I recently received an ask on Tumblr that was probably my once-a-year ‘hate’ mail. Although I receive positive feedback for the most part on all of my platforms, it’s pretty inevitable that someone would spew hatred. This message said something along the lines of how different my personal Instagram is compared to my blog. On Instagram, I post selfies, while on my blog, I’m presumably more ‘intellectual’ and wordy. The ask insinuated that I look very bimbo-like and ditzy, going into detail with a bunch of nonsense that’s not worth explaining. However, this question inspired this blog post and made me think of an ongoing debate that I often have; why is it humanly impossible for people to grasp the fact that women can be both hyperfeminine and smart? As a hyperfeminine girly, I want to speak more about how frustrating it can be to navigate a world that sometimes seems against women who are all about their looks and looking good. And God forbid if this woman is also smart; how dare she be so multi-dimensional? Let’s get into a rant.

Section I: Defining The “Pretty” Trope.

Growing up, I was always into hyperfeminine fictional characters. If there was a representation of an extremely glamorous woman who was all about pampering herself (bonus if she was wealthy), I was an immediate fan. It not only inspired me at a young age, but it was who I wanted to be once I got older; an uber-fabulous girly-girl. These fictional characters I aspired to become often had similar traits: they were beautiful, wealthy, a bit materialistic, and very much so superficial. Oftentimes, they had the reputation of being ditzy, a ‘bimbo’ or self-absorbed. However, they were authentically themselves.

A fan-favorite fictional character of mine has always been both Dionne Davenport and Cher Horowitz from Clueless, for obvious reasons. People always ask me why I love this movie so much and how I can rewatch it over and over in a single sitting without getting sick of it. For one, the bougie, Black representation of Dionne Davenport was perfectly done. And two, Clueless was about a girl who was unapologetically clueless. Cher was the quintessential rich valley girl doing rich valley girl things. Sure, she could be a bit selfish at times, but who cares? The movie depicted girls who were blissfully in their own worlds, caring about topics the average person wouldn’t, which gave them the reputation of being ditzy. Because a girl who only cares about fashion and makeup has to be an idiot, right?

On the contrary, and as the inspiration behind this blog post, Elle Woods has recently become one of my favorite fictional characters. As a chick flick fanatic, I’ll be honest and say I didn’t like Legally Blonde because I couldn’t grasp the concept of a woman going to law school solely to pursue a man. However, after watching the entire movie and not just half of it, I realized just how likable Elle is. Despite her extra perky personality, the pink rhinestone-embellished two-piece bathing suit that she wore in her Harvard admissions video, and the fluffy pom-pom pens she used while preparing for her exams, she was smart. There was a pervasive misconception throughout the movie that this pink-loving, super-feminine girl couldn’t possibly pass the LSAT, get into Harvard, and excel academically. All while being beautiful? There’s NO way!

Despite liking a plethora of fictional characters that fit this description, there’s always one label that these ultra-feminine women would get hit with; dumb. Or even worse, bimbo. Some fictional characters I loved did fit the description of an airhead, like the well-known London Tipton from The Suite Life of Zack & Cody (who, funny enough, was inspired by Paris Hilton). London Tipton was rich, self-absorbed, and all about materialism and looking good. For some reason, these traits often correlate to a woman being perceived as not intellectual, and she did indeed fit that description.

I’m using these fictional characters to say that there’s often a common theme in terms of when this calling is warranted; the women are beautiful and hyperfemine. This is why we need to break the stereotype that beauty and brains can't coexist.

Section II: Defining the Odds.

Embrace Your Inner Bimbo.

Due to society's biases of labeling others without any context, it’s important to embrace your inner bimbo. If your ultra prissiness makes others uncomfortable, who cares? That’s their insecurity to work out, and frankly, it’s not your problem. I'll be transparent and say that as I've gotten older, there have been periods in my life where I felt I had to tone down my girliness to make others feel comfortable and not see me as 'too much.' Let me tell you - toning down yourself to fit in and appease others is whack. Blending in and conforming to be like others is not what a She Is So Bougie girly is about, as the theme song from The Nanny states, be the lady in red when everybody else is wearing tan. If you like to embrace your femininity everywhere you go, then do it. The amount of makeup you wear or the clothes you choose shouldn’t determine your intelligence.

I’ve always loved and somewhat admired both Pamela Anderson and Dolly Parton because they share similarities. They’re both blonde, have plastic surgery, wear a lot of makeup, and wear clothes that some might consider too tight. As judgmental as people can be, these two women have been called all types of names, often earning the notorious title of bimbo due to their looks. I’ve noticed that when people feel threatened by a woman’s confidence in presenting themselves a certain way, they often resort to name-calling. Since making fun of their looks is out of the question, they insult where it hurts the most: their smarts.

What I admire about these two women is that despite the name-calling, which I’m sure hurt them, they always seemed very self-assured. They wore even more makeup, wore even skimpier clothes, and got even more plastic surgery to rebel against the insults. I think this is a lesson that sometimes in life, people want to hurt you so badly that they want you to stoop to their level of basicness. Pamela or Dolly could have easily toned down their hyper-feminine looks in an attempt to please their enemies. But instead, they remained authentically themselves.

I’m saying all of this to say, embrace your inner bimbo. Wear those six-inch heels to work. Add a dab of glittery eyeshadow to your lids. Pin-curl your hair every night to ensure it looks flawless every morning for school. Be so glamorous that you make insecure people uncomfortable with how much you care about your looks. Embodying your inner bimbo doesn’t have to be solely about looks. I've noticed that many women who embody the 'bimbo' title, both fictional and real-life examples, tend to live in their own world. These women quite literally think pink; their thoughts revolve around daisies, looking pretty, shopping, and adopting a 'no thoughts, just vibes' approach to everything. Their attitude of 'it’s my world, you’re just living in it' may trigger some, and while this can sometimes be viewed negatively, it's also a positive. Sometimes, it’s refreshing to be a bit aloof and to adopt the mindset that since it’s your world, you have the right to look and do as you please. Thinking this way makes life a bit easier and allows you to live it on your own terms.

Proving them Wrong.

It’s silly to go out of your way to stop the notion of people making assumptions based on how you look. However, there’s something deeply fulfilling about proving someone wrong who doubted your abilities. Make people even more unsettled by the fact that you're both intelligent and beautiful; they’ll be deeply disturbed by you being the whole package. This was showcased in Legally Blonde: Elle Woods reading books and raising her hand in class (and getting the answers right, I might add) was groundbreaking to her peers. Once she realized she was never going to be good enough for her loser boyfriend, she set out to prove him wrong and excelled in class for her own sake.

Always aim to be hot and smart. Who cares if you have blonde moments at times and can sometimes be a bit ditzy on occasion? Who cares if you wear pounds of makeup and skimpy clothes on a daily basis? Prove to others that you’re more than that initial impression by going the extra mile to be a beautiful woman who’s smart as well. I know there's a feminist notion that the 'beauty with brains' ideology is problematic and that people should be free to be who they want to be, but let's be honest, there's something undeniably attractive about a hot woman who's smart. Let's normalize the bimbo title as being a hot, well-educated woman.

In Conclusion…

I hope you all enjoyed this mini-rant blog post and found some insights and gems within it. As mentioned previously, I’ve been in a blogging, guides-related mood lately, and I look forward to creating more content such as this.