Video Games and Body Image: Part 2

I realized after my last post that I left out the body image issues video games might cause in the majority of their users. Males aren't immune to these issues either, and games (most notably the Gears of War franchise, which I heart nonetheless) could lead one to believe that all males should be built more along the lines of Mr. Universe than your average Joe. I read this article on IGN and realized that female characters are not the only ones following a strict archetype. Yes, Dom and Marcus have biceps much larger than their heads:

I do have to give Gears 3 props for not sacrificing Anya's and Sam's body armor in order to make them look sexier. Despite the weird round armor plate things where their boobs should be, Gears 3 Anya might be the least objectified female character in video games today:

The media image of the "ideal woman" isn't the only one that has gotten so impossible and unnatural that trying to mold yourself into it is dangerous. The media image of what the perfect man should look like is equally dangerously unattainable. I couldn't find that clip from the documentary Bigger, Stronger, Faster showing the evolution of the G.I. Joe action figure from a normal, fit guy to a roided-out gorilla, but here's a picture that illustrates sort of the same thing: