We've been lied to before, Internet. Are you just screwing with us again? 

Dadbod (noun): A man with the doughy, undefined physique of a middle-aged father. 

And if you believe the Internet, there's a huge contingency of women out there that not only tolerate it, but actively seek it out. We need to know … what the hell is going on here? 

We've seen a few reasons thrown around, but we're not sure exactly how legitimate they are:

1) The girl looks better by comparison. 

2) The girl isn't intimidated by chiseled features or gym time.

3) There's more to love / better cuddling. 

4) Numbers game / there are a shitload more guys with this body type. 

There's even an Instagram account dedicated to those gentlemen among us who have enjoyed Netflix a bit more than the gym: CollegeDadBods. 

And it's got 11,200 followers. That's obviously not a huge number, but we're not sure that over 10,000 people are just looking at these photos sarcastically. 

So we need help, gentle reader. Is this just a big joke? And before you start saying "Everyone is beautiful on the inside!" remember that this discussion is strictly about seeking out mates on the basis of looks (a.k.a. carnal attraction). This trend goes against eons of evolutionary biology and hundreds of years of popular culture. Discuss.