Viral Photo Of Random Chicago Man Outside In Shorts On Cold Winter Day Sparks Heated Debate

We've all encountered him and we might even know him personally: year-round shorts guy.

You'll see him in the dead of winter in the freezing cold waltzing around in shorts for some reason. He probably doesn't own a coat, either.

He is a mystery, an enigma, and nobody understands him except, well, the other year-round shorts guys.

A woman on X is currently going viral after capturing a year-round shorts guy specimen in the frigid streets of Chicago, and it's sparked quite a conversation about not only what's up with this genre of dude, but where you're most likely to find him.

X user @mollyfleck posted a photo of the bro-y dude walking through the recent Chicago snow in nothing but a pair of sneakers, shorts and a t-shirt (and a ballcap, of course), along with the caption:

"Chicagoans are just built different."

But contrary to what Chicagoans all seem to think (and this writer says that as a former Chicagoan), it is cold in most large cities in the U.S. and this type of dude exists all over the place.

You see him every year, all winter long, waltzing around half-naked pretending not to be cold. At this point it's a winter tradition as well-worn as Christmas lights in the town square!

Year-round shorts guy is so ubiquitous, in fact, that the popular X user known as "men's wear guy" shared a screenshot of an actual 2019 investigative piece by the Wall Street Journal trying to suss out what year-round shorts guy's deal is.

That, of course, did not stop a heated debate from arising where everyone from every city and section in the U.S. immediately claimed year-round shorts guy as THEIR thing.

Many claimed that this is just a general Midwest thing, not a Chicago thing (which is true).

Others claimed it was unique to Philadelphia, for whatever reason.

While others said it was a Wisconsin thing...

A Boston thing...

A Montana thing...

The list, of course, goes on and on. But while location may have proven divisive, most seemed to agree on two things. One, it is almost exclusively white men who do this, or as many put it, "WPS," or "white people sh*t."

And it is yet another example of weird, performative masculinity. Fellas, is it gay to be cold?

Of course, it's possible this gent was just running to a gym or coffee shop a block down the street and couldn't be bothered to bundle up for such a short trip. Or something.

Regardless, the international mystery of year-round shorts guy continues.