I recently wrote a bit about the new "dad bod" wave and briefly talked about how it seems to set a double-standard as far as men and women are concerned. While, in the eyes of the media, men can often times get away with having a few extra pounds, women are unfairly criticized if they possess this additional weight, even after giving birth to children. After posting that blog yesterday, I decided to do some more research on the matter, and discovered, as often seems to be the case, most people have misconstrued what the initial message was with this so-called "movement."
Oddly enough, this new "dad bod" wave was started by Clemson Sophomore Mackenzie Phillips writing a piece for The Odyssey, entitled, "Why Girls Love The Dad Bod."
She started her article by writing this:
"In case you haven't noticed lately, girls are all about that dad bod. I hadn't heard about this body type until my roommate mentioned it... ...The dad bod is a nice balance between a beer gut and working out. The dad bod says, 'I go to the gym occasionally, but I also drink heavily on the weekends and enjoy eating eight slices of pizza at a time.'"
In other words, more times than not, it's the typical college guy.
She backed up that statement by writing this:
"The dad bod is a new trend and fraternity boys everywhere seem to be rejoicing. Turns out skipping the gym for a few brews last Thursday after class turned out to be in their favor..."
So what are the top two reasons listed for why women like the so-called "dad bod"? Allow Ms. Pearson to tell you:
1) "It doesn't intimidate us: Few things are worse than taking a picture in a bathing suit, one being taking a picture in a bathing suit with a guy who is crazy fit. We don't want a guy that makes us feel insecure about our body. We are insecure enough as it is. We don't need a perfectly sculpted guy standing next to us to make us feel worse."
2) "We like being the pretty one: We love people saying 'they look cute together.' But we still like being the center of attention. We want to look skinny and the bigger the guy, the smaller we feel and the better we look next to you in a picture."
There you have it. This "dad bod" wave didn't start on the account that women accepted, loved, and were attracted to guys of any shape and size, the slightly overweight ones in particular. No, it stemmed from insecurity, liking to look good next to a guy, and liking to be the center of attention. Again, it very much sounds like a "college" thing. It's also highly ironic that while many have tried to see the origin of this wave as being anti-shallow, in that women are attracted to slightly overweight men, the actual reason behind the origin of this new wave is one of being shallow, in liking these bigger guys in order to make the women feel prettier and better about themselves.
It seems as though this "dad bod" trend has been playing out like a game of telephone, where it started in a college dormitory by a sophomore student telling the world girls around her age liked bigger guys due to insecurity about their own appearance, and each succeeding rationale for the movement progressively moves further away from the originator's initial intent.
In any case, hopefully we can start decreasing the superficial double-standards we have in society, and men and women alike, without insecurities guiding their way, can accept people of all shapes and sizes.
As Brian Moylan of Time recently wrote, "...The Dad Bod, which has been around as long as there has been canned beer and suburbs, isn't just being tolerated; it's being celebrated. Now we need to get all those guys who are rocking that bod to support women in accepting and celebrating their bodies, no matter what they may look like."
http://theodysseyonline.com/clemson/dad-bod/97484
http://time.com/3846828/dad-bod-is-a-sexist-atrocity/
Oddly enough, this new "dad bod" wave was started by Clemson Sophomore Mackenzie Phillips writing a piece for The Odyssey, entitled, "Why Girls Love The Dad Bod."
She started her article by writing this:
"In case you haven't noticed lately, girls are all about that dad bod. I hadn't heard about this body type until my roommate mentioned it... ...The dad bod is a nice balance between a beer gut and working out. The dad bod says, 'I go to the gym occasionally, but I also drink heavily on the weekends and enjoy eating eight slices of pizza at a time.'"
In other words, more times than not, it's the typical college guy.
She backed up that statement by writing this:
"The dad bod is a new trend and fraternity boys everywhere seem to be rejoicing. Turns out skipping the gym for a few brews last Thursday after class turned out to be in their favor..."
So what are the top two reasons listed for why women like the so-called "dad bod"? Allow Ms. Pearson to tell you:
1) "It doesn't intimidate us: Few things are worse than taking a picture in a bathing suit, one being taking a picture in a bathing suit with a guy who is crazy fit. We don't want a guy that makes us feel insecure about our body. We are insecure enough as it is. We don't need a perfectly sculpted guy standing next to us to make us feel worse."
2) "We like being the pretty one: We love people saying 'they look cute together.' But we still like being the center of attention. We want to look skinny and the bigger the guy, the smaller we feel and the better we look next to you in a picture."
There you have it. This "dad bod" wave didn't start on the account that women accepted, loved, and were attracted to guys of any shape and size, the slightly overweight ones in particular. No, it stemmed from insecurity, liking to look good next to a guy, and liking to be the center of attention. Again, it very much sounds like a "college" thing. It's also highly ironic that while many have tried to see the origin of this wave as being anti-shallow, in that women are attracted to slightly overweight men, the actual reason behind the origin of this new wave is one of being shallow, in liking these bigger guys in order to make the women feel prettier and better about themselves.
It seems as though this "dad bod" trend has been playing out like a game of telephone, where it started in a college dormitory by a sophomore student telling the world girls around her age liked bigger guys due to insecurity about their own appearance, and each succeeding rationale for the movement progressively moves further away from the originator's initial intent.
In any case, hopefully we can start decreasing the superficial double-standards we have in society, and men and women alike, without insecurities guiding their way, can accept people of all shapes and sizes.
As Brian Moylan of Time recently wrote, "...The Dad Bod, which has been around as long as there has been canned beer and suburbs, isn't just being tolerated; it's being celebrated. Now we need to get all those guys who are rocking that bod to support women in accepting and celebrating their bodies, no matter what they may look like."
http://theodysseyonline.com/clemson/dad-bod/97484
http://time.com/3846828/dad-bod-is-a-sexist-atrocity/
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