Before Father’s Day, Salt Lake County Council member David Alvord sent a reminder to his Facebook followers: “Don’t simp for your wife tomorrow!”
Father’s Day, he said, is not the correct time to recognize wives or mothers because “[m]en need a day too!” Other days, including Valentine’s Day and anniversaries, are acceptable days to acknowledge wives and mothers, he added.
Alvord concluded his statement with a final encouragement to his male followers: “Stay strong!!! Don’t make me send GigaChad over to revoke your man-card.”
The post is accompanied by a black-and-white meme of a man with a chiseled jaw and strong brow. The photo, known in online communities as “GigaChad,” is used to represent a hypermasculine ideal or an alpha male. The meme is often used to belittle.
Alvord insisted in an interview Thursday that his Father’s Day post was “tongue in cheek.”
(Screenshot) A Facebook post from Salt Lake County Council member Dave Alvord ahead of Father's Day.
“The post is self-explanatory. ... It’s super important for society to have strong fathers,” he said. “There’s a lot of well-documented examples of the problems of fatherless homes. So it’s good that one day out of 365, we don’t make it about something else.”
Alvord served as South Jordan’s mayor from 2014 to 2018 before being elected in 2020 to represent District 2 on the County Council. His district covers a swath of the county’s west side, including Magna and parts of West Valley City, South Jordan and Herriman.
His social media posts have received attention in the past.
In 2022, he received backlash online for asserting fetuses are not part of a mother’s body because the umbilical cord and placenta do not connect directly to the woman. He stood by his comments.
Earlier that year, according to KUTV, he made a post on Facebook about the first all-female broadcasting team in NBA history, saying, “Are we going for representation? Or matriarchal domination? Or should it even matter? Who does the best job (as an individual)?”
Alvord announced in January that he will not seek a second County Council term.