No, no, no, you’ve helped immensely. I’m relieved to know it’s me that had an imprecise understanding of the term. This thread sought to correct that very thing. I’m happy to know “dad bod” doesnt mean what i had thought. Thank you.
But that is exactly what im saying.
ETA: would you not agree that “dad bod” is a mainstream meme?
You’re very welcome; sorry, didn’t mean to sound like I was flouncing off in a huff.
I guess. I mean, in the sense it’s a term, but I think it’s somewhat tongue-in-cheek. I feel like there has been a mainstream swing towards similar concepts in female attractiveness and standards of beauty, but without there being an equivalent “mom bod” type of hashtag meme.
Somewhat. But ive only seen glimpses and whispers of that similarity in female standards of beauty. I’m clearly not the most worldly of people tho haha.
Ladies?
One last puff on the ol’ zeitgeist pipe: I think it may be that part of what we’re seeing with the “dad bod” concept is a reaction against the current fashion for very sculpted forms of fitness among men. This article on a critical review of Daniel Craig’s physique as James Bond in Skyfall, for example, describes some of those attitudes:
The review in question is indeed kind of pathetic:
But it probably accurately represents an awareness that what is now being called a “dad bod” is not that different from what a lot of heartthrob leading-man movie stars looked like in earlier decades. And there may also be some anxiety among men, particularly older men, that the standards of conventional male attractiveness have been suddenly raised on them. So I can see why it might be considered newsworthy that a significant number of women either (a) still like ordinary non-sculpted male bodies at least as much as the fashionable buff/ripped kind, or (b) are willing to say they do because they think it’s what a lot of men want to hear.
I don’t think it’s something that you are supposed to aspire to.
I agree with others that it’s a tongue-in-cheek reference to a guy who spends more time these days taking care of the kids than going to the gym. He used to be buff, but now he’s got a “dad bod” - a bit of a belly, less definition in the arms…
To the extent that women say they like it, I think it’s a general sense that lots of women do prefer men to be softer than the hard muscle look you find in gyms. Of course, that’s hardly a universal preference.
That guy looked very massive and muscle-y with some torso chunk, AFAICT: think “football player” (US type) rather than “dad bod”.
Are we not of the understanding that notions of beauty and attractiveness are pretty much 100 percent arbitrary, and vary with fashion of the times, environmental and economic factors, culture-specific norms, societal conditioning, and accidents of personal preference?
What’s the scientific support for the notion that a person who looks like E works out three times a week and makes an effort to eat wisely is “naturally” more attractive than someone who looks like E never works out and eats whatever is most pleasurable?
I am not of that understanding, no. There’s a reason why we say someone is “classically” good looking - because those same looks can be found in ancient Greek and Roman statues from thousands of years ago. Certain looks may be “in” depending on the time period, but at no point in time would people look at a man with the physique of a Greek statue and say “he’s unattractive.” I would say it’s more like a 50-50 mix of inherently favorable physical characteristics, and fashion (the “arbitrary” part), but not close to 100 percent.
Well I don’t know, I’m married for decades, but it seems to me that young women looking for a partner might look at a sculpted gym-toned guy and think, “Nah, he’s probably a vegan. Probably doesn’t eat ice cream. Bet he hasn’t had a brownie in years.” And therefore, if she’s with him, no ice cream, no brownies, vegan food…possibly that green grass juice stuff. Or maybe that he just looks like too high-maintenance.
UNLESS, she is also a gym-toned, diet-conscious, super healthy lifestyle type, and then he will look ideal. They can drink their wheat-grass juice together and be smug about how superior their bodies are to the masses.
Sean Connery, an actual honest to goodness body builder, who placed third in a Mr Universe contest was not ripped?
:rolleyes:
For most of his life, he wasn’t anywhere near as ripped as actors are now shown. I strongly suspect he didn’t purposefully dehydrate himself before specific takes. And OMG, he has…
CHEST HAIR!
Well, yeah. It’s kind of like baldness: I’ve never met a woman who claimed to find shiny domes gorgeous, but I know many who feel a certain tenderness at seeing their man’s crown and knowing that he feels about it the way she feels about her cellulite… (which it turns out a lot of men-who-don’t-work-in-advertising don’t give much of a fuck about).
Dad Bod = Credit Score of 818
Ladies? 
I think the current exemplary for the mythic “dad bod” is actor David Harbour, specifically in his role as Sheriff Jim Hopper on Stranger Things. A guy who doesn’t work out much, likes to eat and drink, but still someone you want on your side in a fight.
when was this mythical time that the average guy was always going to the gym and was “buff” until he had kids?
His “middle” didn’t seem all that “excluded” in that show
I think that’s the point. To me, “dad bod” is considered attractive because it shows the man is aspiring to more important things than his personal vanity. But dad bod isn’t “fat”. Your still in shape and can run and play golf or chase your kids around. You just aren’t spending all your free time at the gym, watching your diet and so on. Your not Thor, but you’re not Fat Thor either. So…basically “Star Lord”.
Have you never heard of a MILF? Not waxed & sculpted like a photoshopped magazine model, but just confident in general nonetheless. DadBod = DILF.
The fact that this standard has a specific name—“classical beauty”—instead of just “beauty” and the fact that it’s explicitly named after an era, the classical period, implies that it’s not a foxed standard .