Is it really ‘hip to be round’?
Marshall Roy — August 13, 2009 @ 7:46 pm
According to today’s New York Times, certain pockets of Brooklyn (namely Fort Greene, heir to Park Slope’s gentrification throne and Williamsburg, where the hipsters and Hasidics have long engaged in the silent war for facial hair supremacy—the former with handlebar mustaches and the later with sidelocks; it also happens to be ‘hood I call home) are seeing the emergence of a new accessory for men: a round, protuberant belly.
“Too pronounced to be blamed on the slouchy cut of a T-shirt, too modest in size to be termed a proper beer gut, developed too young to come under the heading of a paunch,” this allegedly widespread gastro-rotundity is a bit baffling. In previous chapters of human civilization, carrying a few extra pounds was an alluring trait—it meant you were generously fed and therefore had access to bounty. What does it signify today? Could it be “freedom from anxieties about body image,” or is it simply capitulation in the face of the challenge of staying in shape—the if-you-can’t-beat-’em-join-’em mentality?
Then again, maybe it’s a backlash against (what some consider to be) the inherent narcissism of maintaining a top-notch physique. A broadcast to the world that you’ve got deeper, more important pursuits in your life than crunches, cardio, and counting carbs.
Even though it may have appeared en masse this summer, the archetype of the lovable chub is longstanding and thriving—look no further than Seth Rogan, Carl Winslow, Kevin James, Homer Simpson, and the bean bag chair. Perhaps this is a facet of a new masculinity, since taming the iron tiger five days a week is typically associated with overwrought machismo and a lack of time for pursuits like self-actualization and reading.
What do you guys think? Do the hipsters just need to get out more often, or is a cultural shift afoot? As purveyors of better-fitting trousers, the answer concerns us highly!
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Rotundinitis is a serious disease, just because this disorder affects a few popular guys doesn’t mean that the average guy can get away with lazing out. Dane Cook is greater than Seth Rogan, in both terms of hilarity and in overall physique. If the animal kingdom is anything like the human metropolis, and I believe it is, then a Dane Cook will always beat out a Seth Rogan in the race for carnal knowledge—especially if outfitted with the flashy trousers that Bonobos supplies.
It’s not that these hipsters need to turn themselves into the testosterone bleeding meatheads, they just need to make a material change in their diet. Not a complete overhaul, stop-eating-burgers kind of change, but just a toning down of the portions. I can by no means grate cheese on my abs, but my gut doesn’t push the tensile strength of my pants waistband either.
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I will refrain from what I want to say but I will make it known that I believe our society’s acceptance of being overweight is disgusting. The costs in terms of worker productivity, mental status, and long term health alone are astronomical. When I see someone fine with being overweight and making no attempt to better themselves I am flabbergasted by it. Maybe it is my exercise physiology background or my career in medicine but I truly worry about the ramifications of this 20-30 years from now. So you ask if I am fine with round midsections? I respond with an adamant no!
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More socially acceptable, yes. Fashionable, NO. beer guts and extra weight have certainly become the norm for an extraordinarily amount of Americans, but that doesn’t mean that chics dig it. I base the “is it hip?” factor off of if women want a guy that fits that category, and I am fairly certain that if you ask a woman if she would prefer a fit man or a fat, she would undoubtedly want the fit one. With that said that does not mean that she wants a muscle bound barry bonds, like in the early 90’s… I believe that fit now means a guy who lifts, but not excessively (think low weight high reps) and a guy who jogs or likes to cycle (credit to lance).
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It is worth having a few extra pounds around the waist in order to be able to eat the foods I enjoy. Yes I work out and have a nice upper torso but I’m not going to starve myself to have a flat stomach. So I think acceptance of a few extra pounds in exchange for a lusty enjoyment of food is just fine. And my Bonobos with a relatively low rise fit very nicely and accentuate my very nice ass!
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I would have to agree with Scott on this one. To state that this social acceptance is a “backlash against (what some consider to be) the inherent narcissism of maintaining a top-notch physique” is ignorant to a certain degree, I believe. There is an inherent difference between being a top athlete and simply keeping oneself in shape. The latter can be maintained by just improving one’s dietary habits and exercising possibly 30 minutes a few times per week. In other words, I would concur with what the gentlemen before me posted.
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The Thursday Styles/Sunday Styles sections have long been a dumping ground for the half-baked “trend” stories that would not make it into the other sections of that newspaper.
You could just as easily write a story about how flat bellies are a trend in Brooklyn by selectively interviewing and photographing some skinny dudes there, and quoting a few “experts” to say: “Barack Obama has inspired people to hit the gym.”
Trust-fund hipsters age just like everybody else. Some of ‘em grow beer bellies beneath those V-neck Hanes t-shirts.
Frivolity, I say. Frivolity!
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