American actress Sydney Sweeney’s recent sports advert for betting market company Novig has caused major controversy over the sexualisation of women in sports. Questions have been raised by leading athletes that this may affect young girls’ commitment to their sport, causing a social media storm from grassroots clubs to GB competitors. According to the Women in Sport charity, 64% of girls drop out of sport by the age of 16 or 17. The popularisation of such an image by a well-known actress objectifies sportswomen, which presents to young girls the impression that their sporting ability is unable to be taken seriously and therefore scrutinised by the male gaze. Increasingly, young girls are dropping out of sports due to insecurities related to body image, with the fear of judgment surrounding many adolescents. Diminishing adverts like this can have a devastating impact on numbers surrounding participation.
Another factor to consider is the business who have paid Sweeney to appear in this advert. Novig has purposefully sexualised Sweeney to generate conversations which will gain the brand popularity. The American actress has been the face of controversial adverts previously, one familiar one being her American Eagles jeans advert. This campaign used the slogan “Sydney Sweeney has Great Jeans” as a replacement for “genes” which was criticised for its promotion of Eugenics - a discredited ideology stemming from white supremacy and scientific racism.
Is this a case of the public correctly judging a book by its cover or does Sweeney have a side to her which has been hidden away from the limelight?
Sources:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/articles/c9dw905jw5no
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/sydney-sweeney-american-eagle-ad-video-b2797758.html
https://womeninsport.org/news/more-than-1-million-teenage-girls-fall-out-of-love-with-sport/
Erica Lewis