Raejell Roxas: Representation for Queer Women

As a model in a women-loving-women relationship, Raejell talks to us about her story and how much representation means for her and the queer community.

PHOTOGRAPHY Cru Camara

Despite five years of experience in modeling for big brands like Issy and Lucky Beauty, Raejell Roxas has maintained a semi-private stance on sharing her personal life online, especially when it comes to her sexuality and her relationship with her girlfriend Cath Bautista. But through this interview, we found that Raejell’s approach to love is simple yet profound. It's about the person, not their gender or sexuality — a philosophy so different from the usual depictions of queer women in the media today that often cater to the male gaze.

Though the world has started to progress by slowly embracing the queer community in recent years, there’s still a gap that needs to be filled specifically in terms of the acceptance and proper representation of queer women. So when it comes to the need to highlight the importance of these aspects, Raejell shares her conscious decision to start openly discussing her narrative as a model who embraces her queer identity despite the pressure to represent her community, “This is my first feature where [I was chosen] because I'm part of the LGBT community. So I was super duper scared to do this, actually. But, I really wanted to do this…I'm happy to [be] able to share my story.”

Raejell, along with her girlfriend Cath, share their experiences with L’Officiel Philippines as a queer couple in the industry and how they advocate for authentic and pure representation for queer women.

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Black dress, LAURE BY ROMA, Instagram/laurebyroma

How do you identify as? What was your experience with your sexuality like?

When I think about my sexuality, I don't really identify [as a] lesbian or bisexual or anything like that…Parang wala akong [preference] na parang I only like girls or I only like guys. If I love that person, I just love them. But ever since kasi, I came from an all-girls school. So ever since, I was attracted na to girls talaga. Nagkataon lang na ‘yung past relationships ko were all with guys. Cath is my first girlfriend.

Why is women-loving-women representation, especially in your industry, important to you?

Sobrang onti lang kasi ‘yung nakikita mo online of women-loving-women relationships. Actually, we don’t know anyone [aside from ourselves]. We know people, but not in the industry.

Our industry relies on audience's perspectives. So as models, people are literally looking at you — that's your entire job. And kumbaga I think it's important and I hope it's to be improved; na mas madagdagan ‘yung representation ng women-loving-women sa industry.

Now that you’ve mentioned it, what improvements do you hope to see in your industry regarding women-loving-women representation?

What we usually see [more of] in the media is men-loving-men. So parang whenever you would look at media that show women-loving-women characters, parang sobrang onti lang. At the same time, it's a story that's written by men. So [improvement] in terms of how they depict the story of women-loving-women content. Because a lot of times sa media especially sa ibang bansa, usually you'd see women-loving-women movies [na masyadong] sexualized. The characters are built and created for men. Parang it's more for the men. It's more for the male audience rather than telling stories about the relationship talaga ng women. It also becomes like a way for them to objectify women.

Do you have a message you’d like to share for other queer women in relationships similar to yours?

I think it's important to convey the image of unconditional love and care towards your partner because it's one of the greatest gifts you can give to someone in their entire lifetime.

That's why I always share our photos or travels together, because I want to show [that] now I'm at my happiest, and that this [relationship] is like the best thing I've experienced in my life. So I want to share that and inspire [others] to be more open and just prioritize your happiness.

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