Let’s Talk About The Dadbod

Let’s talk about the dadbod, the hot new look for frat bros, lax bros and every bro in between. What is a dadbod? It’s not your actual father’s bod, but it’s the male euqivalent of say, not giving a shit about what you look like, eat, or do. Let’s get it straight fomo the horse’s mouth. Here’s Mackenzie Pearson, Clemson ’17, in the Odyssey Online:

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.

Oh. Okay. So the dadbod is essentially a man who, left to his own devices, is content to live his life the way he wants, wthout being policed, judged, or constantly harassed by images of perfection and unattainable beauty standards? The dadbod is the physical manifestation of men waking up, looking in the mirror and saying, “Eh, I guess I’ll skip the gym this week and eat a Papa John’s pizza for lunch and dinner and I’ll still swipe left on any girl on Tinder that looks like she doesn’t do at least five Barre Method classes a week.” The dadbod is a man who is gleefully looking in the mirror and saying, “Fuck your body standards,” because, you know, they are under so much pressure to meet them. 

I’m not anti-dadbod in practice. As a woman, I also enjoy drinking heavily on the weekends and eating pizza and I would love a companion that also enjoys those things. I’m also anti-waifish, thin men, who look like they’d blow away in a gust of wind.  I just resent the blatant and gross male privilege present in suggesting that a man can just start letting it all go as early as sophomore spring of college and women are expected to keep it tight, taut and toned until someone finally, finally chooses us. How liberating it must feel for you, men, who can now aspire to doing less while still bagging babes.

So, sure, make like your dadbod icon, Leonardo DiCaprio, and let it all go, man. As Amelia says, “His pussy posse sidekick is that spare tire.”  Just don’t be mad if we feel like joining you.