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| Nicole Fielder Class of 2019 |
The
“dad bod” trend has brought a whole new meaning to father figure. You know what
I’m talking about. It’s the look of a guy who has either been married seven
years or just doesn’t have a rockin’ magazine-worthy bod (and probably never
will). You can spot a dad bod by its typical hallmarks: a slight but tasteful
pudge, tufts of hair huddling around the nipples and gracing the sternum, skin
seemingly untouched by any possible light source. Pure beauty, really. While
men endowed with such figures do have the cuddling advantage, it’s a mixed bag
when it comes to cultural implications. There’s been plenty of talk about the
newest sensation of male physique, but very little analysis. So allow me, an under-qualified
and over-caffeinated college girl, to contribute my two cents to the pool of
academic thought on this extremely important topic.
As
any good psychological analysis must begin, let’s talk about (you guessed it)
Freud. Think back to your old Psych class, and you’ll remember how Sigmund
Freud and Carl Jung championed the Oedipus and corollary Electra complexes,
citing children’s fixation on their opposite sex parent. The dad bod fad shows
a freaky resemblance to the Electra complex with girls sexualizing the idea of
a father in a way that’s almost reversely pedophilic. (See also: the trend of
teenage girls calling their boyfriends “Daddy.”) Socially speaking, this fetishizing
of historically substandard male beauty works in men’s favor. They lose the
guilt of not going to the gym while gaining sex appeal—a win-win. Men had no
major body positivity movement to cause this progressive shift, while women, on
the other hand, still have to preach body positivity day in and day out with
little to no decrease in discrimination. One could argue that dad bod is
putting the mediocre on a pedestal. The average man’s desirability rises, yet
the average woman continues to fall far below the standard of beauty set before
her. It reinforces the age-old idea that women are supposed to be the beautiful
ones in the relationship… even though women started this trend. Female support
for dad bods could be a manifestation of internalized misogyny in this regard.
…
Or maybe the dad bod is new-wave feminism. Comprehensive body positivity
becomes part of the push in intersectional feminism. True gender equality in
that really everyone should love their curves. One could argue that dad bod
illustrates an effective breakdown of the trim, fit beauty standards in a way
that’s truly expansive for world of sex appeal. Maybe dad bod is one small step
for man, and one giant leap for mankind.
My
personal opinion about it lies more in why dad bods are so popular. I believe
it speaks to women because it’s real. In today’s culture, there’s such a
craving for authenticity (in our food, in our friends, in our presidential
candidates) that it’s finally coming out in our preference for mates. We’re
starting to see the value in what’s real rather than what’s perfect. Real is sexy. Why do you think the
#AerieReal campaign has been such a big hit? Because we’ve always known it, but
we’re just now letting ourselves believe it. I hope that this dad bod trend
turns out to be a bellwether for greater body acceptance in our culture. It’s
often said that you can’t love others until you know how to love yourself, but
I’ve found that the two go hand in hand. Loving people for who they are—and
loving ourselves for the same reason—is an underutilized source of personal and
social empowerment. Embracing authenticity has the potential to change the way
we approach our society, so let’s make it go viral.
Nicole Fielder, a sophomore McConnell Scholar from Nicholasville, Ky., studies economics, political science and philosophy.