Abstract
Representations of the aging female body have increased in media, but their presence is still shaped by social norms and market-driven ideals. On the contrary, The Substance (2024), an absurd, postmodern body horror, provides us a provocative critique of contemporary society’s obsession with youth and beauty and the way our culture defines and commodifies aging, especially in relation to women’s bodies and identities. Our review of The Substance incorporates consumer culture theory with Julia Kristeva’s concept of the abject (1982), Laura Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze (1975), and Barbara Creed’s notion of the monstrous-feminine, (1993) to explore the toxic commodification of the female body. We discuss representations of female aging bodies in the media in comparison to the body horror and self-hate in The Substance. Through examination of the visual language and the male gaze reflected in the film, we discuss the marketization and the commodification of the female body and the consumption of youth.
Date Received
October 9, 2025
Date Revised
October 16, 2025
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Uyug Sengun, Damlasu; Aydın, Tuncer Mert; and Ozdamar Ertekin, Zeynep
(2025)
"Aging and the Screen: Toxic Commodification of the Female Body in The Substance (2024),"
Markets, Globalization & Development Review:
Vol. 10:
No.
2, Article 3.
DOI: 10.23860/MGDR-2025-10-02-03
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/mgdr/vol10/iss2/3
Included in
Bioethics and Medical Ethics Commons, Fashion Business Commons, Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Film and Media Studies Commons, Marketing Commons
Author Bio
Damlasu Uyug Sengun is a Research Assistant in Marketing and a PhD candidate in Business Administration at İzmir University of Economics. She graduated with high honors in Psychology (BA) and earned her MSc in Work, Organizational, and Personnel Psychology from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Before beginning her PhD, she gained professional experience in human resources and consultancy. Her research focuses on Consumer Culture Theory, particularly consumer identity projects and processes of consumer responsibilization.
Tuncer Mert Aydın is a Research Assistant in Cinema and Digital Media at İzmir University of Economics and a PhD candidate in Film Design at Dokuz Eylül University. He graduated with honors in Cinema and Digital Media (BA) and received his MA in Media and Communication Studies from İzmir University of Economics. His work moved between academia and creative practice: alongside his scholarly research, he has contributed to numerous documentaries, short films, commercials, and music videos—primarily as a cinematographer, but also as a director and producer. His academic interests focus on film festivals, cinematography, and cinematic representation.
Zeynep Ozdamar Ertekin is Associate Professor of Marketing at Izmir University of Economics. She received her BA degree in Management from Bogazici University and MBA and PhD degrees in Marketing from Izmir University of Economics. Her research interests concentrate on sustainability, fashion, consumption theories and macromarketing. She has publications in Journal of Marketing Management, Journal of Macromarketing, International Journal of Consumer Studies, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, Journal of Social Marketing, Journal of Global Fashion Marketing, and Markets, Globalization and Development Review among others. She has 16 years of professional experience in fashion apparel industry.