The Simpsons have been praised for creating an inspiring character: a breast cancer survivor with one breast after a unilateral mastectomy.
Dr. Wendy Sage, a Hypnotherapist, made her Fox animated comedy debut on Sunday night’s episode. The episode aired in celebration of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Renee Ridgeley, a writer and actress who survived breast cancer, created the character and voiced it. She is also the wife to Matt Selman, Simpsons showrunner.

Survivor: Dr. Wendy Sage made her debut on The Simpsons on Sunday night’s episode of the Fox series, which aired during Breast Cancer awareness month

Representation: Sage decided to forgo surgery after her unilateral mastectomy. She now has one breast. She also has visible scarring from the port-o’cath she had.
The episode, titled “Lisa’s Belly”, was all about body positivity. It showed the effect that words can have on children’s lives.
Marge confided to Lisa that she was feeling chunky. This led Lisa and Marge to seek hypnotherapy.
Sage, the new character, decided to forgo surgery after her unilateral mastectomy. She now has one breast, which survivors refer as ‘uniboob’.
A visible scar is also visible from her port-o’cath, which is a device that is used to deliver chemotherapy under the skin.
Ridgeley stated that Sage shows up exactly as she is now. She said that by living openly as a one-breasted woman she sends a message to people in marginalized communities of acceptance and wholeness.

Creation: Renee Ridgeley, actress, writer, and survivor of breast cancer, created the character and voiced it (pictured in 2019).

Backstory: Ridgeley is an advocate for flat visibility and featured Sage on her Less Than Two Bras Instagram page
This episode was a significant moment for breast cancer survivors, especially those who chose not to undergo breast reconstruction.
Fans were delighted to see the inclusion of the representation in the touching episode. Many reached for their tissues.
“Many thanks to #TheSimpsons. This is Breast cancer awareness month done well,’ one person tweeted. Another person added: “The Simpsons has a character that has 1 boob and port scars and I’m in Love with him.”
Dr. Sage (voiced by THE @reneeridgeley) is a bad*** hypnotherapist who also happens to be a breast cancer survivor,’ someone else shared. “What an honor that her first appearance in this episode!”
Ridgeley was diagnosed in 2016 with breast cancer and initially chose to have reconstructive surgery after her mastectomy. She had to have her breast implants removed later because they were causing health problems.







Happy: Fans were thrilled to see the inclusion and representation of breast cancer survivors in the poignant episode about body acceptance
Over the years, she has been a strong advocate for flat visibility. She shared her story with Washington Post editors and created the Less than Two Breasts advocacy campaign. Sage’s bio was also shared on Instagram.
Yahoo Life reported that she had been ‘hounding’ different people in the entertainment industry, including her husband about the introduction of characters made up of breast cancer survivors.
Selman, who supports his wife’s advocacy work, kept an index on his desk that read ‘Simpson’s uniboob’ for a few years, explaining that he wanted his character to fit seamlessly with the show.
‘We are always looking to reflect the world as the world changes for good and for bad — usually bad! — but we didn’t want it to feel preachy or jammed in. The outlet asked him if he wanted the fit feeling really clean. ‘Viewers are very sensitive to feeling like they’re being lectured to.’
Sage was the perfect addition to the theme of body acceptance when they began working on the new episode by Juliet Kaufman.
Selman, who has been a producer and writer on the show for more than two decades, said that ‘the people who have seen it so far are more emotionally affected by any other episode ever I’ve ever produced, which is just complete magical.
“I felt good about it. People are just watching and crying. You want to make them laugh. You do want to make them laugh, but crying is close behind.