The Simpsons Gain Praise for Introducing Breast Cancer Survivor Character Who Has ‘Uniboob’

The Simpsons received praise for introducing an inspiring new character, a breast cancer survivor who has a breast following a unilateral mastectomy.

Dr Wendy Sage, a hypnotherapist, made her animated comedy debut Fox on the Sunday night episode of the hit show, which aired in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The character was created and voiced by actress, writer and breast cancer survivor Renee Ridgeley, who is the wife of Simpsons showrunner Matt Selman.

Survivor: Dr. Wendy Sage made her The Simpsons debut in the Sunday night episode of the Fox series, which aired during Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Representation: Sage chose to forgo surgical reconstruction after her unilateral mastectomy and had one breast.  She also has a visible scar from where she got her port-o-cath

Representation: Sage chose to forgo surgical reconstruction after her unilateral mastectomy and had one breast. She also has a visible scar from where she got her port-o-cath

The episode, titled “Lisa’s Belly”, was all about body positivity and showed the impact parents’ words can have on their children.

After Marge told Lisa that she looked fat, she developed a complex, leading them to resort to hypnotherapy.

The new character, who goes by name Sage, has chosen to forgo surgical reconstruction after her unilateral mastectomy and has a breast, which survivors refer to as “uniboob.”

She also has a visible scar from where she got her port-o-cath, a device placed under the skin to deliver chemotherapy.

“Sage is presenting herself exactly as she is now,” Ridgeley said. Yahoo Life. “By living openly as a one-breasted woman, she sends a message of acceptance and wholeness celebrated by individuals from marginalized groups.”

Creation: The character was created and voiced by actress, writer and breast cancer survivor Renee Ridgeley, who is the wife of Simpsons showrunner Matt Selman (pictured in 2019)

Creation: The character was created and voiced by actress, writer and breast cancer survivor Renee Ridgeley, who is the wife of Simpsons showrunner Matt Selman (pictured in 2019)

Backstory: Flat visibility advocate Ridgeley featured Sage on his Less Than Two Breasts Instagram page

Backstory: Flat visibility advocate Ridgeley featured Sage on his Less Than Two Breasts Instagram page

The episode was a monumental moment for breast cancer survivors, especially those who chose not to have breast reconstruction.

Fans were thrilled to see the inclusion and portrayal in the poignant episode, which reached out to their tissues a lot.

“Many thanks to #TheSimpsons. It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month Done Right, ” one person tweeted, while another added: ‘The Simpsons have a character with 1 breast and a port scar and I’m in love.’

‘Dr. Sage (voiced by THE @reneeridgeley) is a bad *** hypnotherapist who also happens to be a breast cancer survivor, ” someone else shared. “What a goddamn honor that his first appearance was in this episode!” “

Ridgeley was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016 and initially chose to undergo reconstruction after a mastectomy. However, she later removed her breast implants because they were causing her health problems.

Happy: Fans were thrilled to see the inclusion and portrayal of breast cancer survivors in the poignant episode about accepting the body

Happy: Fans were thrilled to see the inclusion and portrayal of breast cancer survivors in the poignant episode about accepting the body

The writer has become an advocate for flat visibility over the years. She shared her story in a Washington post editorial and founded the Less than two breasts advocacy campaign and Instagram page, where Sage’s bio was recently shared.

She told Yahoo Life that she had “stalked different people” in the entertainment industry, including her husband, about introducing breast cancer survivor characters.

Selman, who supports his wife’s advocacy work, kept a card on his desk for a few years that said “Simpson’s uniboob,” explaining that he wanted the character to fit right into the show.

“We always seek to reflect the world as the world changes for the better and for the worse, usually bad! – but we didn’t want it to sound judgmental or stuck. We wanted the fit to be really clean, ”he told the outlet. “Viewers are very sensitive to the feeling of being lectured.”

When they started working on the new episode written by Juliet Kaufman, he realized that Sage was the perfect complement in keeping with the theme of body acceptance.

“People who have watched it so far are more emotionally touched by any other episode I’ve worked on, which is just magical,” said Selman, who has been a writer and producer of the show for over. two decades.

“I felt good about it. But people just look at him and cry! You want to make them laugh. But crying is right behind.



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