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Himbo


Himbo, a portmanteau of the words him and bimbo, is a slang term for an attractive but vacuous man. The word was first used in 1988. Since then, the term and the stereotype it describes have generated a range of commentary and reactions from writers, entertainers, linguists, and cultural analysts.

Several dictionaries cite 1988 as the first time the word himbo was used. By then, the word bimbo, which earlier in the 20th century had been used for both males and females, was being used predominately for females, so himbo, a combination of "him" and "bimbo", was coined to refer specifically to males.The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English cites a 1988 Washington Post description of a "macho himbo who strutted the Croisette wearing a 16 foot python like a stole around his shoulders and neck".

Partridge defines himbo as "a man objectified by his good looks and presumed lack of intellectual qualities, a man who trades on this image, a gigolo".

Merriam-Webster's definition is "an attractive but vacuous man".

Another slang dictionary emphasizes the sexual connotation of the word, describing it as "a male version of a bimbo, whore or slut", and using the example, "He's such a himbo he'd sleep with anything that has a pulse."

In 1995, Sherry Sylvester of CNN interviewed male Hollywood celebrities about the use of the term 'himbo' and sexual objectification of men in entertainment and received a range of reactions. "There's a great word," said actor Keanu Reeves. "I love that. I read that and laughed my head off." Tom Selleck said he was "always flattered to be called a sex symbol" but Sylvester Stallone said he had fought "the stereotype that brawny means brainless" for years. David Charvet of Baywatch noted, "You find yourself doing a show for three years where you are sticking your chest out and your shoulders are back and you're holding in your stomach and you realize that that's so boring after awhile."


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