The body image double standard

gender_equality_2I work like a dog in the gym (and the kitchen) to maintain some semblance of a decent body. I’ve been told recently I have body image issues, since I think I’m carrying too much fat.

That got me thinking about body image in general. Women have been fighting body image issues for years, but men get no attention here. I think that while women have been dealing with it longer and more severely, I’m not sure men currently have it any better. Bodybuilding and fitness present lots of images of lean, muscular guys as goals to be reached. In an article I read recently by Ben Pakulski, he mentions being surrounded by images of “genetic freaks”  – those guys who can pack on muscle easily. If you’re not one, or, like me, took to bodybuilding past your 20s, they can be pretty intimidating.

Consider most popular movies today – mainly superhero films. Look at the men in those films. They tend to be either huge and muscular, or lean and muscular. There’s a few exceptions, but you’re not seeing a lot of dad bod there.

About the whole dad bod phenomenon – apparently there’s a segment of women who find the beer-gutted former athlete sexy. I don’t know any of those women, or they’re not vocal on social media. The guys I see women posting as examples of sexy are lean and muscular – not bodybuilder shredded, but certainly not beer guts and flabby asses either.

I detest the term “dad bod.” I’m a dad, and I’m damned proud of my daughter and how I’m raising her. I don’t want her to obsess about her looks and her body. I also don’t want to present her with a fat slob who eats like crap as a role model. Why should dads take the rap? Instead of calling it “dad bod,” how about “guys who can’t be troubled to take care of themselves?” I know if I used the term “mom bod,” I’d be completely vilified, which is part of the double standard. The celebration of the dad bod seems to be largely to get women to feel better about their own bodies. According to the Mackenzie Pearson essay that popularized the term:

We don’t want a guy that makes us feel insecure about our body. We are insecure enough as it is. We don’t need a perfectly sculpted guy standing next to us to make us feel worse.

While women have been used by men as props for years, celebration of the dad bod just reverses the circumstances. Some may say that it’s about time, but I don’t believe in using anyone in that way. Because to quote Meghan Sara of Bust: “Newsflash: Body-shaming sucks FOR EVERYONE.”

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