A Utah fathers blunt advice to young men on how to attract women has ignited a fierce online debate over dating, masculinity, and modern sexual norms.
According to The Post Millennial, Chris Hatch, a Salt Lake City husband, father of five, commercial real-estate developer, and podcaster, went viral on X after urging young men to abandon slovenly habits and present themselves like adults if they hope to find a wife. He told his followers to put down the video games, get proper haircuts, clean their cars, and take regular showers, a back-to-basics formula that many older conservatives would regard as common sense but that some critics derided as out-of-touch, misogynist, and boomer-coded.
I am surrounded by 20 year old girls in my life that are smart, capable, hard working and cute, Hatch wrote. Nobody is dating them. Not sure what the deal is, but I dont get it. His comments tapped into a broader social crisis: marriage and birth rates have been sliding for years, even as President Trumps second administration has emphasized family formation and traditional values as cultural priorities.
Hatchs remarks come against the backdrop of a long-term demographic decline, with fertility rates in 2025 falling to an all-time low of 1.6 children per woman. Even among women who do choose motherhood, an increasing share are doing so outside of marriage, a trend conservatives warn undermines family stability and leaves children without fathers in the home.
Legacy media have documented the shift toward atomized, post-family living, even if they often avoid confronting its cultural roots. NPR reported in January that 44 percent of women were single and that the use of in-vitro fertilization as an alternative to traditional conception methods was rapidly increasing, a development that effectively sidelines men and treats children as lifestyle accessories rather than the fruit of committed marriage.
Hatch suggested that young men should log off dating apps and meet women in person, even recommending yoga classes as fertile ground for potential relationships. Ask a cute for her phone number at yoga class (yes you can meet girls IRL and not just on the apps - 10/10 the Dirt Dog highly recommends, he wrote, referencing his online handle @DirtDog.
Progressive users quickly pounced, warning that such cold approaches could lead to bans from studios or even restraining orders in a culture that increasingly labels normal male interest as threatening. Others dismissed his advice as simplistic and outdated, insisting it failed to grapple with the complexities of a dating market shaped by social media, hookup culture, and ideological feminism.
The dating equivalent of boomers saying just walk into Goldman Sachs with your resume and a 'firm handshake', wrote Jeffrey Ye, mocking Hatchs old-school tone. Yet many users applauded the romantic impulse behind his suggestions, including the unfashionable gesture of bringing flowers, which feminists often deride but many women still quietly appreciate.
Some commenters argued that even men uninterested in long-term monogamy could benefit from basic self-respect and chivalry. But skeptics warned that in a culture that often rewards promiscuity and punishes commitment, traditional men risk being exploited. Sounds like a great way to get taken advantage of by the modern women with a triple-digit body count, wrote user @AI_EmeraldApple.
Others stressed that the problem is not solely male, pointing to female behavior and expectations shaped by social media, pornography, and feminist rhetoric. Guys have learned by that age that cold approaching girls marks them as creepy, wrote conservative blogger Peachy Keenan. When they try it once and get rejected, get an eye roll, or get told they're too short, not whatever, to their face, they will never cold approach again.
One user argued that women, too, must make themselves more marriageable if they want serious suitors. Stop getting tattoos. Men want women. Not pirates, wrote user @bookshelfbattle in one of his 10 suggestions to females, capturing a sentiment common among traditionalist men who feel alienated by aggressively edgy aesthetics.
The online clash over Hatchs post is unfolding as the culture wrestles with more extreme cases of sexual behavior and consent, including a recent controversy at Cornell University. There, a female student has alleged a gangbang sex assault involving seven men at a fraternity, while critics, including some of the accused, have countered that she solicited the encounter and in some instances initiated sexual contact without consent, underscoring how a culture that normalizes casual sex and erodes clear moral standards leaves both men and women navigating a minefield of risk, accusation, and mistrust.
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