A lot of the time, society and media focuses on how girls have issues with their bodies. But guys have issues, too. This somewhat amusing article talks about how girls are actually more interested in guys who have a "dad bod" aka somewhere between appearing to workout everyday and a beer gut.
However, I also find it a little bit interesting that even though girls are more accepting of a guy who isn't exactly perfect, there is still a lot of pressure on girls to look better than their male counterpart which is addressed in one of the reasons why girls are going for guys with the dad bod. They don't feel like they have to look their best all the time if their guy doesn't look like a Greek god.
Anyways, here is a link the article: http://theodysseyonline.com/clemson/dad-bod/97484
I just thought it was kind of interesting and amusing. Worth a read if you have a few minutes.
I nearly laughed out loud in the Honors lounge as I was reading this! I've never heard of the "dad bod" before, so this concept was new to me. A few things about the article bothered me though. From my perspective, it seems as though the reason these girls supposedly like the dad bod is simply so they can feel better about themselves. This seems stupid to me. It shouldn't matter what kind of body someone else has - as cheesy and possibly unattainable as the "you should learn to love your body no matter what" sayings are, they're really true. I just don't think supposedly preferring one body type because it makes you feel better about yourself is right. If this article were reversed, and males were talking about liking larger women because it made them feel more confident about themselves, would it be accepted? That being said, I did appreciate the Edward Cullen shout-out. Interesting read, Emily!
ReplyDeleteLike Hannah, the concept of the “dad bod” was new to me and I thought the article was pretty amusing and interesting. Also like Hannah, I was bothered by the idea that girls who are attracted to the dad bod are so because it makes them feel better about themselves. I believe that this might be true for some girls who are insecure with themselves, but I do not think that it is the main reason for as to why this type of body style is preferred by a majority of women. I think that some women just prefer a guy that’s somewhere in the middle, or they are just attracted to a guy based on their personality and not their body type. It’s as simple as that. Just because a guy isn’t constantly working out and thinking about how many calories they taken in, doesn’t mean they can’t be attractive! Personally, I think that the pressure that guys face to have the perfect body is something our society does not talk about enough. Just through reading the comments on the article, you can see the mixed reviews, including the many negative ones about having this type of body.
ReplyDeleteIt's strange to me that women can talk so openly about physical features they like of men (i.e. dad bods, man buns, and baseball butts). If we walked by a table of guys giggling about how much they like red heads or girls with a booty or follow whatever the male equivalent is to Manbun Monday on Instagram, we would scoff and call them pervy.
ReplyDeleteI like how this article stresses the fact guys do have issues to, whether it be about their bodies, gender expectations, or anything else. In today's world I tihnk these guy issues are rather ignored by society, who like Katie said, often dismisses or even ridicules guys for talking about them. This is also a trend we see in film, which is what my paper is on. Guys tend to take a backseat in today's films, even to the point where their issues are satirized. I've still not found a satisfactory answer for why this is.
ReplyDeleteThis just reminds me of a lecture in my Evolutionary Psychology class last semester. We were presented the scientific evidence for sexual attraction between the sexes. Women were proven to be attracted to men who show commitment (mainly to raisin a family), have more resources (money, land, power), and are generally more masculine, with little emphasis being placed on looks. In comparison, men were proven to be attracted to specific female bodily attributes (wide hips, large breasts, and symmetrical faces). Obviously, there are some other things involved, for instance we are attracted to people based on their specific major histocompatibility complexes (which are involved in the immune system) and can actually tell which they have subconsciously, based on their body odor. That being said, this article goes along with what that professor was outlining. From a psychological/biological perspective, men tend to care more about their partner's looks than women do.
ReplyDeleteHaha, just realized I said "raisin a family." I meant raising. Whoops.
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