Demi Moore’s gory satire The Substance made me think about self-image, bodily autonomy – and our worrying obsession with cosmetic surgery
I was thinking about breasts as I watched The Substance. Coralie Fargeat’s body-horror fable features Demi Moore as a newly 50, supposedly fading fitness star who makes a pharmaceutical Faustian pact allowing her to create a nubile 20-year-old (played by Margaret Qualley) to replace her half the time. Breasts aren’t Fargeat’s main focus – it’s an ass more than a tit movie – but there are plenty on show. One (minor spoiler alert?) plops bloodily to the floor at a climactic moment and if that – miles from the most harrowing bit – sounds too revolting, it’s not the film for you.
I was thinking about breasts, because I had just read about the 64% increase in reductions in the US since 2019 (not including post-surgical reconstructions or gender-affirming top surgery). Many are on women under 30, and under-19s “represent a small but fast-growing part of the market”, the New York Times reported. Women, apparently, want “yoga boobs” or the girlish “coquette” look – a braless life.
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Continue reading… Demi Moore’s gory satire The Substance made me think about self-image, bodily autonomy – and our worrying obsession with cosmetic surgeryI was thinking about breasts as I watched The Substance. Coralie Fargeat’s body-horror fable features Demi Moore as a newly 50, supposedly fading fitness star who makes a pharmaceutical Faustian pact allowing her to create a nubile 20-year-old (played by Margaret Qualley) to replace her half the time. Breasts aren’t Fargeat’s main focus – it’s an ass more than a tit movie – but there are plenty on show. One (minor spoiler alert?) plops bloodily to the floor at a climactic moment and if that – miles from the most harrowing bit – sounds too revolting, it’s not the film for you.I was thinking about breasts, because I had just read about the 64% increase in reductions in the US since 2019 (not including post-surgical reconstructions or gender-affirming top surgery). Many are on women under 30, and under-19s “represent a small but fast-growing part of the market”, the New York Times reported. Women, apparently, want “yoga boobs” or the girlish “coquette” look – a braless life.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading… Film, Cosmetic surgery, Feminism, Life and style, Culture, Women
