Sydney Sweeney is the latest female celebrity in the line of fire of online fanboys and trolls.
The “Euphoria” star was recently photographed by The Daily Mail in her Florida Keys home, laying out in her bathing suit, which was met with hundreds of comments on Sweeney’s figure and overall appearance. In the photo, Sweeney has made some clear muscle gains as the actress was “immersed in training” for a Christy Martin boxing biopic that just wrapped filming.
The endless comments targeted Sweeney, rating her “a five at best,” or calling the actress a “catfish” or “butterface” which means that a person has an attractive body but an unattractive face. To these men, Sweeney’s body is no longer the set ideal they had of her from shows like “Euphoria” where she had controversial nude scenes, her romantic comedy “Anyone But You” or lingerie campaigns for SavageXFenty.
Sweeney, however, wasn’t fazed by the criticism and instead compiled the comments and posted them in a video on Instagram that also included various impressive clips of the actress training at the gym. The actress is seen pushing around tires twice her size and wearing boxing gloves, quickly hitting bags with accuracy and speed. The video also shows Sweeney flexing her biceps.
The targeted hate is similar to comments other high-profile female celebrities have received in the past. During Margot Robbie’s “Barbie” press tour, online discourse about her “mid” looks had reached millions of views on X. People were dissecting the actress’ face and body, trying to understand why she no longer looked like she did in “The Wolf of Wall Street.” The discourse raged on despite Robbie playing Barbie, the living version of doll perceived to embody feminine perfectionl.
The shaming Sweeney and Robbie received is similar because men online have upheld these actresses as the pinnacle of beauty standards. The second they no longer fit into this rigid form of femininity — there was a swift backlash. To these men online, Sweeney’s physical attractiveness has always been contingent on her body. But now that her body has transformed into a muscular build — so she can portray a female boxer — she no longer looks how they want her to.
A tweet from Mia Brett pointed out that, “6mo ago Sydney Sweeney was used as a prop by the right [because] she existed as a traditionally blond attractive woman but now that photos were released of her looking great just w/ no make up every conservative man is throwing a fit [because] women can’t exist for ourselves.”
Another person, Emily May stated, “Men saying Sydney Sweeney isn’t hot is just a reminder that men, collectively, always turn on you the second you are no longer a fantasy for them to consume.”
While this targeted hate is rooted in a campaign against Sweeney, other celebrities who have experienced body-shaming like Ariana Grande have had different experiences. The “Wicked” star has been on a global press tour to promote the movie musical, which prompted people to speculate on her mental health, body image and diagnosing her with eating disorders.
The speculation about Grande’s body and mental health came to a head in an interview this month when Grande was asked how she deals with society’s beauty standards and the criticism on her body, Billboard reported.
Grande said, “In today’s society, there’s a comfortability that we shouldn’t have at all, commenting on other’s looks, appearance, what they think is going on behind the scenes or health or how they present themselves.”
While Grande and Sweeney’s experiences with relentless comments about their bodies have been different, society remains the same. The troubling pattern shows that the work Sweeney and Grande put into their bodies is not enough unless men online approve, using a very narrow, gendered standard of attractiveness.
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