Many social media users are outraged by “bimbofication,” a genre of erotic art that portrays people—a man or a woman—transforming into a bimbo. Concerns inadvertently exploded into the mainstream recently when a social justice activist was offended by this sort of hypersexualized art, which she argues is an attack on women’s femininity.
Posting on Twitter, feminist Boqor Riya shamed the artist who produced what she felt was a particularly troubling series, asking people to imagine what it would be like to raise the child who’d eventually grow up to create such images. The tweet received tens of thousands of likes and retweets from many users who were equally offended by it.
She wrote: “Imagine carrying a child for 9 months & give birth & take care of them for years for them to grow up to be the person who created this?”
The illustration shows a heavily tanned, large-breasted blonde woman picking up a book and transforming into a more “regular” looking woman.
The image also went viral on Facebook, where user Cynthia Hijar assumed that the tanned bimbo was not white, and assumed it was a racist message.
“According to this picture, reading weakens muscle tone, and in addition to that it makes you look white and almost European and makes you cut your hair too,” she wrote.
“Just Ignore that picture, one can read and remain black and dress as one wish,” [sic].
On social media, feminists and social progressives debated the problematic nature of this genre of art. When some were informed of its erotic nature, they insisted that it couldn’t possibly be a fetish—and many declared it to be misogynistic.
The panel’s creator, Sortimid on DeviantArt, explained the origins to BuzzFeed saying that it involves “hyper-feminine, hyper-sexualized” drawings of normal-looking women turning into bimbos in a variety of ways—whether being stung by bugs or picking up a fashion magazine.
Sortimid told the publication that the artwork was request by someone who wanted to see the fetish done in reverse, and that no one expected it to become as popular as it did.
The same genre can also depict men turning into women, as exemplified by a piece of artwork created by DeviantArtist GrumpyTG, who illustrated YouTuber Philip DeFranco turning into a bimbo.
Sortimid apologized for the piece and the public’s reception towards it, writing:
“Many people are understandably upset about this image. It was never my intention to make a sexist proclamation but it seems that, inadvertently, I have done just that.
“I firmly believe women should be free to look and act any way they want. I’ve maintained this position in the image’s comments from the moment it was posted. This image is not a statement, it’s meant to satisfy a client’s kink. I honestly did not expect an audience outside the transformation porn community. If I have offended you, I apologize.”
Yes, it’s weird, but it’s no stranger than any other niche fetish out there, such as “inflation porn,” popularized by webcomic artist Andrew Dobson. That brand of erotica depicts women blowing up into balloon-like proportions.
Whatever floats your boat.
Ian Miles Cheong is a journalist and outspoken media critic. You can reach him through social media at @stillgray on Twitter and on Facebook.
