Talk:Bimbo

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Self promotion?[edit]

The paragraphs on Alicia Amira and "BimboTok" feel like self-promotion. The people mentioned, including Amira, don't have especially large followings, and I suspect they are less relevant than portrayed. Many of the links are YouTube. It is very easy to make a statement on social media that you are starting a movement but my feeling is more evidence is needed that these movements and people are significant. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Krombopulos11 (talk • contribs) 23:22, 6 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I agree with parts of your first sentence. And whilst this shall not be interpreted as support for an atmosphere of tyrannical arrogance or a regnancy of pressures from the parasitic fallacies of (blind) religiousness, this platform may to be prone to such lobbying.
1. The statement of being "(...) the woman most responsible for popularizing the idea of reclaiming hyper-femininity" is referenced as stemming from this article. Aside from there appearing to be little to no critical examination of the invasive and artificial nature of their disfigurement, in the interview section of the article, the author seems to refer to themself as part of this supposed movement when they ask: "Until we get to full acceptance (...) what still needs to change? (...)". Therefore, this article may need to be regarded as an advertisement.
2. This is reinforced by the following statement by the supposed movement's founder:
"It's the same reason why so many countries and governments refuse to accept the sex industry (...) as equals. It's a fear of letting people think for themselves. Letting people choose for themselves would mean not everything you've been told about the sex industry is true. It would mean that women who are happy in the sex industry aren't a myth. If it was accepted to work in the sex industry, it would mean that more women would seek that line of work (...) and that (...) scares people."
There does not seem to be any critical examination of this argumental contortion whatsoever. While negative views on pornography and prostitution probably include generalisations, what is not mentioned is the weight of the fundamental criticisms against the aforementioned. In their cores, pornography and prostitution both represent forms of exploitation. It represents an exploitation and speaks of a lack of respect for oneself to instrumentalise one's own intimacy for its tendentially consequential biological ability to induce sexual arousal. The harvesting of individuals, most if not all of whom are facing loneliness(es) and who long for affection and intimacy, represents an exploitation as well, and speaks of a disregard for others. Instead of taking serious their challenging situation and reminding them that they can work on and contribute to aspects about what is referred to as relationships, while it would also be necessary to honestly acknowledge that various complexities in this regard may be encountered, even raising questions about whether romantic relationships sometimes represent human respectively societal constructs, they are instead offered sexual encounters and or recordings in exchange for money or comparable assets of supposed value. And in most cases, and despite pathetic attempts to make them seem meaningful and personal, they tend to be of a miserable hollowness. As little to nothing was built together over time and as there is little to no interest in each other as persons, a charade lacking in depth is what it represents. And that is putting it mildly.
3. The statement fashionably claiming that "The bimbo movement is an internationally recognized women's rights movement consisting of hundreds of thousands of self-proclaimed bimbos working to end stigma." is referenced as stemming from this video. The video comes across as promotional, all while the channel seems to engage in sensationalist, tabloid content in order to generate a hallmark of capitalist respectively commercialised divesture, namely advertisement revenue.
lmaxmai 24 March 2023 (UTC)

Disambiguous[edit]

I don't know where to add this, but "Bimbo" is also a Hispanic bread manufacturer (http://www.bimbo.com/). Estrellador* 20:58, 1 Jun 2005 (UTC)

It seems to be correct that there is no relationship between the here discussed term and the mentioned brand name's original intention, according to the company itself, but is your unilateral deletion of their attempted contribution not somewhat questionable as well? And might the example in your countering argument not be a little bit further removed from the subject here? Actually, no, as it was not an argument but a quote! An error of mine. In regards to the aspect of not the berry's but the resulting drink's colour, nevertheless, here's a little curiosity. In the current form of this brand's product, although natural raspberry aroma for some reason seems to be included at the end of the colourants section, available under "Produktspezifikationen", the colour mainly seems to be a result of the two preceding ingredients, namely caramel coloring and "Azorubin". In the current form of another product, "Anthocyanine" and "carminic acid" are stated to be responsible for the colour. And whilst the first one originates from vegetables and could be seen as sufficient, the latter absurdly is harvested from Dactylopius coccus.
lmaxmai 24 March 2023 (UTC)

The word "bimbo"[edit]

It must have been in use in the early 20th century, based on the lyrics of this song from 1921, apparently written by Grant Clarke

http://www.turtleserviceslimited.org/mylittlebimbo.htm

The bit about "Italian language words of male gender" should be explained or deleted. Ghosts&empties 10:42, 9 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I have tried to clarify Plch 18:39, 17 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The detailed definition makes it clear that there are two meanings- unintelligent being the original and main definition, sexual promiscuity the more recent secondary meaning. But the introduction refers only to sexual promiscuity. This isn't correct, surely. Isn't it still the case that the word means an unintelligent person, primarily female - rather than a sexually promiscuous one? The latter characteristics often follows on from the first!203.184.41.226 (talk) 21:53, 10 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Yeah, the article says 21st century, but it then goes on to explain its use in the 20th, with that full meaning of a dumb blonde stereotype, so... That should probably just say 20th. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:449:4581:6920:4D88:C005:2522:C5F8 (talk) 08:04, 22 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Original use of "bimbo"[edit]

According to http://local.aaca.org/bntc/slang/slang.htm the word "bimbo" originally meant "a tough guy" in the 1920s.Adamc55 01:38, 8 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I saw that too. As the Italian origin suggests, it surely must have originally been a term referring to guys. This is where we need to enlist the help of older men and women who can give us first-hand accountings of what these terms meant in different eras and locales. -- Blueguy 65.0.209.185 (talk) 13:16, 16 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I don't think the hypothesis of Italian origin is compatible with the current meaning. Bimbo = bambino means a little child in Italian, not a tough guy or a blonde girl with low IQ. Lebatsnok (talk) 11:27, 6 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]


The word Bimbo or Bimbom was once used to refer to a person like the popular European clowns and satirists Bim Bom who are best known for being assassinated on stage by a Bolshevik officer while joking about Bolsheviks dressed up as a Bolshevik clown. This gave rise to two interpretations of the word. One as a strong man of conviction who never flinched or wavered in his opinion even in the face of death or the ignorant fool who didn't know to shut up even when it would get him killed. The later was the most promulgated view promoted by the Russian propagandists of the revolution.

This could explain the reference to your girlfriend at the social event that gets you fired because she doesn't understand when to shut up or many other injections of Bimbo in modern culture.

Bim Bom may very well chosen his clown names from Italian derogatory terms or obscenity. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.91.11.212 (talk) 07:17, 10 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

When Mobsters referred to ignorant dangerous girlfriends that got their mod boyfriends arrested for talking too much, they were referring to the the clown Bimbom getting himself killed by not keeping quiet. Scottprovost (talk) 07:32, 10 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The movie Russian Revolution in Color depicts Bimbon getting assassinated. Scottprovost (talk) 07:37, 10 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

--Bimbo is also Japanese for 'poor'. It might have arrived in the US lexicon via merchant sailors that visited Japanese ports and encountered 'working ladies' trying to make money, which would support the pejorative nature of the word when applied to women. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 138.163.0.44 (talk) 22:57, 31 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Polari?[edit]

I've removed the reference to Polari. Is there any evidence that the use of "bimbo" in English comes from Polari and not just Italian? It doesn't seem likely, considering the above reference and the large number of native Italian speakers in the U.S. in the early 20th C.--Pharos 09:05, 22 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Expansion[edit]

This article needs to get expanded. Does anyone have any ideas to make this article longer? --71.118.77.23 23:49, 12 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Who deleted the pics? 68.50.146.22 20:47, 10 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

In German[edit]

... "Bimbo" is a very rude word for a black person. Does this have a place here? Absurdistani (talk) —Preceding undated comment was added at 10:26, 3 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

A word for a black person: I agree;
"a very rude word for a black person": That depends.
Originally, it was a word that came from Africa, in the relatively short era of German colonization, which ended 1918 with WW I. Maybe it is an artificial word, like "massa" (which comes from an incorrect pronunciation of "master"); but I guess it is an original word from an African language, like "simba" (as in Simbabwe), meaning lion. "Bimbo" was a word for an African, brought from Africa, uttered by German colonists in an attitude of racial arrogance.
But for us young students in the Germany of the 1970ies, that was only an image of times long gone by, like a Turkish serail in which a sultan kept his harem; there was a bit of ashamedness for past centuries in it, but mostly it was kind of folkloristic. The word was mostly used in the connection "Bimbo-Fête", a party arranged by African students at the campus area or in student houses where students from all nations lived, with loud African music and feverish dancing, which the guys loved, and meeting white girls and dancing with them and dragging them into their beds, which they loved even more. So when we met in the group kitchen, there was no problem asking with a grin: "Hey Youssou, I heard your friends are going to make a bimbo-fête next weekend?": it was not meant hostile, though a bit teasing, but no more than when we called out: "Sabine, stop torturing that cat or we will call the police!" when our colleague Sabine was practicing to play the violin behind her closed appartment door. It was not at all PC; but you, too, have fun watching Al Bundy, don't you? And Youssou and the other black guys understood the way it was meant, grinned back, and did't mind. Such were things at our university; and I do think it was the same elsewhere.
So to cut a long story short: Meanings of words can change; and so did this one. Don't see things too stereotypically! - Wolfram from Germany

this is great —Preceding unsigned comment added by Menat22 (talk • contribs) 21:58, 15 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I know the meaning of "Bimbo" in German not only as a black person. Maybe this is just in Switzerland or just in the Region I grew up. Here a Bimbo is basically a slave. Not a strong word either, just a little joke or a sarcastic comment. It can be used for any skin color or gender but mostly refers to a younger, unexperienced and often innocent and overly friendly person who can not yet tell when others are just using him/her. For example a 16 year old apprentice can be sent to a store to buy things, therefore he is a Bimbo (Swiss-German word would also be Gang-Go, whch can be translated in English with go-do). Or for example when asking somebody to carry something unneccessarily heavy, the answer often is "I'm not your Bimbo". In relation to the original comment by Absurdistani, most likely the meaning of "slave" came from the time when black people (the Bimbos) actually were regarded as slaves. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.62.128.4 (talk) 21:05, 16 August 2011 (UTC) The IP is right. Here in Germany bimbo has 2 meanings. 1st a black african person 2nd someone who does everything for someone without getting something for it -> kinda slave-like. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.78.183.47 (talk) 17:21, 29 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]

In german, the word 'Bimbo' is equivalent to the anglo-american notion of the word 'Nigger'. It is considered to be very rude - and there are only a few truly rude words of non-sexual origin - even when uttered amongst Whites. I've heard it only once on the telly and then solely in a satirical context ("Obama has to be considered firstly as a Bimbo!" Serdar Somuncu, 2009 'ein demagogischer Blindentest').

When used in conversation, it refers mainly to negroes living in Africa still or those individuals, who are superficially thought of as newly arrived or still able to fit in their clicheed land of origin (by which I mean: in usage by uneducated simpletons, who assume it insults more as nigger would do). A.f.a.i.k, this ill-defined field of significance goes back to the second world war (german wiki once mentioned a journalist of jewish-american origin, who reported the use of the word in 1944 in context to black GI's). I've never heard it in contextual proximity to 'slave' or 'servant' - that would be 'Neger' (which is also a not uncommon german surname). The dumb&blond&sexy-connotation thus has no bearing in german culture - which makes it sometimes rather funny, when encountering the widespread Bimbo-notion abroad. "What? Bimbo??? She's a sexy blond female - not a male from the black continent!" --77.188.33.200 (talk) 21:21, 15 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Word not known in Britain in 1927[edit]

I have no idea whether this is should be incorporated into the article, but in Bimbo we have a rare example of a word being used precisely because it has no known meaning. The reference is from one of A.P. Herbert's 'Misleading Cases': Uncommon Law, Trott v Tulip: Is 'Highbrow' Libellous, 8, pp42-52.

... one man might say to another, 'You are a Bimbo', or 'You look like a Togg', without offence; for these expressions, though presumably hostile in intention, have no known significance, discourteous or otherwise.

This would originally have been published in Punch but I cannot find a record of the date. However in a postscript to the Uncommon Law chapter above, the author states "This case was heard in 1927", and it certainly is no later than that as it appears in Misleading Cases in the Common Law published by Methuen in 1927.--Zipperdeedoodah (talk) 20:49, 12 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Merge suggestion Bimbo + Dumb blonde[edit]

  • oppose - almost no overlap. Diffferent term history, different content, etc. Wikipedia is not paper; noi need to put all eggs in one basket. - Altenmann >t 16:59, 15 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • oppose - almost no comparitive overlapping. Diffferent thought process for each. Dumb Blond is mostly considered in positive light, or at least 'cute', including dumb blond jokes. Bimbo implies a negative, usually limited to sexual content. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.25.104.8 (talk) 15:47, 27 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose per above. Also, I rewrote a bit and moved dumb blonde into blonde stereotype, per its talk page. Twri (talk) 18:12, 30 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose for the reasons mentioned by Altenmann. --Acluke (talk) 02:32, 23 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Article References[edit]

I'll try and improve this article over the next few days. The links below will eventually be incorperated into the article as information and references. Feel free to add! --Acluke (talk) 02:32, 23 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1288045/Why-bimbos-like-late-Anna-Nicole-Smith-cleverer-seem.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Bimbofication[edit]

The following was removed due to lack of reliable sources. If you find such a source, please reinclude it. Thanks!

Bimbofication The term "Bimbofication" or "Bimboization" is used to refer to the process of a person acquring the physical or mental traits that are typically associated with a bimbo. This can refer to a person's consious decision or through a percieved change in their actions and personality. Bimbofication can also refer to going through surgery in order to atain traits often associated with the stereotypical bimbo, regardless of their intent, such as "breast enlargement". Acluke (talk) 06:06, 23 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

It’s true Scotty Field (talk) 09:08, 26 January 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Can confirm this is true Charliegreen1 (talk) 02:44, 24 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Notable Bimbos[edit]

If anyone can think of any fictional or real-life bimbos, preferably with references to them being referred to as such, please feel free to add them to the popular culture/notable bimbos section. Thanks! Acluke (talk) 00:19, 24 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Inaccurate to say not pejorative[edit]

I intend to change this sentence from the opening: “The term itself is not explicitly negative, but can be used as a derogative insult towards a woman.”

The notion that the term “bimbo” is not pejorative is absurd. As the article explains the word refers to a person who attractive yet stupid. It has never been a compliment, or a “neutral” to call someone stupid.

In recent years some younger people have taken to using the word ironically, especially when referring to themselves, similarly as has been done with the words like “bitch,” “slut,” etc. This Feminist subversion of words that denigrate behavior by females that traditionally goes uncriticized in males may be a cheeky slap at cultural stereotypes and outmoded gender roles, but it does not amount to a reclassification of a word is still a pejorative and used as such in standard speech.

Indeed such ironic use rarely results in shedding of original meaning. For instance “fag” and “nigger” have long been used in this manner, but no one would suggest that they are “not explicitly negative.” That someone would say such a thing in this case is itself a matter of gender bias.TheCormac (talk) 21:14, 8 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

==Laverne and Shirley== This show should be mentioned for it's common usage of the word "bimbo" and the running gag of Laverne getting angry to the point of attempting violence at being called one.

Split?[edit]

Surely this article is a candidate for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:CONSPLIT#Content_split? I would think this page should deal with the "attractive but unintelligent..." and some of the other uses (e.g. Nigerian name) should be moved to the disambiguation page? Not sure how to start a vote though, I'm afraid. --81.23.54.142 (talk) 18:24, 29 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]

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Definition for the WP:Lead sentence[edit]

As seen here, here and here, IP 93.36.190.141 has repeatedly violated WP:Undue weight by having the lead sentence state that "bimbo" means child. That meaning is not the common definition of the word and does not belong as the first sentence. The History section covers origins of the term already.

Thoughts? I'll alert WP:WikiProject Languages, WP:Women and WP:Women's History to the matter for discussion. Flyer22 Reborn (talk) 15:52, 4 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Referring to WP:Undue weight is misleading: if these informations were really undued, they would have not been in the article. Yet, they are. My change is not as significant as you point it out to be, making the edit war you started pretty pointless. Substantially, i only added one and a half sentence: [1]. I will quote myself from my message you have deleted without any real reason ([2] not even answering me, not even lettin me know you were going to start this discussion by the way), reverting a passage that, whatever your opinions are on the matter, is indeed correct and consistent with both the subject and the article. It's not a matter of historical perspective to talk firstly about the meaning of the italian world "bimbo", it's a matter of context perspective. It is logical that first you briefly explain the term, then you talk about a local use of it in a single english country: this explain its origin, original meaning, current meaning outside the US and only then why it is used with such a meaning in american english. This is not the wikipedia of the US, but an english version of wikipedia, which should not be localistic: it should not be written from the pov of americans but in an international perspective. Therefore it only makes sense to first say what the term means and where it comes from and only then how it is used locally in a single english nation, especially considering that the US is not the only english speaking nation in the world and that in other english speaking countries this term is not used, while instead english people commonly have contacts with italian tourists/workers/migrants, which are everywhere in english speaking countries, using "bimbo" in its current italian meaning. My change doesn't change that much, but it puts informations in a logical flow. As of now, the lead of the article state the term originated in 1919 as a term for unintellingent male, which is basically false, as the term is a many century-old and still used italian world which was simply adapted in the second half of XXth century as an american slang. That is the context i provided and you take away, letting tha article say things that are not true. 93.36.190.141 (talk) 17:04, 4 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]
I was asked to come here by 93.36 as a neutral party. I would request that the edit warring stop and that this be worked out on this page. In looking at the above posts, I think you each have some good points and I hope that you are able to resolve this. It is true that the lead is only meant to summarize the article content that follows and does not need to contain every detail. It is also true that WP:UNDUE isn't just about the article as a whole, but about parts(like the lead) as well. Not everything in the article needs to be in the lead. Furthermore, it is true that the article should reflect the fact that it will be read by anyone who knows English and not just Americans(where this term is used most). I don't know how to balance these points, but I believe that constructive discussion should take place here. I see that relevant WikiProjects have been notified, some other opinions might be helpful here, of those more knowledgeable in this subject area than myself. 331dot (talk) 22:04, 4 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, yes, IP, we all know that you went to 331dot and Bagumba to inaccurately complain, as seen here and here. I'm a woman, by the way. 331dot has stated what I would have stated about WP:Undue. WP:Undue applies to the lead and placement of text as well. You are giving WP:Undue weight to a definition that is not the most common definition of the term. A simple Google search shows that the term is first and foremost usually defined as a disparaging term for a man (outdated) or a woman, as seen with this Merriam-Webster source and this Dictionary.com source. They also speak of "Italian bimbo baby" as possibly being the origin of the term. But like the Wikipedia article notes with sources, terms evolve. "Bimbo" is more so associated with attractive but dumb women these days. Despite what you've stated on my talk page, this is not a U.S. thing. It's a common definition thing. "Bitch" originally meant "female dog," and is still sometimes used that way, but that is not the most common definition of the term now. "Gay" originally meant "carefree" or "happy," but that is not the most common definition of the term now. You even used "now" in the lead of the Bimbo article (twice). In both of the Bitch and Gay articles, we begin with the most common definition, and note original definitions later (although the Bitch article does begin with "literally meaning a female dog" before immediately following up with "is a pejorative slang word for a person—usually a woman"). Similar should be done with this article, per WP:Due and WP:Principle of least astonishment. I'm not debating this matter with you any further. If no one else weighs in, or we don't get enough opinions for a consensus, I will simply start an RfC. And as for not letting you know I'd be starting this discussion, I told you when reverting you that I would be taking the matter to the talk page. I meant "article talk page." Certainly not mine or yours. Flyer22 Reborn (talk) 07:54, 5 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Madonna?[edit]

"In 2017, "The Bimbo Movement" was founded by self-proclaimed bimbo and adult star Alicia Amira" Is she really the most emblematic woman reclaiming the word "bimbo"? Madonna was doing it way earlier, referring herself to as a "bimbo" who is in charge of her sexuality. 80.98.191.91 (talk) 09:13, 23 October 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Off-topic original research[edit]

The so-called "Popular culture" section has been deleted as containing nothing but original research, often wide of the topic. It should not be reinstated without discussion here. Sweetpool50 (talk) 20:52, 12 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

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