Why Everyone is so Mad About Sydney Sweeney's Newest Ad

Last year, women's sports really had a moment. We all suddenly realized we hadn't been paying enough attention (and that the systems that pay athletes hadn't been paying nearly enough money) to female athletes and their athletic achievements and events. Thanks to this shift, people finally began to take women in sports more seriously.

Unfortunately, a new Sydney Sweeney ad is moving things in the wrong direction. The ad, which is for sports predicting market Novig, is hyper sexualized, to say the least. In it, Sweeney poses nude and covers her body with various sports equipment (think basketballs and football pads). She makes a few comments about how this service is all about "sports"...and so many people, especially women, have been rubbed the wrong way by this.

Women have historically struggled to be taken seriously in the world of sports — not just professional athletes, but all the way down to young girls who play at school or in rec leagues. Why does Sweeney's ad take us in the wrong direction? Because it leans into the idea that the value of women's bodies lies in the way they look, not in what they can do. Juxtaposed by the sports equipment used as props to add to the male gaze-i-ness of the images, this just feeds into that narrative.

Female athletes are sharing why this feels personally insulting. For example: One woman pointed that even now, when she mentions that she's a gymnast, people's first response is often "oh, so you're flexible?" in a suggestive way.

Listen, this doesn't all fall on Sydney Sweeney — though, let's not forget...she has a history of starring in ads that miss the mark. Obviously, there's a team behind the scenes that came up with the concept for the sake of shock factor and, again, fulfillment of the male gaze. But let's not pretend she isn't complicit here.

Some argue that we applaud some women for owning their sexuality and choosing to pose nude, and yeah. It's a fine line between what lands correctly and what simply doesn't.

Here's the thing: Sweeney's ad isn't just about the skin she shows or the suggestiveness of her poses. It's about the larger concept...and the way it disregards all the progress female athletes have made.