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OPINION
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Did you know FFAs are completely anonymous??
Can I be a stay at home puppy parent?
Breakups are not a negotiation, we will not meet to discuss the terms of our breakup.
In all seriousness, whoever came up with jock straps is a genius
The sun is not shining on Kansas, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise
I can't tell if that loud buzzing outside is real or just a figment of my pain medication
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My not understanding "on fleek" is on fleek. I think.
Good luck to everyone on their first day of summer classes:)
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KANSAN.COM
'Dad bod' trend popularizes harmful ideas
Sydney Shepherd
@APoisedPen
Today there is a new phenomenon that is trending not only on social
media, but also in the appearance and preference of the young male population. This phenomenon is best known as "the dad bod."
Mackenzie Pearson, a student at Clemson University, gave the world the definition of "The Dad Bod" in a post on The Odyssey. Pearson defines it as "a nice balance between a beer gut and working out. It's not an overweight guy, but it isn't one with washboard abs, either."
Pearson says it's not only the most popular body type to date for the 18-to-22 female demographic, but it's also the best because of the sweet and funny personality type
associated with it.
As a member of the female demographic I can vouch for her claim dad bod is indeed a trending body type for female college students to pursue.
The issue however, does not lie within the definition or Pearson's claim that dad bod is popular, but in the terminology and logic Pearson employs in explaining why so many women in college are choosing guys that look like Chris Pratt when he was the pudgier character Andy Dwyer in "Parks and Recreation" instead of the body type he came to have for the role of Peter Quill in "Guardians of the Galaxy."
Referring to this trending body type as "dad bod" is almost incestuous. Why is a term that sexualizes fathers so popular? I understand that men with dad bods are usually
accredited with a certain sweet and laid-back personality type. But I don't care if your father is Chris Pratt in either of the aforementioned roles — he's still your dad nonetheless.
Let's not also forget the assumed personality type associated with the dad bod not the guys that fit the stereotype, but more specifically society's automatic assumption that a guy with a small gut is automatically going to be a nicer kind of guy than the guy who never misses a day at the gym. Assuming that any body type correlates with a personality type is wrong.
Finally, the last problem with the dad bod: sexism.
Why can't women be celebrated for having a "mom bod" — because that's actually something worth celebrating — instead of having to
keep up with society's standards? Why are they pushed to becoming "momshells" — the expectation for a woman to not only get back to her old body, but become better if she can, after having a baby?
These types of double standards aren't acceptable.
Let's stop referring to a whole generation of girls' tendency to pick less fit men as a reflection of inappropriate love for fathers, as well as giving both men and women the chance to be seen as attractive even if they may sport a torso that is not composed of abs of steel.
Sydney Shepherd is a junior from Bonner Springs studying journalism and English.
Emotional abuse hides in relationships
Anissa Fritz
@anissafritzz
As we get older, life tends to get more complicated. Relationships are no
exception.
Relationships evolve from forehead kisses and holding hands to meeting the parents and going on trips together. In this evolution of romantic feelings, there will be disagreements between the two
involved. Somewhere along the way, lines between simply arguing and emotional abuse become blurred.
In both my observation and personal experience, once the relationship between a couple is no longer new, the two parties involved tend to get aggravated at small tendencies that didn't bother them before.
The cute way she eats her food has now become annoying and squirrellike, and his innocent love for videogames has turned into laziness
and immaturity. With this slow, yet evident shift, arguments are likely to arise. Because a couple may get into a verbal spat does not mean they are destined to fail or one of the individuals is emotionally abusing the other.
In an article in "Best Health" magazine, Kevin VanDerZwet Stafford, clinical fellow and approved supervisor with the Ontario and American Associations for Marriage and Family Therapy, said he believed "it can be healthy for couples to disagree."
Couples getting into arguments is inevitable, yet emotional abuse does not happen in every relationship. This is because emotional abuse does not stem from arguments, but the way in which the two individuals involved handle the argument.
Even if your significant other never lays a harmful finger on you,
SEE ABUSE PAGE 06
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