Roxanne Edwards

      Roxanne's story is a very compelling one. I have great respect for the fact that she was able to stick with her goals and become a very good body builder. For me, personally, I don't think she has the perfect body image. Actually I don't think there is such a thing. The perfect body image is the one you feel comfortable living in. Towards the end of the interview she said that she body builds because it is her way of showing her femininity. I thought that was a perfect answer to the question posed to her because we all live our lives differently it is in our human nature to be different. Nobody can be exactly the same as someone else. Roxanne had said in the interview that she had indeed taken steroids before. For me this is not a way I interact with my body. I would consider myself in good shape but i don't like putting too many chemicals into my body because I do not feel that it is the right way to interact with my body. Roxanne was asked what it is like to be a black female bodybuilder. She responds by saying that it is harder for her because she is darker. The media shows the women that are easier to market. These women end up being white women because they are already established figures in our society. When you look at Roxanne you wouldn't associate her with the so called normal women characteristics. She is extraordinarily muscular and does things that most women wouldn't. The thing that intrigued me most was actually putting a face to the voice. I listened to the interview first and then looked at the photos so I guess I was a little shocked at what I saw. Anytime I see someone that muscular it always shocks me a little bit. I feel as though to many people in this world they would not be accepting of her. Most would look away from her without appreciating all that she has done. I feel as though Roxanne is strong enough mentally to deal with some of the negativity that she might deal with from strangers. I do feel though that it will still take some time for her to get the recognition that she deserves only because we still are a little reluctant to be accepting of all people. I think that media also has a role to play in this. The media has lots of control over what is played and shown on the internet and on social media. Most of them still don't want  to leave the social norm and show something that most people still haven't been exposed to. One thing we had talked about in class was what would we associate with a male and female body. Most of what we associated with each body type was pretty stereotypical; males should have a tall muscular body whereas females should have the hourglass figure. This thinking is what keeps us from opening our eyes to all the possibilities. Once you are exposed to all possibilities it is much easier for us to accept them as normal.