Dad bod trendy, but where’s the love for mom bod?

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This article was published 10/05/2015 (3869 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Remember normcore? The non-trendy fashion trend characterized by nondescript, utilitarian, everyday/every-person basics?

That’s so 2014. This season’s viral trend is “dad bod,” which is essentially the physical iteration — and logical extension, one supposes — of normcore.

Dad bod is not new. The “kids” may have coined the phrase in 2009, but no one person can lay claim to the fate that awaits us all in middle age. Still, the concept of dad bod is currently having a major moment thanks to an essay by Mackenzie Pearson, a 19-year-old South Carolina university sophomore.

So, what is dad bod, anyway? “The dad bod is a nice balance between a beer gut and working out,” Pearson writes. “The dad bod 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.’”

In other words, dad bod is an ode to a life lived in moderation, if you will. Famous examples of the dad bod aesthetic include Jon Hamm, Chris Pratt, Leonardo DiCapro, Seth Rogen. Real examples of the dad bod aesthetic usually also include a permanent farmer’s tan. (Hi, Dad!)

You do not have to be a dad to have a dad bod. You just need to be an average adult male.

The whole Internet seems to be lauding the dad bod for its squishy approachability, although Google is still asking me if I meant to search for “dead body” so maybe not the whole Internet. The body type has been dubbed “in-demand.” Why Beer Guts Are Hotter Than 6-Packs reads one headline. Is It Women’s Favourite Physique? wonders another.

Depending on who you ask, this whole dad bod thing is either a positive step forward for body acceptance, or yet another shrine to male mediocrity — and society has erected enough of those, thanks.

Is there a female equivalent of dad bod? HAHAHAHAHA.

No. No, there is no female equivalent of dad bod. Women get to aspire for “thigh gap” and “bikini bridge” — wherein your hip bones are supposed to make a tiny hammock out of your bikini bottoms. Men now get to put in less effort to end up with an “in-demand” physique, while women are still expected to go broke or kill themselves trying to remain as thin and young as possible. Same as it ever was.

That we’re not also extolling the virtues of “mom bod” is a problem. In fact, mom bods — i.e. pregnant and postpartum bodies — are not generally celebrated in our culture at all unless they look a very specific way. The ideal pregnant body is one that’s still thin, of course, with a cute little round volleyball of a tummy right through to 40 weeks. The ideal postpartum body, meanwhile, is one that is completely hidden from view until it is slim enough for public consumption. The pressure to “get your body back” is immense.

We don’t tend to speak of “baby weight” or “stretch marks” or “cellulite” or “chub rub” with the same cuddly fondness we’ve now reserved for ‘beer belly.’

Even “baby bumps” are causing some to recoil. Global BC News chief meteorologist Kristi Gordon is expecting her second this year and asked viewers to be kind to her about her maternity wear this time around, only to see the cruel emails start rolling in as soon as she really started showing. One viewer went so far as to suggest she take time off. Another told her that if she didn’t wear looser tops, they would stop watching. White Rock, B.C. city councillor David Chesney added his incisive commentary, saying that tight-fitting clothing on pregnant women looks like “sausage casings.”

So forgive me for not feeling warm fuzzies about the idea of dad bod.

Besides, if dad bod is really just shorthand to describe an average body, why does it need to be gendered? Because, hot news tip: there are many women who also go to the gym occasionally and have soft bodies and enjoy indulging in some delicious food and drink, who are still invested in their health and take pride in their appearance. As actress/regular-sized human Mindy Kaling once said, “It takes a lot of effort to look like a normal/chubby woman.”

Where are all the trend pieces celebrating our bodies?

jen.zoratti@freepress.mb.ca