The Dadbod Trend that’s Going Viral: A celebration of a Father’s Imperfect Figure

According to a trending term "#Dadbod," ripped stomachs and toned pecs are out, and slightly squishy midsections are in as reported by US Weekly.

This past March, a writer named Mackenzie Pearson penned an essay on local college news site The Odyssey entitled "Why Girls Love The Dad Bod." Pearson explained what she saw as a phenomenon as such, "The dad bod is a nice balance between a beer gut and working out. The dad bod says, 'I go to the gym occasionally, but I also drink heavily on the weekends and enjoy eating eight slices of pizza at a time.' It's not an overweight guy, but it isn't one with washboard abs, either."

Attention to the Clemson University student's words grew slowly but took off in a huge way this week, as the original article topped 300,000 shares. #DadBod quickly divided readers, as some voiced their affection for the body type, while others took issue with the message the trend sent to women.

"My friends and I saw this body type on a lot more guys and we were attracted to it," Pearson explained in an interview with ABC News on Friday, May 1. "You try to maintain that healthy body but at the same time [it's] 'I want to go out and drink on the weekends.'"

Check out Twitter reactions to the trend below: Are you pro-#Dadbod?

"People are talking about "dadbod" in 2015 like "Everybody Loves Raymond" never happened."

"Dadbod is the grown-up version of your mom telling the saleswoman at Macy's that you're a husky."

"The dad bod trend should not be a thing. No one finds that attractive. You should be celebrating your healthy body, not your beer belly."

"Just read an article about why girls prefer the "dad bod" over a ripped guy so now I have an excuse to eat like 4 pizzas today"