Well, Sydney Sweeney just can’t seem to stop courting controversy. Last year she was blasted for a jeans ad; now one for a sports “trading” app. We want to break down this backlash and point out where it has some valid points, where it’s not valid, and where it’s completely missing the bigger issue at play.
Sydney Sweeney Does Not Represent Female Athletes
When it comes to current sex symbols, there are none bigger than Sweeney at the moment. Her figure has been the subject of the aforementioned ads, SNL skits, public discourse, and often the projects she appears in. The issue here is that female athletes have come out stating that Sweeney’s new ad is needlessly sexualizing women in sports.
Ariarne Titmus is a four-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer. She stated, “Not only is it a kick in the face to every woman who has dedicated her life to perfecting her craft, but every woman who enjoys sports for what it really is – teamwork, friendship, dedication, excellence, unity. How do we live in a world where monetising a woman’s body and sexualising women’s sport is still a thing?” It’s a good question, but why is Sweeney the target of the hostility and not the entire world?
Novig is Selling Sports Trading, Not Women in Sports
All people have the right not to be sexualized. That being said, if someone is okay with being sexualized, that’s also fine. They don’t have to represent anyone but themselves. This sexualization has gone on for decades, though, and let’s not pretend it’s a recent thing. Cheerleaders are sex symbols and viewed as such despite their athletic prowess. Athletes often do photoshoots in swimwear completely for the purpose of sex selling. The only concerns should be whether they’re doing it of their own free will and not being coerced.
This ad for Novig doesn’t sexualize women in sports. It sexualizes Sydney Sweeney. Everything she’s doing in the ad just makes her look like she’s doing bad cosplay of athletes. The hockey uniform, lying naked on a pool table, holding a soccer ball up on her feet; it’s all a stupid sexual fantasy. Not even a good fantasy at that. If you’re looking at that ad and thinking it represents women in sports, then you are giving Sweeney way too much credit. It looks like she’s a bad actress messing around in an equipment room with bad lighting.
Maybe We Should Be Talking About Addiction
Plus, the ads aren’t about women in sports; it’s about sports betting. Oh, sorry. Sports “trading,” which Novig needs to point out because there is a legal distinction between betting markets and prediction markets. Novig is trying to entice men to bet on their platform. This ad has more to say about enticing young men than it does about the sexualization of women in sports. Novig allows people to predict outcomes on things that are sports-related. That’s different than other prediction markets that are wide-open. And since that market is dominated by young males, Novig hired Sydney Sweeney to play around with sports equipment while not wearing much in the way of clothes. That’s all this is.
Maybe we should be talking about the prevalence of sports betting and prediction markets. Maybe we’d be better served by looking at how these things can destroy people’s lives through monetary losses. We’re not singling out Novig, by the way, in stating that. This is about sports betting and predictions in general. People think that because they “know” sports, they can game the system and make money through bets and predictions. This quickly leads to financial jeopardy for many young men. That’s the bigger issue at play here that all these athletes are missing. They’re more concerned with Sydney Sweeney, an actress, who has nothing to do with sports in general, dressing up in costumes.
Wrong Perspectives but Problems Persist
The ad is in poor taste for sure, but one could argue the entirety of sports betting and predictions is in poor taste. The world still has a problem with the sexualization of women. Make no mistake about that. However, this ad is not contributing to the problems that women in sports face. All this is doing is making Novig look ridiculous for a stupid ad. That, and it’s bringing another prediction market to the table that could lead to more gambling addictions.
