Moore meaningful change, less shallow celebration

On why there is something hard to swallow about the fanfare surrounding Demi Moore's recent Golden Globes success

After fading away like a ghost in recent years (5 points if you get the reference), Demi Moore is big news again after winning Best Actress at the Golden Globes for the critically-acclaimed body-horror movie, The Substance. The key message of the film is powerful - as women, the older you get, the less value you have. Youth, beauty and, consequentially, your sex appeal, are what give you your worth, so the moment that begins to slip, so too does your importance. When collecting her trophy, Moore referenced these themes in relation to her own experiences in the movie industry, using her emotional acceptance speech as a powerful reminder to all women to never let anyone else determine your sense of self-worth and to always have faith in yourself and your abilities. You’ll hear no argument from me against the importance of someone in the spotlight highlighting the insidious nature of this industry, or shining a light on the wider issue surrounding beauty standards, ageism and sexism. However, what she’s doing isn’t new. She isn’t the first to call out these issues, nor will she be the last. Is the fact that her speech is going viral just an indication of the continual preferential treatment of women with a certain appearance? Possibly. But what’s really shocking is that it’s 2025, and we’re still having to raise these problems.

We are battling an epidemic of violence against women and girls

I’d be far more inclined to join in the celebration if this marked an end for discrimination against women of all types; a line in the sand which we could look back on and say: “That was it, that was the moment women finally gained equality and respect”. But let’s be real, it’s not going to happen. Chances are we’ll be having the same conversations in 5, 10, 50 years time. Because it isn’t enough for one prolific public figure to put her head above the parapet and say: “How I’ve been treated isn’t fair”. We know that to be the case; women from all types of backgrounds and with varying profiles have been doing the same for decades and progress has been dismal, at best. In fact, not only are we fighting against a continuous threat to our place in society, we are now also battling an epidemic of violence against women and girls. And, rather than join us in battle, more and more men are signing up to the other side.

Just recently, human detritus Elon Musk attacked MP Jess Phillips online, calling her a ‘rape genocide apologist’ and demanding she be thrown in prison. This vitriol is just one in a stream of attacks the demented entrepreneur has actioned against the British government - and this coming from a man who is set to join Trump’s administration. It’s a perfect example of how those in the most powerful positions in our society are not only not supportive of the fight for gender equality, they are actively campaigning against it. Regardless of the reasons behind Musk’s digital intimidation, the strength and hatred of his posts were not warranted.

I appreciate why people might choose to highlight Demi’s speech as an act of feminism, and share it as an example of unfair male standards being held up for scrutiny. But what we really need to be doing is digging into why women are still experiencing this type of prejudice, and figure out how we can really tackle the problem. Instead of sharing the speech, we should be sharing educational tools, resources and petitions which will help lobby those who have the power to make real, impactful change.

Kudos to Demi, but the real problems go much, much deeper than missed work opportunities due to age. There are women suffering extreme misogyny, discrimination, violence and death, who I’m sure would relish their biggest problem being not landing the roles they wanted, or missing out on a shiny, plastic trophy.

In the spirit of sharing useful resources, here are some which I think you to take a look at:

• The Fawcett Society

• HeForShe

• UN Women

• White Ribbon

• End Violence Against Women

And here are some petitions I urge you to sign:

• Require DBS checks to join dating apps

• Decriminalise abortion

• Legally recognise non-binary as a gender

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📮About this email

I’m Seoana, and I write predominantly about the intersection of motherhood and mental health. I’m the Communications Manager for an innovation not-for-profit, and I also dabble in a bit of freelance writing on the side and am trying to get a novel off the ground. I live in the North Essex countryside with my partner, and our two children (one fur and one human baby),

I started this newsletter while on parental leave, as a way to unleash some of the overwhelming emotions I was experiencing during that time. As well as motherhood and mental health, I am also partial to ramble about a range of other topics too, from books and reality television, to women’s health and the workplace.

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