It’s all over social media nowadays, “the dad bod.” For those of you who don’t know, it’s starting to become a university-wide trend. While this body type has several different definitions, the common trait seems to be a bigger belly area. Men and women alike are now accepting the fact that not every man needs to have perfectly chiseled abs or defined arm muscles and pecs, but instead they’re embracing whatever body type they have, big or small.
Don’t get me wrong, this is GREAT! It gives me some hope knowing that our image-driven society is finally gaining a new perspective on physical appearances and people are starting to accept men of all shapes and sizes, but what about women?
There is no doubt that women have always been pressured to strive to attain the perfect body. The media has a great deal to do with this. We turn on our televisions to see picture-perfect celebrities with their trendy clothes, D-cups, flat stomachs and flawless hair and make-up. We open a magazine to see at least one, if not more, pictures of stick thin models in swimsuits or lingerie. When we only see such images, we’re forced to assume that it’s the only way we’re desirable and that it’s what all women should look like. Anything else is deemed unappealing. Women come in all shapes and sizes, why have we let the media define what it means to be a beautiful woman?
Recently I’ve also seen a lot of bashing towards slimmer women, which is also extremely sexist. We’ve all heard Meghan Trainor’s obnoxious song, “All About That Bass” where she claims that being skinny is unattractive and that men “like a little more booty to hold at night.” Once I got past how annoying the actual song itself is, I realized that this too gives the wrong message to women. Curvy or skinny, A-cups or double D-cups. Every woman is a REAL woman and what matters is how YOU feel about yourself, not what the media says is right or wrong.
So what kind of body should we strive for as women then? The answer is simple. We should ignore sexist claims and do only what makes us happy, obviously! The reality of it is that women come in all shapes and sizes and we need to change this stereotype of “the perfect woman.” We need to teach society to not only embrace the “dad bod”, but to also encourage women to feel confident and beautiful no matter what. You don’t need to be a specific size in order to love yourself.
just Al 