Let's get out of the way that I'm a huge softie for dogs and 100 percent support the adoption of rescue dogs and moving away from breeders, including pitbulls. That said, what I'm gonna say is no doubt judgmental and anecdotal. I've met pitbull owners who are nothing like the people I'm about to describe other than they want to give some poor dogs a loving home; this is just me airing some observations.

I don't know if this is a big thing outside of the U.S, but I've noticed a trend especially among white women here to be really into adopting pitbulls. In general, the whole "adopt, don't shop" trend with dogs is getting huge and I'm all for it, but it seems like there's a certain type of woman who becomes a "pit mommy." I'd I had to come up with a pit mommy stereotype I'd say it's a white woman, often working in the service industry, with tattoo sleeves, alcoholism, an extensive sexual history, a smoking habit, and maybe some daddy issues. Or at least someone that checks multiple boxes on that list. They are often a bit cynical about men based on their experiences but if they have boyfriends, they are often tattooed, smoke, ride a motorcycle, or check many of those boxes or otherwise fit the general "bad boy" mold.

I can't help but wonder if it's part of a trend of relatively safe and sheltered western women craving a certain amount of danger. The vast majority of pitbulls are absolute sweethearts and are unfortunately judged for the behavior of a few, but the statistics don't lie about pit bull attacks compared to other breeds. I think both of these are part of the dog's appeal to the pit mommy. "They're just misunderstood!" is the same thing a teenage/twentysomething girl might say to her dad about her red flag laden boyfriend, and it seems like the same women who are drawn to misunderstood dogs are drawn to "misunderstood" men.

At the same time, for the aforementioned pit mommies who are going through a "men ain't shit" phase might be drawn to the dogs because they're big and potentially aggressive like men can be, but all said and done better behaved, easier to understand, and probably more loyal than Mr. "Misunderstood."

We live in a time where the sexes have become more androgynous or even switched. Although loud, drinking, coarse, tattooed and promiscuous women have always existed, many observers have pointed out the trend of western women becoming increasingly manlike as western men become more androgynous or even effeminate. I don't have the source on hand but some studies have shown testosterone levels rising in women as they decrease in men. Women are under a lot of pressure to grow up fast and have become hypersexualized at a younger and younger age. In addition, they're now often expected to have a career and be independent. Many are raising children by themselves, though often not by choice. It's very likely that they grew up without a father or strong male figure in their lives themselves. In short, women are expected to be men in the world. I can't help but wonder if this has anything to do with a set of often somewhat masculine women loving "masculine" and "scary" dogs.

What say you, PPD? Again, if you've adopted a dog of any breed, God bless you. It should go without saying thst not implying if you own a pitbull that you're like this. This isn't meant to attack anyone, but I suspect I'm not the only one to make these observations.