Despite being a sidekick to a guy as all-encompassing as Batman, Robin does pretty well from himself when it comes to the ladies. At least, the original Dick Grayson version of Robin. Whether it’s his caped crusader counterpart Batgirl or alien princess Teen Titan Starfire, plenty of folks are thirsty for the Boy Wonder, especially after he’s adopted adopted his manlier Nightwing mantle. So the idea that men are looking to Robin for dating advice isn’t super surprising.
What is surprising is the exact dating advice those men have picked up. This weird new dating trend takes it inspiration from Robin’s catchphrase from Young Justice specifically.
Young Justice is the cult classic cartoon following young heroes through a slick, espionage-esque take on the DC Universe. After two popular seasons on Cartoon Network nearly a decade ago, the cancelled show was recently revived for a third season on the DC Universe streaming service. Personally, I thought it was a bit all over the place but am excited to see if the confirmed fourth season cleans things up. Anyway, early in the show Robin coins the catchphrase of being “whelmed.” Not overwhelmed, or underwhelmed. Just a linguistic experiment in emotional neutrality. Whelmed.
And now women on dating apps are feeling “whelmed” as well. In Self, writer Patia Braithwaite describes the trend of dudes dumping all this weird emotional baggage on prospective partners. It doesn’t sound like overt negging, just whining about previous bad luck on dating apps. Braithwaite said she tries to offer helpful advice, but multiple men now just complain about their past matches. Not awful, but also not great. Hence the slang “whelmed.”
Young Justice is a cool show. Robin is a cool character. And “whelmed” is a pretty funny catchphrase. So don’t ruin all these cool things, mediocre men. If you’re looking for help, check out the best dating apps for relationships on our sister site AskMen.
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