Smart Girls Love Acting Dumb

“A woman considered to be attractive, but not intelligent”, the Cambridge Dictionary definition of the English word “Bimbo”. 

In simple terms, Cambridge is telling us that’s an insult. An insult for the shallow girls, the unintelligent girls, for the girls who care too much about how she looks and not enough about anything else. But this definition feels…. Lazy. 

Lemme define it for you. A bimbo, someone you’d love to quietly call stupid, doesn't actually lack intelligence, she just refuses to constantly perform it. She simply chooses aesthetic over analysis, and pleasure over pressure. Well, that’s my definition, soooo how about ya’ll just bloody let her be?

We live in a culture where you are supposed to have opinions (the right opinions), stay informed, stay relevant, stay impressive. There’s always something to prove. But, that one bimbo opts out. Wears what she wants, enjoys what she enjoys, she doesn't dilute herself into this intellectual pressure, she doesn’t have the need to constantly prove depth in every conversation. She is allowed to be decorative and unserious, even if she isn’t. 

And that’s where the power is. 

Not everything has to be productive and not every identity has to be intellectually justified. Sometimes you can just exist beautifully, and that’s enough, for you. But this doesn’t mean she isn't aware, and maybe that’s what people misread, because when women stop performing intelligence, it’s often assumed they don't have any. 

By the way, this was just background information, the occasional bimbo lecture is just about to being:

People expect quick responses, strong opinions, perfectly phrased arguments. They expect her to demonstrate awareness and show that she is keeping up. But, nobody sees the beauty in asking questions when she doesn’t know something, laughing arguments off, or letting the moment pass without inserting her opinion into it. 

I am a bimbo, a proud one in fact. I find this strange relief in not performing that I am smart, in not acting like a “I know it all”, in not having to be the most aware person in the room, in not turning every conversation into a board meeting. Because being “on” constantly is exhausting. Not to mention, I cannot study, talk about or work on one thing for more than an hour. 

I love acting dumb. Acting dumb here doesn't mean becoming less intelligent, it’s about opting out of pressure, it’s about allowing space for light, for humour, for eyelash curlers, for a hair spa, and for not taking everything seriously. It’s also occasionally strategic, being underestimated changes the dynamics in the room, it sort of lowers expectations and pressure, it makes me more observant, most importantly it allows me to move without being evaluated for my brain but for my outfit, because that is honestly something I am good at, and narcissistically I am amazing at. 

Of course, there’s a line, everything does. Choosing ease is different from shrinking yourself. The point isn’t to erase the concept of intelligence, it’s to stop treating it like it’s everything and that there is no need to prove it. That’s the shift, not from smart to dumb, but from proving to simply existing in my dream world of bags, mini dresses, holidays, and salon appointments. 

Being a bimbo is about refusing to be everything at once.

And honestly, that sounds like freedom to me.