Salsa & Chippendales

There’s no way around explaining this particular phenomenon without sounding arrogant (believe me, I’ve tried), so you’ll have to trust me when I say that this really isn’t braggadocio.

Once I find a new thing, or I decide to try something out, it will typically become incredibly popular within a month or two.  Meaning that I regularly reside in the upswell portion of Roger’s Innovation Adoption Curve.

Yes, there’s an Innovation Adoption Curve.  And yes, I studied it in school.  Apparel & Textile/Fashion major, remember?

diffusionofinnovYou Marketing kids are with me here too…

There are way too many instances of this happening to list here (particularly with music), but some of the more recent ones have been beards, “escape rooms,” Nissan Jukes, and the resurgence of Wayfarers & Doc Martins.

I’m not sure if this is something I learned via my degree in fashion, or if I gravitated toward studying fashion because it happens so often.  Regardless, I’ve resigned myself to it, although to be honest I still don’t like it.

My real point here is that the most recent of these trends is…

The DadBod.

Apparently a “DadBod” is a male physique, but with about 20 extra pounds around the midsection.  (Which is, these days, is the typical male physique.)  A guy with a DadBod hasn’t let himself go, but he’s clearly not averse to throwing down some beer/cookies/ice cream on the weekend.

He has a body that says, “I know where the gym is, and I also know where to get the best delivery in the city.”
A body that says, “I pick up my kids from soccer practice, but the closest I get to a pitch these days is FIFA 16.”
A body that says, “I’m not trying too hard at this…so you don’t have to either.”
And it’s apparently become the body shape préféré among women in the 25 to 35-year-old age bracket.

This one I never saw coming.  But I guess it’s nice for those of us who enjoy the occasional Double Doozie and count bouncing our daughter around the house as “cardio.”

What I find most unfortunate about the DadBod phenomenon is that, so far anyway, it hasn’t been applicable to women.  We certainly don’t see Time, Newsweek, the NY Times, WaPo, Business Insider, et al. extolling the sexiness of the “MomBod.”
And I find that to be both unfair, and a little sad.

Because my wife had our daughter 9 weeks ago and, to me, she’s never looked more beautiful.

j.s.

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