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Body positivity is for women, not lazy white guys with dad bods There is more to dad bod positivity than meets the eye. It's appropriation of body positivity culture created by and for women—by the usual suspects.

In a world that is constantly telling us to be thinner, it can be hard to love our bodies just the way they are. But what if we stopped seeing our so-called flaws as imperfections and started viewing them as unique features that make us who we are?

That’s the body positive movement in a nutshell. And while it has been gaining traction in recent years, there’s one group of people who seem to have latched onto the concept with suspicious amounts of fervor: middle-aged white guys with dad bods. There’s even media campaigns catering to them with headlines like “Dad bods are the biggest turn-on for singles in the pandemic sex era” and “Why Girls Love The Dad Bod.” You’ve definitely seen a bunch of these.

If you’re a white guy thinking you should “just embrace” your belly fat and jump on the dad bod positivity bandwagon, this article is for you. You need to understand that you are not the target audience for body positivity. This isn’t about you guys; it’s about us women.

Alex Jones is the Stormfront of dad bod positivity.

Now don’t get me wrong, it’s nice that people are starting to accept themselves for who they are instead of succumbing to societal pressure (although let’s be real, most dad bods probably wouldn’t even consider going shirtless at the beach). But at its core, body positivity isn’t about looking “hot” — it’s about challenging the Western world’s patriarchal beauty standards, and that challenge by definition has to exclude white guys to stay authentic to women culture.

Staying in your own lane

White guys have their own things — like khakis, mayonnaise, Abercrombie, and man buns. Don’t appropriate from women’s culture, and don’t steal things that women — especially Black women — have created.

Also, I can’t help but feel like this trend is the usual suspects culturally appropriating something that was never meant for them in the first place. The body positivity movement was created by women — specifically Black women — as a brilliantly sassy yet empathetic response to the unrealistic standards of beauty imposed on us by Western culture. It wasn’t designed for privileged white males who already conform to their own traditional ideas of masculinity (duh); it was meant for those of us who often feel invisible and unworthy because we don’t fit into patriarchy’s white supremacist definition of beauty.

While I’m all for people loving their bodies, forgetting who the body positive movement was created by and for feels problematic and suss, like it’s some kind of 4chan operation against feminism. Remember freebleeding? Yep, I’m getting those vibes from all over this dad bod positivity thing.

So can we please stop pretending the body positive movement is for everyone?

Related: Sexy “dad bods” are not progress: Fetishizing beer bellies only fat-shames others — Salon

Body positivity is for women — led by Black women — to celebrate our diverse shapes and sizes, and to finally feel like we belong in a world that has always told us we don’t. Body positivity is for women who have been systemically oppressed and told their entire lives that they’re not good enough. Body positivity is for women who have been taught to hate themselves because they don’t look like Barbie — not for dudes who can already pass as Ken.

So to the dads out there flaunting their newfound (read: stolen) body confidence: if you have a dad bod, it’s time to hit the gym. It’s good for you — and we’ll appreciate you more. This movement isn’t for you and you need to stay in your own lane.


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99 thoughts on “<span class="entry-title-primary">Body positivity is for women, not lazy white guys with dad bods</span> <span class="entry-subtitle">There is more to dad bod positivity than meets the eye. It's appropriation of body positivity culture created by and for women—by the usual suspects.</span>”

  1. Let’s break down why parts of the “Body Positivity” article demonstrate racism against white men:
    * Essentializing and Stereotyping: The article reduces white men to a set of characteristics: mayonnaise lovers, khaki wearers, and followers of harmful trends (like 4Chan operations). This homogenizes a group and assigns negative traits to them simply based on their race.
    * Diminishing Lived Experiences: It suggests that white men, due to their race and gender, cannot understand the experiences of being marginalized by society’s beauty standards. This dismisses the possible body image struggles white men may face.
    * Privilege Misunderstanding: The claim that white men “already conform to their own traditional ideas of masculinity” oversimplifies the concept of privilege. While white men may experience some societal advantages, this doesn’t mean they are immune to insecurities or exempted from the need for body positivity.
    * Gatekeeping of a Movement: The assertion that “… you need to stay in your own lane” is exclusionary and undermines the idea that body positivity should strive to be inclusive. It sends the message that white men cannot be considered part of the movement, simply due to their race.
    Important Considerations:
    * Intersecting identities: It’s worth noting that body image struggles and beauty standards affect everyone differently. Factors like class, sexual orientation, and ability intersect with race and gender to create complex experiences.
    * The Power of Language: The language used in the article is harmful because it reinforces negative stereotypes and devalues the experiences and potential struggles of white men.
    Let me know if you want to discuss any of these points in more detail!

    Reply
  2. Being able to write an “article” anonymously is a convenient way for the author to avoid being held accountable. Who hurt you?

    Reply
    • Here we have the inclusivity movement being exclusive only to people of color again. Nothing preaches kindness louder than telling a group of people that they’re not as important as this group of people. Your guys’ heads are so far up your own asses you can’t even see the ridiculous irony of this entire article.

      Reply
  3. This whole “stay in your own lane” / “cultural appropriation” idea is both pathological and hypocritical. Nobody complains when other cultures borrow from Western culture — other than to condemn the West for “cultural imperialism”, so we get condemned no matter which way it goes. Nobody complained when the rest of the world appropriated tech nerd culture (such as emoticons and abbreviations like FWIW, AFAIK, etc.).

    The fact is, so-called “cultural appropriation” — more accurately, the organic spread and adaptation of ideas from one group of people to another — has driven human progress for millennia. Cultures that don’t engage with other cultures and “appropriate” ideas from them end up like the Tasmanians, who were isolated from the rest of the world and lost even the knowledge of how to start a fire from scratch. And need I remind you that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?

    Reply
  4. You lost all credibility when I read “lazy White men”. That’s racist. Your are facing the flames of division. Fat black women are not healthy no matter how you spin it.

    Reply
    • What? Buddy don’t you know that suggesting self-improvement to an obese woman is fatphobic?!!!

      White men are the only group that need to improve themselves, never women pregaming heart disease.

      Reply
  5. I like how you managed to not only be sexist, but also racist by incorporating the word “white” in the title.

    What an absolutely terrible take by an absolutely terrible writer.
    You normally cover transportation and prepping? You should stick with that, it suites you.

    Reply
  6. This is easily one of the worst takes I’ve ever read. I don’t get how anyone could seriously put something like this out there without any awareness that they just sound bitter and entitled. Why is it that people can’t seem to understand that having such contradictory views does not mean you’re pushing the envelope. It means that you have become part of the problem. Stop infantilizing women and attacking men. Get help so you don’t have to take your body issues out on other people just because of their gender. It’s regressive and ugly.

    Reply
  7. Imagine telling people to love the body they’re in, and in the same breath supporting trans rights, the insanity of despising everything that makes you, you.

    Reply
    • Literally as a gay men SO MUCH trans ideology screams woke homophobia to me. “Oh you’re a boy into fashion? You’re clearly a woman trapped in a man’s body!”

      Reply
  8. Lol. This writing is lazier than Al Bundy. Talentless hack. I can’t believe you get paid for this bigoted drivel. Beats working, I suppose….

    Reply
  9. So your saying accountability is for men only as women have no self control/ discipline and should be held to lower standards as they’re inferior?
    Ok then.

    Reply
  10. So glad this has been brought up. I know bodybuilding is very male dominated, but fitness is a much larger field than bulging freakazoids doing the atlas pose inside half an inch layer of blackface cream. And the fact is, women put in the hours, on average, that men would rather spend on the sofa.

    The “dad bod” as a cultural phenom is a normalization of these different levels of expectations.

    So hit the gym, guys. Get healthy and look your best.

    Reply
    • Nothing wrong with a “dad bod.” It’s those “mom bods” that are the issue here. Once the fattening starts, it never starts. Women aren’t capable of the dedication it takes to get in and stay in shape. You put on the weight, fatty. We’re sick of you blaming it on pregnancy or your metabolism. Time to put down the Twinkies and hit the gym, ladies.

      Nothing wrong with fat shaming, anyways. You cows SHOULD feel ashamed. LOL.

      Reply
  11. Women if you are fat just know all men look down on you like you’re trash, body positivity aside. Most women with appropriate bodies do also. To anyone regular you look disgusting

    Reply
  12. As a white man with a dad bod, I agree. We are disgusting and are really letting white womxn down. No wonder they go after men of color

    Reply
  13. This is fucking garbage. Why don’t you pick a cause that actually fucking matters instead of trying to police who can celebrate the body they leave in. Fucking dork dude.

    Reply
  14. This is the most sexist crap I’ve seen . Body positivity goes both ways . If anyone Is a TRUE feminist , they’d be looking for equality , not hierarchy. The majority of us women are being seen as vile and dumb because of things like this. Like what happened to true positivity ?

    Reply
  15. Really glad to see that people are shitting on this fucking psycho who writes this stuff. I wish i could say I had hope that thousands of people telling this person that their opinions are bad takes would help change their mind but sadly I don’t think they’re open minded or respectful enough

    Reply
  16. How can a proclaimed antiracist and antisexist be so racist and sexist is beyond me. You literally need an IQ of at least 80 to see the irony hear. Woke people are a true modern social cancer. A threat to equality and democracy.

    Reply
  17. Body positivity was originially invented for people with big scars, disabilities and such.
    Excluding people with these traits because of the gender doesn’t only show what a low-key shitty human being you’re, it’s also pretty fascist.

    Reply
    • In general, the body positivity movement has been co-opted by shitty human beings wanting to pretend being victims.  Hint: if you are obese you’ren’t oppressed. Maintaining such excess calorie intake means that you are extremely privileged and have access to enough food to not only feed yourself but to get fat, a privilege that a significant amount of humanity lacks.

      Reply
  18. I cant believe this is real,
    you all need to be healthy to survive it’s nothing to do with race or gender, who ever wrote this needs to re-evaluate.

    Reply
  19. Very glaad this poast was poasted. It had to be said. Ytoids keep tryna steal our culture and take over our movements!

    Reply
  20. This article is so IT! Let’s let those ni-… I mean… black heifers reach their full potential! Let’s just take them in and force feed them till their curves shine and their hearts ache! Those white men and women will work till our bodies are sculpted beautifully, while those immobile monkeys drown in their own bile! I’ve never heard a better idea from a goyim like you!

    Ah, how I long for the days we sold you nignogs as slaves to the white man, it is a sure shame, we could have been like brothers if your kind didn’t muddy the waters, as YHWH muddied your skin as a curse to mark you as barbarians belonging to the devil.
    A sour taste in my mouth indeed…
    להתראות

    Reply
  21. People didn’t like the way ugly, fat fucking sheboons looked, waddling and roaring like hippopotamuses, so they came up with bizarre mental gymnastics to justify being big, fat sacks of shit. But when a white guy with a beer gut doesn’t want to be stigmatized, and employs those same mental gymnastics, some snooty kike “journalist” goes “blubwbrlbuwb appropriation!”

    Cultural appropriation isn’t even a real fucking thing. Are you kidding me? It’s called enjoying and helping spread another culture. Do you think nips care if a white guy wears a hakama and eats a bowl of rice? Fuck, no! They love seeing that! Imitation is the highest form of fucking flattery. I’m sick and tired of this anti-white, sour grapes bullshit being published on every goddamn site. Get a real hobby.

    Reply
  22. I agree to a point but she’s a bit off the target, body positivity is only for
    Black people and People of Color, it’s appropriation for ANY white people to copy it, including women. Black peoples can be fat and proud, in fact it’s even better. Where fitness is for whites only.

    Reply
  23. How dare you use “weight” as a word? Weight as a concept has been stained with negative associations in both directions. It’s only one letter off from “wight” which means a mindless zombie or thrall of evil. I won’t stand for this as I can’t stand for longer than five minutes at a time (it’s bad for my ankles). Use the term ” downward beauty” instead and don’t let me ever hear you being so cruel again shitbird !

    Reply
  24. >The body positive movement was created by women – specifically Black women
    Really, is that so?

    >In 1967, New York radio host Steve Post held a “fat-in” in Central Park. He described the purpose of the event “was to protest discrimination against the fat.” This moment is often cited as the beginning of the Fat Acceptance movement.

    Here is the proud black women who created the movement:

    https://i.imgur.com/SYmwU8x.jpg

    Reply
  25. >lifting is bad!!! being muscular is toxic masculinity stop it
    >body positivity is only for women, not lazy men
    i want to punch something

    Reply
  26. Thank you for finally speaking up to this shit. It’s not sexy, and not healthy! Belly fat is the #1 cause of coronary issues!

    Reply

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