The Fat Acceptance Movement is a social movement aiming to alter biases and stigmas against people who are overweight or obese. This movement has been targeted more towards women than it has men, as women tend to be more self conscious about their outward appearance. But in recent months there seems a shift in the movement. For guys, there no longer seems to be a need for long hours at the gym.
The “dad bod” has been defined in a variety of ways, but the general consensus is that the “dad bod” is best described as "softly round": a healthy balance between working out and maintaining a beer gut.
Growing up, I always believed that the ladies wanted a man with voluptuous biceps and washboard abs. All through grammar school and high school all I heard about was Taylor Lautner this and Channing Tatum that. But now on Spring Hill’s campus, I have seen that it seems to be about the guys with the Chris Pratt pre-Guardians of the Galaxy body. In a recent social event hosted by Spring Hill’s chapter of Delta Chi, students dressed up to go along with the theme of “Greek gods and Dad Bods”.
This took me by surprise. To help me better understand the reasoning behind the new fad, I took to the streets of downtown Mobile this past Thursday. I asked a few girls about what their opinion on the “dad bod’ was and why:
Claire said that “for some weird reason [I] don’t mind them, a little extra around the edges is a nice touch.” Hannah said that a dad bod “shows people who they really are and doesn’t give any false allusions. It shows a man who is honest with himself.” Several girls, after saying that they liked the “dad bod”, mentioned that one of the reasons was that they are nice for cuddling - with the words “fluffy” and “soft” thrown around quite a bit.
Now, a few girls did say that they did not approve of society’s latest trend. Jordan said that she “is young, and doesn’t want a guy who looks like dad’. Molly agrees, saying that “dad bods are reserved for dads. College kids should not have dad bods, they should be fit.”
While some disagreed, a majority of the girls I asked said they dug the “dad bod”.
After these conversations I believe that traditional gender roles seem to come into play. The whole science behind being attracted to a mate is about what they have to offer you, in other words, the body type is not what is attractive, it is what the body type says about the person that makes the individual appealing. It used to be about finding a man who would be able to provide. In the old days, men worked on farms, factories or what have you. A man in top physical shape meant he was able to provide. But nowadays, people work in offices. Even further back in time, being fat and pale was a sign of affluence. It seems that we are resorting back to that mentality. A “dad bod” shows that a guy has responsibilities, perhaps a job, and little extra cash to say ‘Hill yeah’ to extra queso at Moe’s.
