GI Joes and Body Image?

1. The first article in the Envision text argues that plastic male action figures display an ideal masculine body figure for our culture today. It uses visual examples showing how GI Joe’s and Luke Skywalker’s bodies have changed throughout the years, thus putting physical pressures on boys and men to have such masculine bodies. Pope, the author, also brings up the point of how body disorders do exist in men and not just in women. More specifically, dysmorphic disorder, a disorder including the obsessions of having large muscle mass, could possibly be a result from the bulkiness of such well-known action figures.
The second article, written by Folstad, argues that it is ridiculous that people try to support the idea that buff action figures is a cause of people’s bad self-esteem. He simply states that they are just toys and there is a reason people stop playing with them at a certain age. They are objects of imagination and fun and should not be taken so seriously.

2. The first article’s tone comes off more professional and precise while the second article’s tone is more angry and sarcastic. I feel that both approaches are effective, but I also feel that the audience is different for each. The first article’s tone would appeal to scholars and professionals perhaps or even overly concerned parents. However, the second article would appeal more to the average person who allows their children to play with Barbie dolls and GI Joes. An example from Pope’s argument would be that he mentioned dsymorphic, which is a medical condition, thus appealing to professionals. On the contrary, Folstad states, “ They are toys. We all know that”. I feel that when he says “we”, he is referencing the average citizen/parent.

3. I mainly agree more with Folstad’s article. Growing up I liked to play with Barbie dolls and I can’t say that they have affected the way I feel about my body. I feel that I was too young to care about body image, and, as Folstad commented, I stopped playing with them in elementary school. I don’t necessarily know anyone who has had body image issues due to a toy as well. Also, my parents were never too overprotective about what toys I played with. In other words, I don’t think they were concerned that a Barbie doll would affect my body image. Like most parents, I think their main concern was me being exposed to toys, movies, or books that were not age appropriate.