By Key Fontaine | Contributing Writer
There is a vast difference between appearing nude to complement your art or make a statement, and appearing nude because you’re selling out. Sydney Sweeney falls within the latter.
I’d like to preface this by saying that I am all for women appearing nude if they choose to do so.
There was a time when women weren’t even allowed to wear pants because they were expected to play, uphold, and remember the “accepted role” of a woman.
When a woman today poses nude or even wears revealing clothing, it is impossible to deny that it is a direct display of progress. Whether it’s Sweeney or another woman, their ability to showcase their sexuality alone is a testament to our more progressive society. However, not every woman is aiding in the progress.
But Other Women Have Posed Nude
The rebuttal appears to be that other women have posed nude throughout different mediums and periods of time, so Sweeney shouldn’t be villainized for doing what other women have also done.
Madonna, for example, is quite the sexual icon after all. She’s noted for challenging the predefined image of what a woman should be by freely expressing her sexuality within her art during a time when attitudes were against it.
Sabrina Carpenter is another woman who is vocal about her sexuality through her lyrics, performances, and interviews. Recently appearing nude on the cover of Rolling Stone’s July/August double issue, Carpenter, like Sweeney, is evidently comfortable in putting her sexuality on display too.
In a recent act of defiance, Sweeney took to her Instagram story to post athletes from ESPN Magazine’s Body Issue such as Ronda Rousey, Serena Williams, Sue Bird, and numerous other women. The athletes graced their respective magazine covers without any clothes on, so for Sweeney this was supposed to be a huge gotcha moment.
Had Sweeney read a sentence of the ESPN website, she would have understood that the reason The Body Issue exists in the first place is to “celebrate the incredible power of the athletic form.”
Sweeney’s story posts were immediately met with outrage from women athletes voicing their frustrations around the sexualization women continue to face within sports.
The bodies of the athletes within the magazine are not displayed in a sexual manner, as nudity isn’t inherently sexual. The lack of clothes within this context complements the craft—and the physique attained through its practice— without overshadowing.
This seems to be where the disconnect is for Sweeney, who lost her clothes for a sports betting ad and a paycheck.
The Difference in Perception
When women like Madonna, Sabrina Carpenter, and Ronda Rousey put their bodies on display for the public to perceive, they don’t allow the act to overshadow their craft.
The talking point for Carpenter and Madonna remains the music and for Rousey and other athletes, it’s the exceptional athletic ability.
These women are showing that they can also appear nude if they choose to. Their professional identity is well defined before their nude or sexual one, and there is nothing being taken away from their work. In other words, the work serves as the forefront.
This is where the problem arises for Sweeney. With her, it lands differently because intent is crucial to perception here.
Sweeney has become the woman known for her body and this is all she appears to be. There seems to be no nuance to her, as everyone understands that taking off her clothes is just what she does now. She is essentially giving off the message that women only have their bodies to offer. This would possibly be perceived differently had she been in a different industry, but she isn’t.
She is actively reducing herself to just a body and is as a result, whether direct or not, reducing women to just their bodies as well.
Standing On Her Beliefs? Not Exactly
Sweeney has been adamant about being recognized for her work as an actress and producer, expressing frustration with people undermining her ability due to her sexualized role of Cassie in Euphoria. What she doesn’t seem to realize is that her behavior needs to align with her aspirations in order for her to be taken seriously.
Sweeney is seemingly allowing her acting to become second to her body in the name of paychecks, a sellout if we’ve ever observed one.
Sweeney is sidelining her art’s recognition for whatever puts her name in conversations and gets her paid. With the publicity and money seemingly coming easier this way, she’s selling out in real time and abandoning her values.
For Sweeney to appear nude in a sports betting ad marketed to men, and misunderstand The Body Issue after bawling her eyes out at the opportunity to portray the real life lesbian athlete, Christy Martin, is what can only be described as tone deaf.
When it was time to promote Christy, the movie she pleaded to land the lead role in, she did involve herself in some promotion but it seems the attention just wasn’t enough by her standards. Many were largely unaware of a phenomenal story because the lead actress was too busy telling us that her jeans were blue.
Her image is becoming so detached from the art that her new one is developing to be just controversy. In recent times, she’s barely known as an actress, and has just become a controversial figure.
It seems that few people ever talk about the most recent Sydney Sweeney performance. In fact, people are often unaware of her projects as they’re upcoming. When exactly was the last time that Sweeney trended on a mass scale for her work in one of her projects? She’s overshadowing her own work and reducing herself to her body in real time.
Reflecting Women as Objectified
Sweeney sure does ensure that women have to continue to fight for equality and respect. As a woman in the public eye, she reflects women to an extent whether she wants to or not.
When Sweeney continuously falls into objectification controversies and allows herself to be reduced to just a body, she sends the message that women appear to lack self respect, especially in the professional field.
The message that she’s conveying is that women will always be required to objectify and sexualize themselves to achieve mass success.
It’s possible that the woman who once had an image of repairing cars and hosting book clubs online is still in there somewhere, though clearly not underneath the clothes.
DISCLAIMER:
The opinions presented on this page do not represent the views of the PantherNOW Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect the perspectives of contributing writers and/or university community members.
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