Health is a word that can
vary its meaning in that people possess different perspectives. However, there
are those who take the meaning of this word, health, to the extreme. Roxanne
Edwards, a female body builder, demonstrates the physical extremity of health
in pursuit to demonstrate her version of femininity. “A Traditional Sculpture”
by H. Cassils is another individual who stretches the definition of health by
showing off his physical capabilities. H. Cassils, artist and personal trainer,
works his body to its maximum capacity as part of a project designed to go
against expectations. Perfection is a concept that contributes to the meaning
of this word, health, in that it indicates there are now flaws present. Both of
these words are part of the reason why Cassils and Edwards strove to reach a
supreme physical state.
Together Cassils and Edwards challenge the notion of
“health” through the intense physical state that they have achieved. Both of
these individuals have their own specific reasons for choosing to reach a state
of such physical extremity. Roxanne states, “This is how I choose to express my
femininity…I wear my strength outwards,” (AdrianIII) meaning that this massive
amount of muscle symbolizes her strength as a women. Edwards then acknowledges
that most women do not choose this outward form of strength, rather they keep
it to themselves. Indulging more on the topic of femininity Edwards expresses
that it should not be measured by their breasts, rather it should be measured
by how they act was women. Cassils on the other hand has some of his own
reasons as to why he chose this lifestyle. One of the reasons is that Cassils
is transgendered and wanted to express what that kind of life is like to the
rest of society. Cassils claims, “I did this work to explore the social
expectations of what a "woman's" body could be pushed to,” (Cassils)
meaning she wanted to find out if it was possible to undergo a gender
transformation through the use of exercise. In my opinion, Cassils experiment
was successful in that when his body was at its maximum potential, he started
to invoke various reactions from individuals. Arm wrestling in Rite Aid and
being challenge to fights are just some of the reactions that Cassils extreme
appearance had triggered. This experiment introduces the fact that there is a
relationship between how others view individuals such as Edwards or Cassils,
and how they view themselves.
The abundant amount of muscle that Edwards and Cassils have achieved
sparks a relationship between themselves and other individuals. In regard to
Edwards the relationships that exists is that the general public might find
images of her intimidating and abnormal, compared to the “normal” appearance of
women that we have become accustomed to. However Edwards herself views her body
type as an outward expression of her strength as a woman, rather than just
muscle. People may also find Cassils appearance as intimidating, and even
confusing when compared to others with “regular” appearances. However, unlike
Edwards, Cassils has a similar perspective to those around her. Cassils
supports this claim by stating “My body crossed over from socially acceptable
ripped chick to freaky androgyny, it was noticeable for me in my day-to-day interactions”
(Cassils). Working one’s body with such intensity is bound to have its own set
of negative repercussions, taking somewhat of a physical or mental toll on the
individual. For the purpose of his project Cassils decided to take steroids in
order to achieve a body of “maximum capacity.” Being a personal trainer.
Cassils does not support the use of steroids but decided to make the sacrifice
for the purpose of the project. At a certain point Cassils stated that there
was a point where his joints were inflicting pain, and the muscles had gotten
so tight he was unable to take of his shirt due to the loss of flexibility.*not sure why the last paragraph won't come out double spaced*
After reading your draft I feel as though your thesis statement is saying that there are many ways to show your health, not only is health a way of showing your strength, but it is also a way of showing your their femininity. This thesis tries to show that their is more to being healthy than meets the eye. Being healthy is about how you can express yourself through working out. Your first paragraph after the intro explores the topic of their extreme health and how they have achieved this. Your paragraph after that one describes how they have used this notion of healthy to express their true self. You have quoted ROxanne as saying that she views her body type as an outward expression of her strength as a women. Also Cassils says that his body crossed over from socially acceptable ripped chick to freaky androgyny. although you haven't put your conclusion in at this moment, you are on the right track with your writing. The two paragraphs after your intro seem to flow with everything you are saying. your two body paragraphs are able to reinforce what you have argued in the intro.
ReplyDeleteYour thesis states that everyone has their own definition of health and the concept of being perfect or flawless is a major health component. Your thesis succeeds at introducing an idea but it ultimately fails to define health in your own way. As I read further I can understand why you left the definition so open ended. I like how you framed Roxanne and Cassils around the idea that everyone creates their own definition of health, because we can all be healthy in our own ways. My only concern is that creating a definition of 'health' is a key part of the paper and you took a slightly different route.
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