Bodies at the Brink: Monstrosity as Liberation from Biological Determinism

Our bodies, often perceived as unyielding biological blueprints, have long been a battleground for feminist thought. From the very biological functions that have historically defined women's roles to the societal pressures to conform to idealised beauty standards, the female form has been both celebrated and constrained. Nevertheless, what happens when the confines of flesh become not a prison but a canvas? What if the monstrous, the grotesque, and the profoundly altered body offers a radical escape from biological determinism, not through rejection, but through voluntary transformation? Drawing upon post-humanist feminist theory, particularly the work of Rosi Braidotti and Donna Haraway, this paper delves into the unsettling yet liberating world of body horror films such as The Substance and The American Mary, where characters actively choose to reshape their physical selves, arguing that such narratives can be read as a potent form of posthuman feminism that embraces monstrosity as an ultimate act of liberation.