The internet has coined its latest viral term with discussion of the “dadbod” over the weekend. Since making an appearance on The Odyssey and then The Cut, the concept of the dadbod has spread like wildfire. According to Mackenzie Pearson at The Odyssey, the dadbod 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.” Not a new and novel lifestyle for most men by any means, but now there is a word to describe the resulting body type it cultivates.
Not every guy is willing to put in hours at the gym and maintain a strict diet in order to have washboard abs and bulging biceps. Whether it’s a time thing, or having the body of a Greek god just isn’t a top priority, you aren’t alone. Millions of guys enjoy too many beers at happy hour, and will order fries with their burger, and they’ll never think twice about it. The good news is, women don’t mind if you have a little bit of a gut. It’s preferable even.
There are a few reasons women like the dadbod. First of all, women are constantly scrutinizing their own bodies, and spending a lot of energy being self-conscious, even if they do work hard to hide it. So naturally, women are going to worry about how they look in comparison to their fitness model boyfriend. They’d much rather wear a bikini next to a dude with a little bit of pudge on him. Most women are going to think that a guy with the body of Ryan Reynolds is out of their league, just like most guys are going to check out a Jennifer Lopez lookalike and think “only in my dreams.”
Second, we all know having a perfect body usually requires some kind of super human self-control when it comes to food. Women like to be able to indulge their late night junk food and Netflix cravings without judgement, and the dadbod guy is the perfect partner in crime. Sure, eating a balanced diet is important, but indulging sometimes is equally as important. Dadbods clearly know how to have fun, and can let loose.
Third, and maybe most importantly, as Allison Davis at The Cut puts it, “men with dadbods and doughier tummy areas are good at sex — better, even — than, say, a ripped-abbed man, because their guts push against your pubic bone in a pleasing way. I also think dadbods might be more enthusiastic oral-sex-givers. Perhaps to compensate for their lack of abs.” You don’t need to be ripped to be good in bed. Actually, being a little softer not only makes sex more comfortable, it improves cuddling exponentially.
So, how do you know if you have a dad bod? Basically, it’s any body type that falls somewhere in between overweight, and fitness model. Chris Pratt before he got in shape for Guardians of the Galaxy? Dadbod. Seth Rogan pretty much any time? Dadbod. They come in many shapes and sizes, and the funny thing is most guys with a dadbod probably don’t worry too much about their body.
They have a dadbod because they don’t obsess over calories, and they don’t work out like it’s their second job. They approach fitness in the most casual way possible, and they know having washboard abs isn’t everything. They weren’t worrying about getting in shape before, and they certainly aren’t going to start now. And that’s fine. The women of the internet have spoken — Dadbods are hot, so don’t change.
