The Misogyny of It All
Every time a woman is critiqued, misogyny comes out to play. Are we all just letting it slide? When is it misogyny and when is it valid criticism?
It feels like every week there’s something new to be mad about online. If anything, that’s an underestimation. You go off TikTok for a day, and suddenly, Sydney Sweeney is allegedly promoting nazi eugenics. I’m not saying there are no valid critiques here, but there’s also a different conversation that no one is having.
I believe celebrities, even women, can and should be critiqued for their actions. We cannot act oblivious to the societal culture and political climate when reviewing new media. What I am saying is:
Why does everything have an undertone of misogyny?
The gist is that Sydney Sweeney recently did an ad for American Eagle jeans. Their tagline was, ‘Sydney Sweeney has great genes jeans’.
I’m not going to go through every argument about how this is promoting nazi eugenics here, but I’ve attached a video with more context later in this article. Basically, Sweeney is a blonde, white, blue-eyed woman promoting having ‘good genes’ in a social and political time where discrimination and nazi ideology are on the rise; therefore, the ad is implying the existence of ‘bad genes’, and saying that if you aren’t blonde, white and blue-eyed then you have bad genes.
Now, this is all fair criticism. It’s a tone-deaf ad, it’s setting us back in a time where we need inclusion, not exclusion, and it’s another Sydney Sweeney controversy.
What I take issue with is the misogyny. Along with the valid critiques, people are coming for Sweeney’s appearance and sexuality.
It seems every time a woman does anything that leaves her open for attack or criticism, misogynists take it as an opportunity to tear the woman down for every single thing about her. This time, it’s Sweeney’s appearance and sexuality under fire.
Much of Sweeney’s career, public appearances and ads have been defined by her sexuality. On her Saturday Night Live appearance, Sweeney featured in a Hooters skit – an American restaurant chain known for their waitresses’ good looks and revealing uniforms. The butt of the joke? Sweeney’s boobs. When she acted in Euphoria, her character often appeared in revealing outfits. And her recent ad campaign with Dr. Squatch revolved around a men’s soap that claimed to include Sweeney’s real bath water as an ingredient.
Sweeney has been typecast as a sexual figure in the media. Women are told their entire lives that they must be beautiful. I don’t have to tell you that women have impossible beauty standards inflicted upon them the second they’re born, you know that. But when a woman owns her sexuality and uses it to her advantage, all of a sudden, she is under fire.
Reni Eddo-Lodge puts it perfectly in her book, Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race, ‘we live in a world in which women are constantly harangued into being lusted after, but punishes sex workers for using that situation to make a living.’
I’m aware Sweeney is not a sex worker, but her use of her sexuality to advance her career as per the societal expectation placed upon her from a young age is completely her right, and she should not be attacked for playing into this image of her.
To take issue with the fact that she’s being sexual is to take issue with the existence of misogyny, beauty standards and society itself. People online mistakenly attack individual women who are victims of misogyny rather than have insightful conversations about misogyny. Your issue is not with Sweeney; your issue is with misogyny. Sweeney is a woman making the best of a bad situation. For any real change to happen, we must address the larger issue, not the individual victims.
So, after being typecast as a sexual object in the media, there is an expectation that Sweeney’s persona will have some sexual undertones in her media appearances. Sweeney’s slow, sultry voice in the American Eagle ad has been perceived in a sexual manner, leading people online to now attack her use of her sexuality.
Whether it be internal misogyny or misogyny served straight up, making fun of her sexuality rather than having a nuanced conversation about eugenics and American Eagle is a cheap attack on Sweeney, and it should be viewed as such. It also overshadows the valid points people are trying to make about American Eagle.
On the topic of Sweeney’s appearance, a similar situation is occurring. One creator made a video with genuine points about the controversy surrounding the ad, as you can watch below. But a short scroll through the comment section revealed that the creator was also attacking Sweeney’s appearance.
Once you attack a woman’s physical appearance, it’s clear that you’re arguments and eagerness to critique her are coming from a place of misogyny rather than an actual desire to create conversation, cultural criticism or social commentary.
As seen in the screenshot above, the creator says they, ‘could make a list of the top 50 best looking men/women in Hollywood, and she wouldn’t be on it’. Therefore, revealing the more sinister eagerness to attack women as a whole, rather than to raise awareness on any important issues.
I’m not saying Sydney Sweeney is immune to criticism; I also take issue with the ad, especially considering the social and cultural context of the time. But I believe a conversation on misogyny is important to acknowledge here. You can critique her – people should be held accountable for their actions – but stop and ask yourself if the aspect of Sweeney (or any woman in a similar situation) is coming from a place of constructive criticism or a place of misogyny.
Persephone Daisy Hunter is a Naarm-based freelance journalist, a writer and an editor. She is part of the Visible Ink 2025 team, and her work is published in Archer Magazine. Her Substack, Persephone’s Diary, contains her latest work – including social and cultural analysis and criticism relating to young women’s issues. You can keep up to date with Persephone on Instagram and Substack at @persephonedaisyhunter.
This whole situation just shows that the patriarchy isn't interested in the "perfect woman". It's only interest is in policing every aspect of a woman so that it's impossible to reach that status. And yet those that do reach it, still don't make the cut. The core of patriarchy is control. Plain and simple. And until we as a society decentre men, misogyny, and patriarchal views, none of us will ever be free to express ourselves freely and openly.