We’ve reached the end of another week. But before we clock out for the weekend, we’re giving props where they’re due. Here’s to our winners of the week.
Sydney Sweeney is a bombshell whose looks are a huge part of her persona and career. She is, to quote Mean Girls, “a regulation hottie,” and certainly a member of Nicola Coughlan’s perfect breasts club.
Since breaking through, Sweeney has played into and played up this aspect of herself while simultaneously steering and critiquing the public’s reaction to her figure, which are not mutually exclusive positions—in fact, they reinforce one another.
Her body became a topic of conversation again this week because of invasive photos taken not at a public beach or press event but of her at her home, which is private property. People thought they had the right to comment on how she looked, off duty, hanging out with a friend.
In response to the brouhaha, Sweeney re-contextualized her body as what it is, for her: one of the tools in her arsenal as a performer. Not that it’s anyone’s business, but she’s been bulking up to play 90s boxer Christy Martin in an upcoming biopic, and posted a montage of the cruel comments about her body that gave way to footage of her working out, showcasing not just her inner and physical strength but the hard work she’s put in for the role (a role that was, actually, spoiled by those dang paps).
Whatever anyone else thinks is the meaning of those photos, it’s Sweeney’s body, and she gets to choose the message. She chose “I’m a serious fucking actor.” Good for her.
Instagram content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
Maybe it would have been more palatable to some if she’d said “all bodies are beautiful” and not excused herself from thinness due to work obligations, but damn, if I’d spent that long at the gym, I’d want credit, too. And how can you not respect “Shut the hell up and watch me bench press”?
This is hardly the first time she’d had to navigate the Sydney Sweeney Hotness Convo. She is the Emmy nominee who cheekily said “sorry for having great tits” online (after overcoming self-consciousness about them as a teen), told Ellen Degeneres that her grandmother loves her boobs, called out critics for ignoring her work in Euphoria because of her topless scenes and asked SNL to poke fun at her figure as much as they wanted (which somehow confused the far-right into thinking her chest was a tool against woke?) (oh but actually they’re not that big we’re all just fatphobic). Yes, Sweeney’s ability to use the conversation around her looks to her own ends comes from her having incredibly attractive by mainstream standards, but still, it’s a lot.
I’m not sure we will ever stop talking about women’s bodies. Ariana Grande’s too thin (and was called a “stick” even when less thin). Kate Winslet was too big. Valerie Bertinelli loves herself and it pissed people off. Florence Pugh can barely maintain Hollywood’s beauty standards. Even if you’re perfectly lovely, happy and healthy, people will still find a way to get mad that you’re being sexy while singing your own songs about sex. And then there’s Ozempic.
Sometimes the discussion is worth it. We can be interested in and critical of the images we’re exposed to, of men and women, and the way sizes go in and out of fashion. I’ll admit to feeling personally frustrated when celebrities who have obviously had cosmetic work done or taken weight loss medication emphatically deny it, like we’re all stupid. But when it comes to “so and so put on a few pounds,” it’s almost always toxic.
I am loathe to compare women, but inevitably, other celebrities come to mind. Selena Gomez, under intense scrutiny, popped on a Live to say she’d been enjoying holiday food, exasperatedly explaining, “I’m not a model.” Model Linda Evangelista’s struggle to lose weight sent her to CoolSculpting, and after the procedure went wrong, she went into hiding. Khloé Kardashian didn’t hide, exactly, but she did attempt to bury an unedited photo that showed her looking less than completely toned. In a 2017 interview, Rihanna serenely said “I actually have had the pleasure of a fluctuating body type, where one day I can literally fit into something that is bodycon, and then the next day — the next week — I need something oversized; I need a little crop here and a high-waist there to hide that part, you know?”
There is no right way to deal with any of it, and for the most part, it’s ridiculous that a female celebrity should ever feel compelled to talk to the public about her size, period. But if she does, I hope she can in a way that is authentic to who she is, not what anyone else is asking of her. Sydney Sweeney is a smart, ambitious businesswoman who has proven herself adept at navigating the industry’s pitfalls, and for her to turn this unnecessary spectacle into an opportunity to promote herself and her movie feels so right.
It’s proof positive of her acumen and intellect. Winner winner, high protein dinner.
The post Sydney Sweeney Won The Week By Putting The Focus Where It Belongs: On Her Career appeared first on Glamour.
