How U Get Da Muscle

Despite all the toxicity surrounding The Last of Us Part 2, I feel like there are two lines of criticism that are perfectly valid.  The first is in relation to the development studio, Naughty Dog.  Abusive labor practices are never a good look and the overly restrictive review embargo didn't do them any favors either.  The other line of criticism pertains to the game itself and certain structural problems therein.  I won't go into detail (because doing so would inevitably lead to major spoilers), but I will say ludonarrative dissonance is on full display here.  Aside from a few professional reviews and a couple of people on podcasts though the majority of complaints against The Last of Us Part 2 are of a sexist, homophobic, anti-Semitic or just generally bigoted in nature.  It's all really bad, but the one piece of ridicule that disproportionately rubs me the wrong way is the complaint that Abby is unrealistically muscular.

Pretty much every Youtuber and Twitch streamer I've seen bring this up has been the kind of guy who looks they've never used an exercise machine in their life, let alone picked up some free weights.  That in itself should be a strong indicator that they are coming from a position of ignorance.  The fact that Abby's character model (excluding the face) is a 3D scan of professional CrossFit athlete Coleen Fostch doesn't seem to change any opinions.  "She's using steroids," is the most common form of dismissal despite CrossFit enforcing strict drug screenings akin to the Olympics.  "Her nutrition intake wouldn't be sufficient," is another criticism that regularly comes up (in reference to The Last of Us Part 2's post-apocalyptic setting).  No disrespect to all the whey and soy enthusiasts out there, but Abby is shown (in-game) to have access to fresh fruit, vegetables and plenty of meat.  That's really all that is required.  Plus, it's not like she has a nine-to-five office job.  She's highly motivated (for reasons I don't want to spoil) and is in her prime.  If anything the game is harshly realistic in that during a flashback she mentions bench pressing 185 pounds, but fast forward three years and she has only raised that amount to 205 lbs.  Diminishing gains is indeed something that every bodybuilder has to accept after an initial flurry of muscle growth.  

If all that evidence isn't enough then simply look up some photos of female Victorian era circus performers renown for their physical strength.  Testosterone levels aren't the primary factor when it comes to getting muscled physic, rather it's more of a combination of diet, exercise and genetic predisposition.  It's also worth noting that Abby isn't the biggest person (or even biggest woman) in The Last of Us Part 2.  Both of those honors go to Seraphites the player runs into over the course of the game.  The records on the gym wall where Abby works out also show that other males hold records higher than their female counterparts.  This is something that is consistent with statistics from all kinds of physical competitions ranging from track and field to power lifting...but, hey...why let facts get in the way of misogyny.  I'm sure these know-it-all gamers are experts on everything female because of all the anime-themed video games they play, right?  Well...Abby has jiggle physics too, but it's for her triceps and not much else.