Last week, one man got the world talking by making an Instagram post about his wife — except, it’s not quite as simple as that.
Robbie Tripp wrote about falling in love with his “curvy” wife, claiming that her body type is not what is typically considered beautiful, but that he loved it either way.
“For me, there is nothing sexier than this woman right here: thick thighs, big booty, cute little side roll, etc.,” Robbie wrote. “Her shape and size won’t be the one featured on the cover of Cosmopolitan but it’s the one featured in my life and in my heart.”
That’s kind of sweet, right? Well, a lot of the Internet sure didn’t think so. In fact, it became a Twitter meme pretty damn quickly as everyone rushed to criticise the post.
under socialism we will each be apportioned a curvy wife
— Brandy Jensen (@BrandyLJensen) August 4, 2017
Man 1: I love my curvy wife!
Man 2: I also love my [adjective] Wife!
Man 1: We are great men!
Man 2: We arent doing the bare minimum at all!— TechnicallyRon (@TechnicallyRon) August 4, 2017
People were pretty upset that some guy, who did nothing but say he was attracted to his own wife, was getting so much attention for it. While some news outlets were calling the post “heartwarming”, others were calling it a joke.
A guy loving his curvy wife? What's next, a man loving his sick wife? Loving a woman who ages? WOULD YOU LOVE YOUR HALF-KOALA WIFE
— Ꮍᴀᴇʟ (@elle91) August 4, 2017
Imagine loving your wife's curvy body so much you don't have to talk about it on social media.
— The Volatile Mermaid (@OhNoSheTwitnt) August 4, 2017
OK, so, I get it. Why should we applaud some dude for thinking his wife is hot? I mean, hopefully you think the person you marry is attractive one some level, and you shouldn’t have to prove it to the world. Not to mention the post itself makes it seem like we should see him as a hero for breaking away from idealized beauty standards to fall in love with someone who he believed didn’t fit them. It could definitely be construed as insulting and isn’t quite as progressive as he may think.
But put aside your cynicism for a moment. Is it the most feminist Instagram post in the world? No, probably not, despite what he wrote about being a feminist himself. But at the same time, it’s not exactly a toxic message to put out there. Sure, we shouldn’t applaud someone for “breaking the status quo” just because he married a woman who doesn’t fit certain beauty standards. But at the same time, I don’t think we should completely tear apart some dude for posting about it. Because honestly, who really cares? Why are we so concerned that this guy wants to talk about his attraction to his wife online on his own personal media site?
At the end of the day, Robbie was trying to spread a good message: that we shouldn’t care about what the media tells us we should want, and that we should love ourselves and others for who we are, not just how we look. Maybe all the people tearing his post apart already know that, but some people still need the reminder. In the end, it probably does more good than bad.
Do I love his post? Well, it’s not my favorite. But honestly, I’ve got better things to criticize. 
