Demi Moore’s Golden Globe speech is what young women need to hear
Despite having an incredibly long career, Demi Moore has only now, at 62, won her first major award. Accepting her Golden Globe for her role in The Substance, Moore used her speech to highlight something important for women of all ages, knowing your worth without comparing it to others.
Moore started working as a model and actress at the age of 16 and went on to become one of the highest-paid actresses in the mid-’90s, starring in such classics as Ghost, A Few Good Men, and An Indecent Proposal. While she has been nominated multiple times for various roles over her acting career, she hasn’t won a prestigious award – until now. Given her outstanding performance as Elisabeth Sparkle – a fading celebrity who uses an experimental drug to create a younger version of herself – Moore was honored with the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy.
In her acceptance speech, Moore brought up how in the past, a producer labeled her as a “popcorn actress” a term that left her feeling trapped. “At that time,” she says holding her award, “I made that mean that this was not something I was allowed to have. That I could do movies that were successful, that made a lot of money, but that I couldn’t be acknowledged and I bought in, I believed that.”
She went on to address some of the themes of the film, telling viewers,
“In those moments when we don’t think we are smart enough, or pretty enough, or skinny enough, or pretty enough, or successful enough or basically just not enough I had a woman say to me ‘just know you will never be enough. But you can know the value of your worth if you just put down the measuring stick.'”
“Comparison is the thief of joy” – Theodore Roosevelt
With the internet and social media in our faces at all times, we have fallen into an epidemic of comparing ourselves to everyone around us. Multiple studies have found that those who spend prolonged periods of time on social media are more likely to experience envy, dissatisfaction, and lowered life satisfaction.
We see success and wealth and accomplishments flaunted constantly, and in trying to keep up, we often let ourselves down. Talking on the themes of the film with NPR, Moore opened up about how she believes we are complicit in our own self-loathing.
“What really drew me to this (The Substance) was the exploration of not what the circumstances are, not what societal conditioning is, not what that collective consciousness of our agreement of – that women’s value diminishes as they age that exists – that is changing, but does exist…. But just that idea of that violence in the way in which we can compare and despair, and you know. And this idea of it being body horror which essentially is – in the film is taking that which is a very internal experience, the way in which we can talk to ourselves…”
Though this effects both men and women, the extent to which it effects young women, especially when it comes to physical appearance and keeping up appearances of a perfect happy lifestyle, is heartbreaking. Moore’s acceptance speech in many ways is so true. I don’t believe she is saying “you will never be enough” in the sense that you be unworthy, but more it is impossible to live up to many of the expectations we set for ourselves. It’s an exhausting existence and Moore knows this. So many women out there know this.
It isn’t always easy to “know your worth,” but understanding yourself, what you have to offer, how you can enjoy simply doing the things you love without feeling like you have to compete with others goes a long way to feeling more at peace within ourselves.
This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.
