Nothing to see here. Move along.

While "Dad Bod" and "The Death of Pretty" both deal with the subject of gender roles and the emerging terminology used to define them the two articles could not be more different.  "Dad Bod" reads as a realistic assessment of a term now used in popular culture and recognizes the likely passing nature of it.  The writing rings true because the assumptions that are made are valid and backed up by years of forward movement in popular culture. So called "Dad Bods" are clearly a fad, as is the terminology.  "Death of Pretty" laments the loss of something that was not only poorly defined but never truly lost.  Archbold writes "By nature, when men see [beauty and innocence] in women it brings out their better qualities. That special combination of beauty and innocence, the pretty inspires men to protect and defend it." Her claim that innocence and beauty have been lost is not nearly as valid as she supposes it to be--I would wager that for the entirety of human existence "hotness" has been clearly delineated from "pretty" and striven for by certain women in certain situations.  Popular culture has, without a doubt, changed with time--yet the idea that she holds, a combination of beauty and innocence, is a fad that coexisted with "hotness".  Archbold thinks of pretty the way that fat idiots think of Dad bods.  Neither are real things to be striven for, merely fictions perpetuated by a popular culture that repeatedly cycles itself.  I take particular exception to Archbold's use of Grease as an extended metaphor for this supposed loss of innocence.  Grease was and is, at its core, a truly terrible movie.  The story makes no sense! ONJ just gives up who she is and then a car flies into the sky? And everyone is happy? Pretty never died. Pretty was never replaced with Hot. Both have coexisted for a long time and, just like Dad bods, the terminology will eventually die. Men want to feel better about being shitty people and women want to be what men desire. Sure, Danny Zuko got the girl and flew off in a magic car. But Danny Zuko was an asshole who grew up and has a Dad bod now.