I'm confused as to who your comment is meant to address - the author describes how she pursued that consensus aesthetic, under guidance from various trainers that adhere to it. Her placement in competition isn't the point or the essay - the focus is on introspection about the thoughts that lead her to bodybuilding, the history of the sport that lead to the particular "consensus aesthetic" that she crossed paths with, and reflections on the toll that adherence takes on body and mind.

I found the tone remained neutral to admiring despite laying bare its rather gruesome flaws and crass backers, so if it reads as an indictment, I think it says more about the realities of the sport than the author's priorities.