Dad Bods

Comedy is obsessed with bodies Old, young, tall, short, wrinkly, pregnant– you name it, and someone’s made a joke about it. This obsession with the human form has been particularly so regarding what we now know as the “dad bod”. Beer bellies, soft, strong arms that once contained muscles, and cozy thighs all adorn the men who have been the punchline of a million jokes. However, in the past few years, I’ve noticed an uptick in appreciation for these bodies, with the dad bod garnering a lot more love than it used to– and for good reason! In a culture that is notoriously harsh on what doesn t meet the “ideal” body type (whatever that may look like at the time), it’s about time that the bodies that are the result of the purest way to live– simply being human– are given the love they deserve. Let s talk about how the fatherly form of many middle-aged men has evolved from being the butt of society s jokes to the apple of its eye.

Recently, my TikTok s “For You” page has been overwhelmed with the audio “Big Boy (SZA)” (https://www youtube com/watch?v=jhSONuHXxkM) Its lyrics are as follows: “It's cuffin' season / And now we've got a reason / To get a big boy, I need a big boy / Give me a big boy”, and I ll say it, the song is addicting. And it’s pretty cool, too– it feels like one of the first popular body-positive songs ever written for men, and it s usually used in such a way that appreciates and uplifts men with this body type.

Upon research, however, I discovered that this song wasn’t initially real In fact, it originated as an SNL sketch, during which a group of women sing about needing bigger men to keep them warm during the winter season (https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=B9Z5YtWOJBM). The crowd laughs at the mere mention of the body type– “big boys” drives them into hysterics The sketch mockingly glorifies various aspects of this body type, which drives the crowd wild However, the internet has taken a different approach towards interpretation of this song. Its YouTube video’s comment section is almost completely filled with fans’ dreams of it being a real song, demanding the sketch be turned into a reallife big boy anthem TikTok is a similar community, with thousands of videos heralding the dad bod to this song. Many creators don’t even know that the song originated as a joke; it s taken on a new life for itself, transforming from mockery to celebration. At this point, it feels like the “Big Boy” known outside of SNL is more prevalent than the original

There’s definitely a long way to go, but for now, American dads can claim this victory and revel in it over some beers together While the dad bod craze is fortunately dismantling formerly destructive societal ideals surrounding male image, I can’t help but notice that “dad bod” is in the Google English dictionary while “mom bod” is not There s a near infinite resource of comedy that centralizes around the female body, and so I wonder when this new age of comedians, TikTokers, and real people will be able to twist jokes about childbearing hips and soft chins into a celebration of feminine beauty With a recent increase in body positive artists, I trust that we soon will Perhaps by this time next year, we’ll be just as in love with big girls as we are with big boys. But until then, let’s go big boys!