While Chlapecka’s gen Z bimboism resonated on TikTok, with its bubblegum pink optics grounded in inclusive, anti-capitalist, jubilantly queer and aggressively kind ideology, her aesthetics did fit neatly into the recognisable stereotype of bimbos over the years.
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Its success shot Chlapecka, who now has four million followers, to TikTok fame, along with her concept of bimbology. But TikTok fame is fickle, and Chlapecka’s comment section received as much love from the girlies, gays and theys, as hate from the people – the majority of them being men – who felt personally attacked by the subject matter. Her brand, characterised by ultra-feminine optics and witty delivery that was at once sweet, sassy and savvy, struck a near-instant chord on TikTok. Chlapecka’s earlier content focused on providing motivational, inspiring messages for the “girls, gays and theys, or anyone unfortunate enough to be attracted to men”. The doe-eyed, blonde-haired, pink-latex-clad, she/they viral superstar shot to prominence on the app in late 2020, at a time when US social media was galvanized by Black Lives Matter, the accelerating pandemic, and the upcoming Biden/Trump election. This new stream in the algorithm, with its dazzlingly beautiful creators declaring “Wear whatever the fuck you want”, “I hate all men”, and, “Good morning bimbos, thembos, himbos, bimboys and any bo you wanna be”, was something else entirely.Ĭhrissy Chlapecka was one of the earliest pioneers of bimboism on TikTok. Then, as the app’s famed algorithm picked up on small nuances in my interest, gaged predominately by watch time, my feed gradually moved to “hot girl Tok”, then jumped to “bisexual Tok”, before it slid over to “edu-Tok”, which brought me to “leftist Tok”, and then I somehow ended up back at what I assumed was simply “hot girl Tok” all over again.īut that wasn’t it. Clearly, no app filled the void left by our lost social interaction quite like TikTok, with its endless stream of faces, funnies, memes and discourse.įor those new to the app at the time, the way you jumped through the algorithm’s hoops, landing on different – often surprisingly niche – subcultures, was a source of fascination.Īs with all newbies, I started on general TikTok: dance routines, funny home videos, viral skits and pet videos. In 2020, as the pandemic ramped up, those of us in lockdown turned to social media to squander the endless hours of isolation we’d found ourselves facing.
![the user above is ultra gay meme the user above is ultra gay meme](https://www.dailydot.com/wp-content/uploads/582/09/9aeb7c54e455401e.jpg)
It’s been rising to prominence over the past two years and, for regular users of the app, is basically vintage ideology – certified TikTok canon. There is, actually, careful thought behind bimbology, and it could be a way to reach true liberation.
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The modern-day bimbo is a fresh approach to intersectional feminism. But what is a bimbo? And what does bimbofication entail? And isn’t ‘bimbo’… like… a slur?