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By David Futrelle
Angry gamers are somehow still up in arms about the body of the character Abby in The Last of Us 2. You may recall, back in April the angriest gamers — the perpetual Gamergaters — were outraged after a studio leak revealed that the character Abby would be returning in the sequel as a newly-buff fighter with notably jacked arms.
At first the angry gamers assumed that any woman that buff had to be trans, so they accused the game studio, Naughty Dog, of pushing an LGBT+ agenda on innocent gamers. Then, when it turned out that Abby was not trans, the angry gamers got mad at Abby for a whole other reason — declaring that her body was “unrealistic” because where would she be getting enough food to bulk up like that in a postapocalyptic world and did she even lift, bro?
The game has been out for some time now and they’re still mad.
But now the angry gamers think they have found DEFINITIVE PROOF that Abby’s body is too good to be true — in the form of a workout schedule for Abby they discovered somewhere in the games assets that reveals, well, that she doesn’t lift enough to have arms like THAT.
“[A]bby is more muscular Than 90% of the Guys in the gym where i was workout,” complains another gamer on Twitter. “No girl in the gym looks as ugly as Abby.”
Other, er, critics make much of the fact that food is rationed in the dire dystopian world of the game.
“Her food is rationed,” insists one of Abby’s critics. “They SHOW that in game. She’d never be able to get the lean protein required to get that big.”
“Abby … has a muscular physique … in an environment where proper diet is so rare that food is rationed out,” another Abby non-fan grumbles. “You can say you don’t care but you can’t claim that this all about hating women.”
Like hell I can’t.
In case you’re wondering just how jacked this woman is, here’s what she looks like.
This is the body that these guys are declaring so “unrealistic”that it destroys any feelings of immersion in the game — a game that also features, yes, ZOMBIES. You know, creatures that DON’T ACTUALLY EXIST IN REAL LIFE
Come to think of it, has anyone found the zombies’ workout schedule?
More to the point, has anyone even gone looking for the workout schedules for any of the far-more-improbably buff bodies of assorted male video game heroes — say, the top-heavy soldiers in Gears of War, Batman in the Arkham series, Zangief in Street Fighter — or any of the other imaginary video game men on this handy list?
Of course not. It’s almost as if there’s a double standard. It’s almost as if Abby’s critics just can’t stand the thought of a strong women, or something. “It’s such a weird, ultra-specific way to be misogynistic while claiming to appeal to logic,” notes podcaster Jubel Brosseau on Twitter. That it is.
I kind of wish skimmingway hadn’t flounced so soon. I mean he was gross and a creep and not very intelligent but I enjoyed all the mocking of him and revealing his ignorance. He deserves all the mockery he got.
Of all misogynist types the kind I hate the most and the kind I prefer to mock, humiliate and shame the most are NiceGuys. I do that in other places online and in person but I see mostly other kinds of misogynists here among the trolls more than NiceGuy whiners. They are the ones women like me make the most upset though and they deserve what they get from us in terms of mockery.
@ cats in shiny hats
One of my friends is, as she puts it, ‘a lady postman’. She looks like an Olympic athlete.
Postal workers do particularly well in the armed forces reserve here. The British Army specialises in long range ‘Tabbing’* carrying heavy loads; so to them it’s just second nature.
(*Tactical Advance to Battle; i.e. walking)
@PoM
I’m almost surprised he didn’t lean harder into the transphobic conspiracy theory about Michelle Obama that posited that she was a trans* woman. Obviously there is nothing wrong with being a trans* woman (I’m one myself), but conservatives used that claim as a way to claim she wasn’t a “real woman” and stir up some homophobia about Barack.
Michelle is cis, so it just goes to show how much transphobia and racism are linked and how stereotypes of femininity are linked to ideas of whiteness.
@Stacey
Don’t worry, he’ll be back.
Thanks, Alan! Dang it, my “to be read” list keeps growing. Allow me to return the favor and recommend Theodora Goss’ series about the Athena Club. I think you’ll like the character of Justine Frankenstein (yes, as in “bride of”) who is portrayed as a vegetarian/vegan (can’t recall how specific the text gets) and is also a painter and a lover of philosophy. You and Justine could have some fascinating conversations. Actually, I’d love to be a guest at any Athena Club dinners – what an opportunity to speak with so many women who are coping with the restrictions of Victorian England.
@ Vicky P
Ooh, thank you. Although I still haven’t attacked the big pile of books I picked up on my lockdown walks. They have a thing here where old telephone boxes in the villages are used as book exchanges. My practice is to always do my returns to a different village to spread the books around a bit. Although it was pointed out to me that in a pandemic that just made me Patient Zero; so I’m currently keeping on to them.
A friend is a member of something here called The Athenaeum. She was asked to do a talk a while ago. She got a bit nervous. They told her not to worry; the audience had after all been very appreciative of the previous speaker. I said she’d no doubt be fine then. She then pointed out the previous speaker had been Stephen Fry.
@Alan
I’m not as built as your friend, but I am also forty and don’t build muscle as well as I used to. Though I can walk forever! It just mostly doesn’t show.
Many of my colleagues are buff as all that. Especially the ones who have been doing the job for decades. I’d place RT. 68, who is in her late fifties, as one of the strongest looking people in the office.
@ cats in shiny hats
Hey; us more mature folks have better muscles! There’s a reason most ‘natural’ bodybuilding champs tend to be older.
Pound for pound we’re actually stronger than the whippersnappers. Our individual muscle fibres are tougher. It’s why veal and lamb are more tender and less ‘stringy’ than steak and mutton. We also have thinner skin so we can look ripped without all the dehydrating and 5% bodyfat stuff.
They call it ‘muscle maturity’. It’s quality not quantity 😀
@Naglfar
Yes!
Misogynists stereotypes of femininity go with their racism, patriarchy and other repulsive beliefs. I’m petite, blue eyed, with fine blonde hair I keep long. I work out a lot and dance ballet and just with the way I’m built the muscle goes more to my butt and my core than my legs. My arms and shoulders get toned and the muscle is there but builds on me in a way that looks different (sort of, not really different too much, I just have a smaller frame) than in the pictures we’re talking about. My legs are strong but are long for my body so I look more “leggy” and with a really round butt because of how I work out. My body is the basis for my art and I design outfits thinking about how color and light and shadow go with my base shape.
But it also means I look like patriarchal men think a woman in supposed to look. I mean fuck what they think really but it means they act even more both indignant and incredulous that I’m assertive and a feminist because a “pretty little long haired blonde girl” isn’t supposed to be. They think my whip is just a prop and not real can’t believe that a woman my size and with a high pitched “sweet” sounding voice knows how to handle a real bullwhip as comfortably as I do in everyday life and can’t believe that a high pitched feminine voice can ever be used with a commanding and firm tone.
Is Skimmingway that Chaucer conspiracy troll? I can’t remember what his name was, but his posts got more and more pretentious and nonsensical as he went, so.
Jeebas, the pretence with this troll. As if him gracing us with his presence is some gift. Ugh…
Reading your responses brought to mind that gif of Anita Sarkeesian eating popcorn. I think that’s the right level of entertainment. Your appreciation for eachother was also a joy to read.
I’d also like to add on the otter-appreciation front that otters hold hands while sleeping so they don’t float apart. And that is awedorbsome.
@ battering lamb
That sounds like the coolest group on a terrorist watchlist.
@Naglfar
Third time’s the charm.
@Skidwart
Good fucking riddance to you, you bloviating sophist.
May your stench never again besmirch these internet pages.
It probably will.
@Alan Robertshaw
We have something like that here where people set up small boxes or old birdhouses with doors and have books inside, though I haven’t been using them since the pandemic started.
I imagine them being a bit like Sea Shepherd but specifically focused on otters.
@Stacey
I recall some years ago reading a feminist manifesto by a bisexual femme woman who was discussing how she viewed her presentation as a way of subverting the patriarchy, as she dressed in a conventionally feminine way but did it for herself rather than for the male gaze. What you wrote reminded me of that manifesto, how you have taken it into your own hands and subvert expectations.
My own exercise consists mainly of walking and running so I have very developed calves and thighs, but I don’t have much core muscle.
@C.A. Collins
It’s almost surprising he hasn’t gotten banned yet, most trolls get banned after this many iterations of rambling fascist apologism.
@Battering Lamb
This one?
@Alan: Shhh we’re super secret. Still working out the trademark. :p
Jim Sterling did a Duke Amiel Du Hardcore reading of a lot of the ‘criticisms’ of Abby in his most recent video. The only way to read that nonsense.
@Naglfar
Yes, you are so cool and awesome to get that. I definitely see my enjoyment of my art and my living and dressing the way I do as a direct subversion and resistance to patriarchy. That’s the same reason I am so vocal and direct about insisting only on men who I find attractive and by having the standards I do. I do that because I know that patriarchy expects me not just to behave in a certain way but even inside myself feel a certain way and I’m wrong if I don’t.
@ naglfar
I suspect you probably do. Walking is one of the best things you can do for a strong core; especially if you encounter a lot of inclines. You engage your abs and obliques; even moreso if you sort of lean back into it rather than hunch over. But just putting a bit of a swivel in your trunk can build a core, even on level ground.
@Aln Robertshaw
If I do, it’s not very visible. If I wanted more visible abs I’m sure there are exercises I could do, but I haven’t really focused on that in particular.
A misogynist will hate it and complain when say I’m out somewhere dressed in one of my typical styles and am talking to two guys that were just introduced to me and one is tall, handsome and ripped and the other isn’t, if the one I’m not attracted to stares at me I’ll tell him not to (with *one* polite and regular tone of voice instruction/warning to him before I get sharp and he’s dismissed from my immediate presence) while the other one I definitely invite to admire as much as he likes because with a hot guy who is nice, creative and intelligent and sweet of course I love him looking at me. The misogynists complain because if they think just because they’re both standing there in the same conversation and they are both men that must both automatically give them the same rights over me because of how I’m dressed and because they can both see me regardless of what *I* want! That makes me so mad! I hate creeps. So I definitely am open and proud of acting that way just as a way of challenging patriarchy.
@Naglfar
I was going to say the same thing as Alan about core strength. If you are running you do build it because you have to automatically keep your body stable to run.
@ naglfar
I have a pretty strong core; but I only get the visible abs thing when I’m really dehydrated, say after a long walk; or in certain light. The guys down the gym have taught me all the tricks. Very few people have visible abs all the time. For competition and photoshoots they go through all sorts of palaver to get the right look. Fasting, dehydrating, flexing right, downlighting etc. You’re probably very strong; but that’s totally different thing to the visuals.
ETA: Just look at Chris Hemsworth and that Aquaman bloke when they’re not actually filming.
Alan wrote:
I recently read a Finnish translation of the 1977 Russian novel “Za tsertoj miloserdija” by Dmitri Gusarov. It details a large two-month Soviet commando operation behind Finnish lines during summer 1942 in the wilderness around Lake Segorskoye (ca. 64 degrees north). It’s supposed to be a highly documentary account (including fact checking by the Finnish publisher), notwithstanding Soviet political bias.
Apparently, this operation was *overwhelmingly* about people
just hiking in the woods carrying extremely heavy loads of food, equipment and ammunition. There were over 500 men and about 50 women who had to hike for many days before even getting to the enemy line across a wide, uninhabited no man’s land. The women were medics and non-combatants, and their packs were lighter compared to the men, but still super heavy by the standards of modern couch potato.
Oddly enough, while these people must have been highly fit, I can’t imagine them generally being all that muscular. One of the main characters (a guy) is actually described as “wiry” by his natural body type. After a few weeks, they were all badly starved and presumably quite thin – most of them eventually died from either starvation, exhaustion or battle action. Some 120 were able to retreat back to their own lines.
(Similar commando operations were done by the Finns, but in much smaller units and without women.)
@Alan
That is so, so true and if more people of all genders realized that people would have better feelings about their bodies maybe.
My guys stay hydrated because there is no reason to not drink enough water but definitely for photography the photographer usually has them flex their abs to get that idealized look and it takes the right lighting too. If a person has good nutrition it helps too. My guys’ middles look good to me regardless when they are relaxed and not flexing (who could walk around like that all the time anyway?) just by being naturally fit and strong. That is what looks ripped.
The other thing about appearance over body as starting point is that the design and layout of the straps of the bodyharness that my guys have to accept as a requirement to wear as part of our partnetship agreement is designed so that it visually frames the parts of a strong fit cis male torso so that the abs look more accentuated. Working with that is part of our palette.
@ lumipuna
That’s a very common descriptor applied to UK elite forces types. Also ‘racing snake’.
US special forces tend to be a bit bulkier. But they tend to use vehicles (ground and air) for insertions; whereas for some reason the Brits seem to always walk there. (The Polish were astounded by this during Market Garden)
I read a thing once about D-Day casualties. My body type had the lowest life expectancy; charming. But this was also believed to be a factor in the Bravo Two Zero mission. The guys who died of ‘natural’ causes (as opposed to being shot) were all from 23 SAS; whereas the survivors were from 22. And because of the different backgrounds and selection process 23 tend to be bigger than 22 guys.
But even the Spartans observed this. They noted that warriors needed a much different training regime and ideal body type than athletes.
Is Pavlov’s House about? I bet he knows a lot about this.
Good lord, the projection on this one. IMAX and drive in theaters are positively green with envy.
Also, what’s up with his hatred of all women that don’t make him happy in the pants in general and Mrs. Obama in particular? Is he some sort of weird time-traveling dandy? Weren’t they supposed to be fun at least?