Sydney Sweeny Naked Advert - athletes reaction correct or an over reaction that gives the advert a lot more publicity?

[mids2019]

Personally I think a naked actress with sports equipment is a bit tacky and obviously aimed at men but I don't know if it was a massive affront to women athletes? Sydney wasn't pretending to be an athlete and the athletics paraphernalia was to advertise sports betting......not my cup of tea but I don't see how it was diminishing womens sport really

I think you are getting confused. But this just is that serious.

The weird thing is I have seen quite a lot of men with too large a platform refer to her as "butter faced" etc (a really horrible way to say someone has a nice body and ugly face which isn't fair at all. She looks absolutely fine). However, I think she got held up as an "anti-woke" celebrity because of her family being pictured with Trump hats or some very minor culture war issue. So then she started to get praised by the edgy online types (who had previously called her ugly) as a proper woman or something. There is something quite parasocial going on, mixed with culture war stuff. She absolutely started leaning into this herself. It's not that she actually gives political opinions (eg saying she supports Trump, doesn't agree with Transwomen in sports, whatever). Its more weird stuff that would get people online saying "she's one of us". At one point people online were saying this about Taylor Swift because she was pictured hugging the girlfriend of a pro-Trunpnathlete or some nonsense. And then Swift came out in support of Harris and turned back into an ugly woke scold.

At first I felt sympathy for her because people do like to invent narratives about celebrities and then they are forced into either confirming or denying their political position and being condemned either way. But things like the jeans advert were definitely done to court this although I do think the left fell into the trap a bit by reacting.

TL/DR they think she's hot because they believe her to share their political opinions.

I'm not sure why people are reacting to this as if they are ads for sport. They are ads for gambling which is parasitic on sport. They are aimed squarely at men, who massively outnumber women on gambling sites.

Couldn't care less if SS wants to get her boobs out and I don't think it's anything to do with women's sport whatsoever. I do think less of her for promoting gambling, given the harm it does.

Spot. On. 🎯

You literally quoted me and I replied. I think you are the one who is confused.

No, it's their bums and they have a right to complain. I just think it's a shame that some people watching would look at it that way and that cameramen would film with that intention.

This is a very insightful and thoughtful commentary, and I agree with all of it. I think another thing that bothers me about SS is the poor quality journalism she inspires. I’ve read so many pieces from women who are on the one hand “Look at me, I’m down with this, I’m so laid back and chill, let’s give men what they want…” and on the other hand playing into SS game by being outraged and offended by it. It’s all such a load of hastily written slop. You’d nearly miss the days of page 3 models where the men could enjoy a pair of boobs and then close the paper over without everyone talking about it or getting outraged.

But women aren't a hive mind. And perceiving them as a hive mind is part of the reason women are bothered by SS. When "50 shades of grey" came out I can remember there was some push back by people who said it normalised violence etc (and from the BSDM community who said it misrepresented them). But they were largely seen as prudes and of course people have the right to write/read what they want. However not much later when women were talking about sexual coercion/sexual harassment etc books like 50 shades were used as proof of female hypocrisy. You had people like Jordon Peterson musing that such books proved that women secretly wanted to be dominated by men (there's a whole other layer to this about not understanding the difference between fantasy and reality anyway). And a host of online memes along the lines of women only hate sexual harassment when men are ugly/poor. When rich men do it they love it just like in the book.

Likewise when women complain about harassment, sexual objectification etc the fact that some women make money from Only Fans/their sexuality is used as proof that women can't complain.

So the athletes are in a double bind. If they criticise the advert then they are doing what SS wanted. If they don't then later when men are sharing AI nudes of female athletes etc then I can guarantee this advert would have been held up as proof that women are quite happy to use their bodies to sell things, why did no-one say anything when SS was making that the face of women in sport, you can't have it both ways etc. And, given that gambling is a terrible addiction, you can blame women for using their bodies to trap vulnerable young men into a horrible situation, you see women abuse men too!!!

I do agree that the gambling aspect is worse. But in this case I can understand why the athletes feel the need to speak out because like it or not this will be used as an excuse to justify swxual objectification of them or to compare the "fun" Sweeney to the joyless, jealous athletes.

People are free to do/say things. But other people are free to criticise it.

(I do agree they are playing into her hands a bit. But I don't know what choice they have. I also feel bad for nurses/nuns etc when people dress as sexy nurses/stripped nuns. I wish there was a way of existing without the clothes you wear or the job you do being sexualised. But it all is. Even school uniforms.)

The angles issue is one that does raise questions of the design of their kit. Many are wearing shorts that go right up the bum crack. This is not required. If you look at what the male sprinters wear compared with female ones, male ones have worn long shorts for a long time, Linford Christie did in the 90s and Usain Bolt does today. Why women's sports wear is designed to be so revealing makes no sense, it is likely the mens clothing will be designed to be optimal for aerodynamics, so the women should want the best too.

I've been thinking about this over the last few days and listened to people on both sides. Absolutely her right to film her body whatever way she wishes....

But ultimately as a woman its frustrating - Sydney reduced women to a pair of tts. Fair play to her she has great Tts, but as a woman I would like people to see beyond the body. I see the mind, the ability, the strenght.

Im not going to give Sydney the credit for setting back women, but i wish the world was different for my daughter. That she is more than a piece of meat.

It is odd you think SS is worshiped by all men? I don’t hear any discuss her in real life at all.

I have never seen anything with her in it and wouldn’t know who she was if it were not for all the hate articles about her which seem to get pushed into my timeline. I think most people don’t care. If those vocal haters were given less airtime that would be nice, it may also be that the rest of us would have less of this nonsense pushed in our timelines.

The reason her ubiquitousness is annoying is that she isn’t a beauty similar to Grace Kelly or Sharon Stone she doesn’t project a particular energy like Diana Rigg or Penelope Cruz. She is a reasonably attractive woman who learned not to endlessly share her opinions on things and this seems to have had people project on to her their impressions. The sort of people who do that are incredibly annoying so the association is made.

They can wear whatever they bloody well like!

I don't have much of an opinion about Sydney Sweeney, other than to say her PR must be absolutely top notch to convince the young men of America that a fairly average looking woman is the new Marilyn Monroe.

I wouldn’t say worshipped by all men to be fair. My husband for instance thinks she is distinctly mediocre (doubt he’s lying; we are very open about people we find attractive. He’s a big fan of Alexandra Daddario who is also generously endowed). He finds the politicisation of SS hilarious and we both enjoy and have a giggle over the rage bait aspect, however.

@BitOutOfPractice They indeed can but then don’t complain about the “unflattering” photos or tv shots when they land in a jumping pit or legs are spread out over the high jump! Take responsibility if you wear something revealing. Instead they blame the photographers who, in reality, are photographing a sports event. I’m tired of women moaning about others when they can change the narrative themselves.

What have I just read? Victim blaming bullshit.
Somehow it’s worse when it comes from another woman.

Ugh! I just don’t know where to start in replying to this. I really don’t.

Exactly. She’s an investor in the company!

What a revolting comment

Most of the SM and article responses I am seeing allude to double standards of female athletes many of whom regularly partake in glamour/bikini shots as a lucrative way to supplement their careers and increase SM following. Remember in general upto 65% of athletics followers in general are men.

Yes, athletes are not a hive mind and we are not hearing from a lot of athletes who maybe are not bothered about SS and do not want to be placed in a postition of obvious hypocrisy.

Young girls know SS is not an athlete so I can't see this as an argument for her alone to be sone sort if barrier to sports participation. In actual fact many of the glamour shots of athletes possibly act as a positive draw as it shows you don't have to give up feminity for sport and a lot if athletes are very very attractive (it was ever thus).

I think a lot of questioning has been about the singling out of SS when if you view s3xualisation of sport as a problem then it is much wider than one woman and is a debate in itself.

@BitOutOfPractice Oh do try! We women need to wise up! Do tell
me how to be a better woman. As I said, women just complain.

And that reply @MeetMeOnTheCorner is why I most certainly will not 🙄

You say women ably complain and there You are being snippy and sarky! No thanks.

Women need to wise up to what?
and why can’t women complain? Or are you another person trying to silence women?

It’s just misogyny in plain sight isn’t it?