San Diego’s GroovaRoo Dance Studio routinely hosts groups of moms, who gather to perform choreographed dance routines with babies strapped to their chests. The studio posts videos of the classes on Facebook, and a few thousand people typically watch. Occasionally, a few million. They are, according to those who enjoy them, “cute.”
A few days ago, GroovaRoo switched things up a bit and posted a video of dads dancing with their babies. It’s men! Dancing! While wearing babies! So far, the video’s racked up more than 5 million views. The only other time GroovaRoo posted a video of dads dancing, it got more than 9 million.
About those dads — they’re dreadful, utterly lacking in rhythm and finesse. There is nothing remotely impressive about these uncoordinated goons spinning in circles while sweating onto their babies.
And yet the videos have been declared “ridiculously swoon-inducing” by Cosmo. Bustle says if that video “doesn’t make you smile, literally nothing will.” The New York Post says it “will melt your cold, black heart,” while Buzzfeed takes slightly different approach, insisting that it “will melt your cold, dead heart.”
If this avalanche of fawning praise proves anything, it’s how low men have set expectations. Simply showing up at babywearing dance class and spinning around in your board shorts is enough to be declared a national hero. “Nothing more sexy than a Dad who loves their baby,” one comment says. See that? Loving your child, the least we could expect from literally any parent, turns any schlub into Ryan Gosling.
Meanwhile, the moms at GroovaRoo are killing it. They’ve clearly devoted more time and effort to their craft. They’re busting out moves that would make those dads pull a hammy. And what do they get in return? Eighteen-thousands views and a reminder that if a dad so much as changes a diaper he’s basically earned the title on his Father’s Day mug.