a himbo is not defined by the presence or absence of "intelligence." a himbo is defined by his gullibility. he is pure of heart and so optimistic about others that he is naïve. he trusts what he is told, leading to hilariously misconstrued situations—that he handles with grace

the himbo may be painted as a fool, may be dismayed when he discovers that he has been played for one, but ultimately, his greatest downfall is not that he is foolish, but that he trusts, again and again. so long as he believes in you, he will still have faith in your words

this is also what makes himbos well-suited to the sidekick role, like kronk. the himbo himself does not embody villainy. the himbo embodies unquestioning loyalty, and the willingness to be sent on wild goose chases… often for a woman in power. his greatest sin is enabling

what makes the himbo distinct from just brawn or just a hero is that he has the physical presence to do harm, but it is his faith in someone else's vision, his unquestioning loyalty, and his optimism that he chooses to weaponize. he is notable for not muscling out of situations

so if we look at the origin of the word "himbo," the lineage from "bimbo" is direct. bimbofication is the ultimate transformation of women for the male gaze, which often manifests as sexualization and removal of agency

so the himbo is the ultimate transformation of a man for the female gaze. he is sexualized, yes—but he is not actually a sexual figure. his greatest wish fulfillment role is to be a man who has agency and chooses to believe in good and support others

and the himbo is not armed with assault or even offensive weapons. the himbo's greatest weapon is his optimism, which can even defeat narrative conventions

in short, the himbo is the idealized safe man, one who still has the physical brawn to be effective when necessary, but whose heart and intent are pure, and whose darkest flaw is loyalty. whether or not he is intelligent is irrelevant. thank you for coming to my TED talk

lmao I muted this when it had like 100 rts?? anyway, hi, I write and edit and translate, including deep dive nonfiction! you can find all my work at http://s.qiouyi.lu/cv . I also write erotica as @DecemberSeas, where I like to explore kink from various angles and power dynamics

I also run @ArsenikaInk and @microverses1, and I translate chinese speculative fiction (from the PRC mostly) to english. I have a store at http://store.aurumque.net ! support ur local thembo in dismantling the cisheteropatriarchy, thank u!!!