In Support Of The Horror Bimbo
THE Tiffany Valentine <3
If you’ve been on TikTok recently you might’ve heard about the bimbo revolution. Today’s bimbos are reclaiming the word and rocking it. The movement‚—being streamlined by creators like Chrissy Chlapecka @chrissychlapecka, Griffin Maxwell Brooks @griffinmaxwellbrooks, and Syrena @fauxrich—is taking a feminist approach to the historically misogynist characterization. This shift in the bimbo’s likeness can also be seen in horror.
First off, what is a bimbo? Being a bimbo has nothing to do with your gender or intelligence level. Anyone can be a bimbo! A bimbo is someone who is true to themselves and supportive of the people around them. Bimbos fully embrace camp and often wear things that would make the pilgrims roll in their graves. It’s about doing and wearing things that make you happy regardless of what others think about it. Modern bimbos are challenging the concept of intelligence (or at least what men see as intelligence). Elle Woods is a great example of a bimbo: someone who knows she’s smart, supports others, and practices selfcare every day. The new age bimbo aims to disprove the generally racist and patriarchal way that society views intellect.
One of the reasons bimbos are so empowering is that they embrace femininity. Much like Daphne Blake from Scooby-Doo, bimbos love fashion, makeup, and pop culture. Bimbo culture is the opposite of the “girlboss” ideal that’s been shoved down our throats for the past decade. Rather than upholding the capitalist work-oriented girl that wants to be different from other women, bimbos are comfortable being “girly.” They have no qualms about being like “other girls” because there’s nothing wrong with other girls. Bimbos reject the masculine mindset that feminity equals stupidity.
I believe that the iconic bimbos of horror helped create the bimbos of today. Horror has a difficult history when it comes to its portrayals of women and the LGBTQ+ community. A well-established rule of horror is that non-virgin women and queer people are generally the first to be murdered (usually in incredibly violent and brutal ways). Horror also has a long history of queercoding its villains and monsters. Bimbos are especially a staple of the slasher genre, as Sidney Prescott says “They’re all the same… some big-breasted girl who can't act and is always running up the stairs when she should be running out the front door.” Horror bimbos usually make stupid decisions causing you to want to yell at the screen. There are a handful of bimbos in horror that shifted the way women are portrayed in the genre, however. They made smart decisions and were able to overcome the powers fighting against them.
Elvira changed the game. Elvira was witty, sexy, hilarious, kind, and liberated. She was authentically herself in her films. Her spectators judged her relentlessly, but she didn’t mind. She knew exactly who she was and she loved herself. Elvira took traits that society deems as “unladylike”—wearing black, flashy drag queen hair and makeup, humor, intelligence, power, sexuality, and fierce confidence—and wrapped them up in a gorgeous and feminine character. She completely contradicts the image of an ingénue. Elvira dresses in a way that makes her feel good, rather than to appeal to the male gaze. Because of this, women and girls make up the majority of her fanbase. Young women and queer people find her inspiring, a perfect role model to emulate. Many of the goth bimbos on TikTok credit Elvira as one of their biggest bimbo influences.
Tiffany Valentine is also frequently credited with inspiring the next generation of bimbos. Perhaps not the same kind of role model, Tiffany Valentine changed the way many bimbos saw themselves. Women rarely get the better of men in horror, but Tiffany took no prisoners. When we first meet Tiffany she slits a man’s throat with a nail file. Her character showcased that one can be feminine and evil, and she does so effortlessly. Tiffany’s no damsel in distress, she’s a ruthless killer that knows what she wants. She was even accepting of her gender-fluid child (even though she didn’t necessarily understand them). Tiffany empowered us all to be ourselves and look killer doing it. I know for me personally, she was one of the first mid-sized characters I saw who was comfortable in her own skin (at least for the few minutes we see her in it). Jennifer Tilly’s iconic role challenged our view of what feminity could look and act like.
From the genius Dr. Frank-N-Furter to sarcastic queen Tatum Riley, bimbos in horror have always subverted expectations. As usual, horror is ahead of its time. Our favorite smooth-brained icons paved the way for today’s ditzy darlings. Bimbos are embodying the spirit of horror by confronting societal norms and taking the world out of its comfort zone. It’s like, totally epic!
