualizing it within the broader pop culture landscape. I argue that the Barbie movie would not have been as successful had the past decade not laid the groundwork for the return to hyperfemininity — the Trump administration, the pandemic, and the recharacterization of female public figures and celebrity media. It’s especially important to be critical of entertainment at a time when media literacy is lacking in cultural discourse and, to be honest, after a couple of very difficult years, it’s tempting to revert to complacency. But universal liberation is a worthwhile pursuit, and from a cultural theory standpoint, I promise that it’s all connected.

Hot tip: Make sure you read my notes in the comments for context; just click the three dots and select “open speaker notes”

Originally published at https://www.jayemsey.com on January 18th, 2024.