Last year the “Dad Bod” became a fad and transformed all the lives of beer-bellied college men. It started to not just be socially acceptable to have the body of a 40-year-old golfer, but it was being seen as a sexually attractive feature. Rowdy Gentlemen even sold merchandise that proudly announced your Dad Bod.
Not everyone with a Dad Bod is a man though. There are blessed few women with the Dad Bod--affectionately, I have named them "Dad Bod Girls" for the purpose of this article. For whatever reasons--genetics, gymnastics, swimming from an early age, or all three--these girls do not have the “ideal” curves and are left with a small chest and hips the same width, with really no dip in between, or are stick thin. The Dad Bod Girl probably did a lot of sports in high school but wasn't as dedicated to staying active when she went to college, and taking up beer did not help the situation. The same luxury of acceptance we give men with these habits was not given to women, though.
Why was there never a Mom Bod movement? When we focus on Mom Bods, it is only to decide if they are a "MILF" or not or how long it took her to lose all the weight after having a child. Carrying a life inside of you isn't even an excuse anymore for having a less than "desirable" body.
Society is all about "body acceptance" right now, but still, the bodies of the models are either skinny or curvy. There is a serious lack of representation of beautiful Dad Bod Girls. Body appreciation is not just about being curvy or naturally rail thin, but if you saw any body appreciation post or advertisement for underwear for “everybody,” there are really only those two types of bodies represented.
These bodies aren't photoshopped but they are still pretty close to perfect, and there is very little variation in figures. The girl who is a little thicker than the rest is even turned to the side, emphasizing her curves, not a lack thereof.
Although I appreciate the leaps and bounds for plus-sized women have made in the past five years and the great campaigns, like Aerie's "Real," there still seems be no room for more than two body types that happen to look pretty good anyway. “Real women” are not just curvy or thin. With huge surge in "real women are curvy," all the Dad Bod Girls feel almost more left out of the body acceptance conversation. It was general knowledge that not all women are super thin and it was okay to be human beings and like, eat or something. Now you can be plus-sized, but only if you have curves with a nice a** and big boobs. If we are going to celebrate bodies and beauty then Dad Bod Girls need representation, too. We need more solidarity for the solid girls.
I am a Dad Bod Girl, and there is no way that I accept my body. Call me a hypocrite or whatever for calling others to accept my body when I can't even accept it, but when you grow up with media overrun by "perfect" women I would have never had a choice in the matter. I have struggled with my weight ever since I developed a thyroid issue and gained a lot of weight in middle school. I have done crash diets, like the ABC diet, and spent summers where I skipped more meals than ate. Like when a mother loses all evidence of bringing a life into this world, when a Dad Bod Girl loses 20 pounds in two weeks, we congratulate them-- no matter if they are healthy or not.
I'm Standing With My Trans Sisters And Boycotting Victoria's Secret
Victoria's secret has been revealed, and it's just as discriminatory as we all suspected.
In a recent interview with Vogue, Victoria Secret's CMO Ed Razek was asked about why the company's infamous fashion show does not include plus-size and transgender models. To this, he replied that the show was meant to be a fantasy, and that they include models that appeal to the markets they sell to, not the whole world.
Reading between the lines with barely a smidgen of effort, Razek meant that their goal is appealing to their cis-female, 14- to 18-year-old demographic so that those customers can better appeal to the white, cis men—the show targets, which explains all the meatless, opinion-less models.
Who cares if they promote unrealistic standards for girls with real-life bodies who aren't #TrainedLikeAnAngel?
In an effort to create that fantasy, they certainly can't be bothered to worry about the fatsos and trannies, too.
Anyone could've told Razek that secret should've stayed in the closet, but it is not altogether surprising coming from a company who only reluctantly started celebrating their top models' racial diversity and national backgrounds.
Unbeknownst to Victoria, representation for the trans community has exploded in recent years with the fashion industry leading the way. Under the influence of supermodels and activists like Arisce Wanzer, Carmen Carrera, Isis King and MiMi Tao, these women and their equals have gone from being token "trans models" to simply owning the supermodel title they so rightly deserve.
Even despite the Trump administration's most recent attack on trans rights, campaigns like Laverne Cox's #TransIsBeautiful have emboldened more trans and gender nonconforming people than ever before to be themselves in everyday society.
Victoria's Secret apparently didn't get that memo.
From a marketing standpoint, the company's stubborn refusal to change with the times is absolutely moronic. Every day, commercial brands like Arie, Gap, and H&M; come out with new lines and campaigns that cater to a variety of people of all colors, creeds, shapes and sizes.
Yet, Victoria's Secret Pink line still doesn't even provide sizes past XL.
It's this obvious exclusion that has made the popularity of their fashion show decline in recent years, for young girls and femmes can no longer relate to the content.
While the size discrimination may be attributed to the availability of the cheap, uncomfortable materials the company refuses to branch out from, Razek's comments brought their discriminatory practices into stark relief.
The CMO's opinions set off a firestorm for the company, taking heat from plus-sized and trans models alike, but many of the outraged voices from trans activists were of a similar tune.
Trans women live their dream fantasy every day by simply being themselves, whether or not that fits Victoria's Secret's cookie-cutter vision for what that should be.
By refusing to include the queer community in their beauty standards, they are ignoring what the company symbolizes to many trans women who are brave enough to be themselves.
As Victoria's Secret is one of the most accessible lingerie brands on the market, I can only imagine how young trans ladies must feel when they purchase their very first piece of lady's underwear from the retailer. For a company that represents the pinnacle of womanhood and sexuality to so many developing girls, this could be a pivotal moment in many trans women's lives.
Razek's comments confirmed that the company couldn't give less of a damn about this portion of their clientele or what their brand might have represented.
With that in mind, it's no wonder this statement is quickly becoming the tipping point in the company's relationship with young people who are only going to keep getting more progressive.
Indeed, I and many other young millennials have already started to grow tired of the brand's repetitive patterns, unrealistic fit and vanilla beauty standards for some time now. It's foreseen that the company will lose more than just their queer customer base after this blunder.
It's a shame this company is so resolutely stuck in their outdated ways, refusing to embrace the inspiration that people like Christian Siriano and Ashley Grahm inspire, when they started off as a trailblazer in celebrating women's sexuality. But it's sheer, delicious luck that this happened the same year Rihanna graced us with her presence in the commercial fashion industry.
So, in the words of the infamous Trace Lysette, I'm marching over to Savage Fenty with my dollars.
Related Content