RE: The “dadbod” should not be glorified, May 28 – June 24.
In the May 28-June 24 issue, Andrew Price wrote a letter arguing why the “dadbod” phenomenon should not be celebrated by twenty-something men. I think that not celebrating anyone’s body image, male or female, sets a dangerous trend.
While Price does explicitly stress the importance of respecting everyone’s bodies, his letter’s conclusion would suggest otherwise. The letter says, “Maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if we all strove to better ourselves rather than falling back on something like the dadbod.” “Falling back” and “bettering ourselves” would imply an Animal Farm-like assumption. Perhaps all bodies are equal, but some bodies are more equal than others?
Now, in case you haven’t read one of the thousands of articles about it, what exactly is a dadbod?
Mackenzie Pearson, a Clemson University student, coined the term in a story she wrote for college-focused online publication The Odyssey, where she defines it as someone’s body saying, “‘I go to the gym occasionally, but I also drink heavily on the weekends and enjoy eating eight slices of pizza at a time.’”
Her story went viral a few weeks later, with giant media corporations like the CBC, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and countless others starting a debate on the meaning of a dadbod and the pros and cons associated with it.
Of course, there is one important thing that should be seen above all others in the discussion: self-happiness.
Let’s say you fit the description of someone who is an occasional gym-goer but also will willingly partake in a weekend diet consisting of beer, pizza, and deep-fried anything.
If you are one of these people, why should you feel you aren’t at your best because you don’t work out regularly? The amount of time you spend at the gym shouldn’t dictate how good someone would feel about themselves.
One of the other issues I took with Price’s article was his statement that most twenty-something men do not have many excuses for not working out regularly. Like him, I willingly admit that it is infinitely harder for real “dads” with families to find gym time than it is for younger men with no children.
But I think most twenty-somethings without kids would say it’s still hard to find gym time when you’re balancing five days a week as a student at school and working multiple part-time jobs, on top of the inordinate amount of stress being put on you every day.
As someone who goes to the gym about once or twice each week, I can attest you can “feel good” when you leave the gym. But “feeling good” should never be mistaken for “feeling better.”
If you find time to lift some weights and go for runs, do it if it makes you happy. And if you would rather spend your down time drinking with friends and binge-eating while watching Netflix, do it if it makes you happy.
It’s not a matter of “feeling better.” It’s a matter of feeling happy.
Self-happiness with your own body is what should be glorified. If that means being happy with a dadbod or appreciating your own physical characteristics, we as a society should be celebrating that message.
