As quarantine comes to an end, many new trends have emerged in the online dating and sex dating communities. While some are to be expected (like a sharp spike in the popularity of polyamory), others are a bit less obvious, like the rapid rise in the popularity of men with a softer, thicker Dad Bod appearance.
You may have seen discussion about the rise of the dad bod recently on mainstream media, as well as in the Adult FriendFinder member forums. Suddenly, it seems like people are showing a lot of love to those packing fabs (fat abs) and guts that show a man knows how to enjoy beer and BBQ on the weekends.
Even Celebrities Are Showing Off Their New Dad Bod
Look more closely at celebrity mags and movies, and you’ll notice many leading men are shedding their shredded, muscular look for the sex appeal of a dad bod instead. Even Will Smith recently started showing off his dad bod online by posting photos of himself up 20-30 pounds since the pandemic first arrived. So, what’s causing this change in the perception of so many dating enthusiasts? Perhaps history is our best guide.
The Dad Bod May Be Similar To The Popularity of Rubenesque Women
In recent years there has been an undeniable fascination with flat-belly bikini girls among most men. If we look back at history, however, we see that wasn’t always the case. Peter Paul Rubens, a Flemish painter from the early seventeenth century (1577 to 1640) who made big beautiful women so popular in that era that the term “Rubenesque Women” was coined in his honor, it becomes clear there are some significant similarities.
One of the major societal forces that helped Rubens’ work gain popularity was that he did most of his painting during times of economic uncertainty. That financial concern caused the idea of “what is sexy” to shift because a woman who weighed an extra 20-30 pounds was clearly able to afford a quality of life that was more secure and enjoyable than the ordinary citizen who was trying to make ends meet during that era. Weight became a symbol of wealth, which translates to today’s issues because, in this post-pandemic era, many men suffered their way through economic lockdowns. Being able to afford a pot belly may be a bit of social proof that they have the means to afford treating a lady to the finer things in life.
Health Concerns Have Also Played A Role In Ideal Date Weight
In more recent history, if we look back to the start of the pandemic, we can recall the change in popularity of specific body types among dating enthusiasts. Over the last year and a half, it’s become quite clear that concern about public health caused a shift in what was deemed to be sexy, and in many ways, can be credited with spurring a massive move toward health-conscious, strength, and fitness among many people in the dating world.
These days it’s fair to say that some may have the misperception that a man with a thicker, more dad boy physique is less likely to be ill than an ultra-skinny boy-toy who hasn’t been willing or able to add on a few extra pounds of meat to their frame.
The Dad Bod Is Mostly A Recent Phenomena
Even the term Dad Bod itself is only a few years old, first coming to viral popularity in 2015, when a shirtless, love-handled Leonardo DiCaprio was photographed by paparazzi on the beach with a tight-bodied supermodel as his playmate. Other celebs soon helped to cement the term as Hemsworth portrayed “dad bod Thor” on the silver screen and leading men like Hugh Jackman or even Andy Cohen to become sex symbols while sporting several extra pounds to love.
Perhaps Ubiquity Breeds Popularity As Well
A survey conducted by the American Psychological Association of 3,013 adults found that 42% of respondents gained an average of 29 pounds during lockdown, while 10% packed on more than 50 pounds while in quarantine. That’s a tremendous amount of weight gain that has affected a vast segment of the population.
When the public shifts in one direction or another, the style and cultural cue givers many people care about often amplify those seismic moves. You’ll see a wide assortment of dad bod fashions from major houses of design, posters, and movie roles filled by heavier leading men and many other aspects of our culture tilted toward the dad bod dating lifestyle.
A 2019 Planet Fitness survey found that 61% of respondents said men with dad bods are “sexy,” so it may have been a trend with roots in place prior to the start of the pandemic. Still, there is no doubt that Covid19 has played a part in enabling men who haven’t been to the gym in a while to become quite popular among cute girls and guys in sex-positive communities like Adult FriendFinder. In fact, it’s fair to say it’s never been easier for a dad bod male to find hot dates and new mates than it is right now!
Comments are closed