The Left’s Double Standard on Sydney Sweeney’s Femininity and Sex Appeal

Under third-wave feminism’s warped logic, one’s sexual liberation is only valid if the promiscuity is politically performative and offensive to men. After being accused of dog whistling eugenics in an American Eagle’s “great jeans” ad campaign a year ago, Hollywood actress Sydney Sweeney has riled up young women yet again for posing essentially naked in a video ad for Novig, a sports prediction market app. Judging from the seductive angles and the fact that Ms. Sweeney was bare except for a couple of footballs and other minimal athletic gear covering her private areas, one could argue that the ad was meant to perform well among men. Conservatism has historically favored a sexual ethic in which marketing doesn’t feature nude models promoting addictive gambling platforms.American Eagle’s advertising campaign titled ‘Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans.’ Via American EagleBut this debate, sadly, doesn’t concern that broader, moral question. It’s about the left’s double standard in championing the commodification of sex in the name of female empowerment until someone applies that teaching in a way they don’t like. According to the young women and media complaining on X, Ms. Sweeney’s ad props up the patriarchy because it is digital catnip for men, rather than women. There’s nothing quirky, artistic, or lovable about the character Sydney Sweeney is portraying in the ad. She’s simply selling sex. Singer Sabrina Carpenter, who has done highly suggestive album covers and performances, wasn’t excoriated for her stunts. That’s partially because she’s anti-Trump, whereas Ms. Sweeney is a suspected secret MAGA sympathizer who, according to reports, registered as a Republican voter in Florida shortly before President Trump won his second term. But also, Ms. Carpenter excites the right audience with her overtly sexual marketing — the female audience. She may dress in lingerie and simulate sex positions on stage, but she’s still more of a cute school girl compared to Ms. Sweeney’s obvious voluptuousness.Sydney Sweeney doesn’t demonize men in her advertising and work. Most of Sabrina Carpenter’s songs are about men being pigs and stupid.The cover of Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Man’s Best Friend’ record, 2025. AmazonSydney Sweeney is a sex symbol to many men. Last time I checked, being sexy and proudly broadcasting it to the world should be more than acceptable to progressive feminists. After all, they fought for women’s right to be sexual goddesses — so why are they miffed that Ms. Sweeney is letting hers break free?A group of female athletes and their advocates are also claiming that the Sydney Sweeney ad trivializes women’s sports. A women’s football writer told theNew York Times that female athletes showed the world what a “strong and powerful woman” is “without prostrating to the male gaze.” Surely, nothing is as harmful to the women’s sports as allowing biological men to compete? That’s much more worthy of a soapbox from a female sportswriter than Ms. Sweeney in a football helmet. Sydney Sweeney attends Lionsgate’s premiere of “The Housemaid” on December 15, 2025 at Los Angeles. Monica Schipper/Getty ImagesBut there wasn’t a peep when American soccer player Megan Rapinoe and American basketball player Sue Bird posed equally naked for the cover of ESPN’s “Body Issue.” That was seen as two women proudly exercising their agency. Then again, neither woman is Sydney Sweeney — though both are undoubtedly agile and fit. If Ms. Sweeney was flat-chested or morbidly obese, I assume her advert would at least be tolerated if not lauded by radical feminists.If we’re going to address the sexual objectification of women in society, we should stop scapegoating Ms. Sweeney and confront the far more pervasive problem wrought by third-wave feminism.An estimated 1.2 to 1.4 million young women in America have active accounts on Only Fans, a pornographic platform that facilitates many sexual transactions and favors between female creators and male patrons. Female models can charge as little as five bucks or as high as $50 for men to gain access to their bodies virtually. I seem to recall that being praised as progress for working women trying to earn income in the American economy. Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney in ‘Anyone But You.’ Sony PicturesMs. Sweeney likely earned millions of dollars to pose quasi-nude in an ad for a company in which she owns equity, and that’s considered regressive? Is this not female entrepreneurship—and an effort to break the glass ceiling in the male-dominated world of sports gambling—by the left’s own definition?Cardi B’s song “WAP,” which sings about female genitalia in vulgar detail, was considered a triumph for feminism in 2020. One who is willing to call out Ms. Sweeney’s self-objectification must also be willing to condemn the entire soft prostitution industry that degrades women. The left can’t encourage women to monetize their bodies, then decide after the fact that only certain forms of doing so are legitimate.

The Left’s Double Standard on Sydney Sweeney’s Femininity and Sex Appeal

The Left’s Double Standard on Sydney Sweeney’s Femininity and Sex Appeal

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