Roxanne Edwards is, in fact, a super human. After giving in to temptation, I looked at the images of this woman before watching the interview to see what all the hype was about and she looked pretty similar to what I had expected. In the very beginning of the interview, she revealed that she didn't start working out until she was 30 years old. Even further into this interview, she states "what made me start working out, I wanted to look good naked". While I don't agree with her starting intentions nor the extent to which she has taken her physical being, I do respect her attempt to empower others, specifically African American women.
In the article "Hard Bodies" written by Stuart Ewen, a quote that distinctively stood out to me was "Despite all efforts, photogenic majesty is elusive". Elusive defined is "difficult to find, catch, or achieve". In class, we listed qualities on the board, in both men and women, that today's society defines as "attractive" including abs, the classic hourglass shape, boobs, facial hair, and more. All these features may contribute to what Ewen depicts as "photogenic majesty" but the reason why this is so hard to achieve is because you must be have the whole package, not just merely one of these features.
In a sense, I believe Roxi is working toward the level considered photogenic majesty. In the interview she states that she considers herself to be "shredded" but is working to the next and highest level: "peeled" where you can see all the fibers through her skin. As read in "Against Ordinary Language: The Language of the Body" by Kathy Acker, body building is the process of working muscle groups to the point of breakdown so that they are able to rebuild themselves bigger and better. Although I personally do not find this practice healthy nor appealing, I again go back to where Roxi started from. In today's day and age, it is a desired quality to be fit and she has taken this physique to a whole new level as well as the rest of society involved in the practice of body building. Being an African American woman who seemed to be looking for some type of self-achievement and empowerment, she advanced in her athleticism to prove a point which I believe to have begun with herself but I do believe her success with her body helped her to realize this defined her as something more than she originally thought she was and she could help others to see this as well.
As for Roxis' race, she tells the interviewer "so if you are like myself, it's harder because of course, yes, I'm darker... and even in regular media my complexion isn't marketable". She proceeds to say she uses bodybuilding "not to define me but to help me to get other things to show women that they can be defined any way they feel like being defined". I have a lot of respect for Roxi in the way that she approaches this because she is not only accepting of this reality but she is trying to encourage others who may be struggling with similar cases, to overcome their issues.
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